1. Poem Analysis I’m Nobody! Who are You?

2. I’m Nobody! Who Are You? I. Form 1. Line: 8 lines 2. Stanza: 2 stanzas
3. Sentence: 8 sentences
4. Rhyme scheme: you-too, frog-bog

3. I’m Nobody! Who Are You? II. Point of View
Who is the speaker in the poem?
Who is he/she talking to?
What is he/she trying to say?
Qs: Why didn’t the speaker want “you” not to tell that there’s a pair of nobodies? Would there be some consequences if other people knew?

4. I’m Nobody! Who Are You? Who is the speaker in the poem?
It can be the poet herself. (So Dickinson considered herself nobody?)
2. Who is he/she talking to?
“You” can be someone that she knew. It can also be an imagined person, who Dickinson wished to know. (but, was she sure that “you” were also a nobody?)
What is he/she trying to say?
Being an important person may not be as peaceful and interesting as being a nobody. A lot of people desire to become famous, yet such desire, to the speaker (poet), is nothing more than boredom.
(cont.)

5. I’m Nobody! Who Are You?
Why didn’t the speaker want “you” not to tell that there’s a pair of nobodies? Would there be some consequences if other people knew?

6. I’m Nobody! Who Are You?
III. Imagery (language that appeals to the five senses)
Words What sense appealed to

7. I’m Nobody! Who Are You?
III. Imagery (language that appeals to the five senses)
Words What sense appealed to
tell/ advertise sound (speech)
to tell one’s name sound (speech)
admiring sight

8. I’m Nobody! Who Are You?
IV. Figurative Language (metaphor, simile, personification)
Word/Phrase Type What is being compared

9. I’m Nobody! Who Are You?
IV. Figurative Language (metaphor, simile, personification, symbolism)
Word/Phrase Type What is being compared
frog Simile Somebody/ important ppl
to tell Person. Frog croak;
one’s name
an admiring Person. Ppl who have similar desire;
bog followers

10. I’m Nobody! Who Are You? V. Topic and theme
What is the subject matter?
What kind of tone does the speaker have? Does this tone change throughout the poem?
Write a sentence or two on the truth about life that the poet is trying to communicate.

11. I’m Nobody! Who Are You? V. Topic and theme
It deals with life, and people’s attitude toward fame and publicity. (What does this poem reveal about the poet’s life/personality?)
In the first stanza, the speaker sounds excited and somehow worried. But then, the speaker shifts his/her focus on criticizing people’s love of fame, thereby making him/her sound cynical and sarcastic.

12. I’m Nobody! Who Are You? 3. Be content with being a nobody.
Lay a low profile when you find someone who potentially can be your good friend. (?)

13. I’m Nobody! Who Are You? Let’s watch a short film in
which a few girls act out this poem.