I'm Nobody! Who Are You?- Analysis

Emily Dickinson was a very famous Realism writing period poet. During her life, however, she was not famous, which is partially the motivation behind this poem. This simple, 8 line poem revolves around the title. It starts with the simple phrase "I'm Nobody! Who Are You?" The poem continues on for the character to imagine what it would be like to be "somebody" (Leiter). The poem is very short, but it is a great representation of Realism writing. A major component of Realism writing is very great detail and development of the characters, and not as much emphasis on the plot of the story. This poem really did not have a plot, but ended up characterizing the character in the poem, assumed to be Emily Dickinson, at the same time (Leiter). The whole struggle with the poem is the thought of being a nobody. Dickinson grouped herself into the category of "nobody," and in her life time, she was correct. The irony of the poem was that after her death, many of her poems became very famous, and she is today a paradigm for many different styles of literature.

The struggle that Dickinson finds through out the poem is being a nobody, but she doesn't have a major problem with it. In fact, she even finds out that she is not alone. The second line of the poem reveals that the reader is also a "nobody," but the two cannot tell anyone, otherwise they will be kicked out of their society. Since they become a pair, they really are not "nobodies" anymore, which is why they cannot tell anyone (Beyond). While the poem is very short, it is distinctively divided into two separate sections. The first section has a very sad tone, with the character discussing the fact that she is a nobody. The second section, however, has a much more positive attitude. The character, now realizing that there are other "nobodies" out there, has a much more confident look on life (Beyond). The short Dickinson poem has become one of the most quoted poems of the time period.


Leiter, Sharon. "'I'm Nobody! Who are you?'." Critical Companion to Emily Dickinson: A Literary Reference to Her Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCED064&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 12, 2012).


Beyond Books, Apex Learning Inc. "1f. "I'm Nobody! Who Are You?" by Emily Dickinson [Beyond Books - Reading Between the Lines]." Beyond Books. 30 July 2007. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://www.beyondbooks.com/lit71/1f.asp>.