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![]() "I'm Nobody! Who are you!" |
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I'm nobody! Who
are you! Are you nobody, too? Then there's a pair of us -- don't tell! They'd advertise -- you know! How dreary to be somebody! How public like a frog To tell one's name the livelong day To an admiring bog! Commentary One the surface this may seem like a very superficial poem. Don't be fooled by its simple words and imagery. On the biographical level, the poem perhaps reflects Dickinson's resentment of shallow writers who gain fame for nothing permanent. Or she might be satirizing the character and situation of people like celebrities who loom large in the eyes of society -- people whom we call "somebodys." Taking assurance from the company of a fellow nobody, the speaker pretends to be worred that they will be shamed for their failure to compete for attention. However, the sudden transition to a dununciation of "somebody" suggests that if one gains notice as a nobody, it makes one into a kind of somebody. Clearly she perfers a psoition of invisibility, where she can take her own measure. The somebodys sit in the middle of bogs, a biting picture of society, and somebodys bellow to people who will admire them for their names alone. The poet seems to be mildly congratulating herself that unlike the ulgar and pretentious somebodys, she is shy and sensitive. The poem is joking, amusing, and surely a bit defensive, and its satire is sharp. I think anybody can identify with either the "somebody's" or the "nobody's" at some part of their life. This universality makes the poem popular. Got questions or comments? Contact Jay Edwards |
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