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Analysis Of IM Nobody Who Are You

Decent Essays

“I’m Nobody! Who are you?” by Emily Dickinson reveals the invaluable aspect of remaining a “Nobody”—a person of little fame and stature. The poem examines the short monologue of a speaker as he or she confides with another “Nobody” and pities the life of a “Somebody”—a person with fame. The speaker finds the life of the famous boring; he or she finds being unrecognized much more comforting. This can be seen through the author’s varying tones in the first and second stanza: the first being more secretive, and the second being more pitiful. The secretive tone is present in the line “Don’t tell!” and brings about a sense of excitement as the speaker remains out of the public’s eye. In contrast to the excitement, the second stanza reveals the speaker’s viewpoint of the life of the recognized: it is mundane and “dreary” (Dickinson 838). The distinct contrast between the secretive tone and the mundane tone reveals why the speaker has a fondness towards being a “Nobody”: the life of a “Nobody” is—ironically—more exciting than the life of a “Somebody.” Another use of irony in “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” is the companionship found within being unrecognized versus the loneliness created from being famous. The speaker finds another “Nobody” to share his or her opinions with, stating that “there’s a pair of [them]” while being “Somebody” results in being a frog alone talking to an “admiring Bog” (Dickinson 838). The significance in this irony is that the speaker identifies the

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