preview

Emily Dickinson Isolation From Society Essay

Decent Essays
Open Document

Dickinson on Isolation from Society Emily Dickinson’s poems “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” and “The Soul selects her own Society--“ both discuss the idea of reclusiveness and consciously separating one’s self from the general masses. Dickinson asserts the idea that it is beneficial for people to choose a few companions who matter to them and exclude all others from their inner consciousness. In her poem “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” Dickinson cleverly satirizes the public sphere, public officials who try to establish their own self-importance through popularity, and the masses who grant them popularity. In the first stanza of the poem, the speaker declares himself of herself as “Nobody,” declaring that he or she functions outside of the public sphere. This idea is consistent with Dickinson’s famed reclusiveness—ironically, her fame for being un-famous during her time. Next, the speaker asks the reader “Who are you? / Are you—Nobody—too?” (116). The speaker is inviting the reader to take part in the speaker’s privacy or private life. The speaker’s questioning “Who are you?” establishes a playful tone, suggesting that being a “Nobody” is no detrimental or upsetting. …show more content…

Dickinson’s use of an exclamation point here suggests that the speaker is delighted to be a part of this failed couple. The last line in the first stanza further separates the speaker from those in the public sphere. The speaker instructs his or her new partner in solitude, “Don’t tell! they’d advertise—you know!” (116). The reader learns in the next stanza, this “they” the speaker refers to are the “Somebodys.” The speaker is afraid that if the peaceful secret of solitude, of being a “Nobody” gets out, the speaker would lose his or her ability to separate from the

Get Access