I Am Nobody Who You Are by Emily Dickinson

Summary

The first stanza of the poem describes the speaker’s encounter with another “nobody” – a friend. The two nobodies can share their anonymity and enjoy one another’s company. They are nobodies no longer when they are paired. That is why the speaker says,  “Don’t tell! / They ‘d banish us, you know. She recognises that once another “nobody” joins forces with you, you are no longer truly a “nobody.” And she is not interested in being exiled or expelled from what she perceives to be a society of nobodies. She appears at ease in that location.

The tone of the poem shifts significantly in the second stanza. Confident, the speaker appears. Perhaps it is her discovery that there are others like her – other “nobodies” – that convinces her that becoming a “someone” is not such a good idea. She realises that having a friend who understands and accepts you for who you are is more important than being popular or belonging to the “in” crowd.

The speaker also makes an unusual comparison in the poem’s second stanza. According to her, being someone is comparable to being a frog. What is the connotation of this simile? Apart from Kermit, not many famous frogs exist. Why has the speaker chosen that amphibian as her public creature’s representative? This is due to the fact that frogs make a great deal of noise. According to the poem, frogs, despite their ability to croak and be heard and noticed, are only noticed by “an admiring bog.” The bog serves as the frog’s habitat, not as a friend. Therefore, who gives a damn what the bog has to say?

That is what the poem means when it refers to being “someone” who attracts the attention of an admiring public. Often, the relationship is impersonal and distant, not at all like a genuine friendship. While some individuals may amass a large number of admirers, they may be unable to form the personal bonds that true friendship provides.

Emily Dickinson almost certainly wrote from the heart when she wrote “I’m nobody! Who are you?” She was a notoriously reclusive figure in American literature. Except for one trip to Philadelphia, one to Washington, D.C., and a few trips into Boston, Dickinson spent nearly her entire 56 years in her hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts. She never left the confines of her family’s Amherst property after reaching the age of 40. Dickinson developed an affinity for people who regard themselves as outsiders and insignificant as a result of this unusual life. To think of her as a lonely hermit, on the other hand, would be inaccurate. Indeed, the poet developed a few close and enduring friendships. These significant relationships exemplify the central theme of “I’m Nobody”: companionship is the most effective antidote to feelings of exclusion.

Analysis of Am Nobody Who You Are by Emily Dickinson

The poem talks about the theme that it is preferable to be a humble nobody than a proud somebody. After all, somebody has to spend their time demonstrating their greatness to the world. How boring!

The poem’s content is about the author confronting another person with the fact that she is a nobody in the poem’s very first line. She is adamant and confident in revealing her true identity. She then inquires as to the other person’s identity. She assumed the other person was also a nobody, and then she began accepting and conversing with the other person, referring to them as “a pair of us” and “don’t tell”. These lines illustrate the author’s society’s selection of friends or social communications: only those with similar social statuses interact. The terms “don’t tell” and “banish” imply that a fine line exists between two social classes: somebody and nobody.