Question

I'm Nobody! Who are you? How does the speaker use diction and figurative language to portray what it’s like to be a “Somebody” and how does this impact the meaning of the text? Cite evidence from the poem to support your answer.

Answer 1

I'm Nobody! Who are you?

‘I'm Nobody! Who are you?’ is a very short poem written by Emily Dickinson which contains of two short stanza. In the poem se can see that Emily have made use of dashes. For example: ‘Are you – Nobody – too?’ By this she’s trying to break up the dialogue thus leading to emphasis.

In the poem Emily states that it’s good to be ‘Nobody’ rather than ‘Somebody.’ She says that when you’re Somebody, you’re always recognized by public and it’s hard to find a companionship. Anonymity on the other hand have its own advantage.

The poem uses a rough rhyme scheme ‘abcb’ in her poem. She have made use of Simile where she compares somebody with a frog, because he(frog) constantly makes a sound to remind of his self importance. ‘How dreary – to be – Somebody!

How public – like a Frog.’