I’m Nobody! Who Are You? by Emily Dickinson
I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us -don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.
How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!
I. About the Poem
"I'm Nobody! Who are you?" is a short lyric poem by Emily Dickinson first published in 1891 in Poems, Series 2. It is one of Dickinson’s popular poems.
The poem is composed of two quatrains, and, with an exception of the first line, the rhythm alternates between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. The poem employs alliteration, anaphora, simile, satire, and internal rhyme but no regular end rhyme scheme. However, lines 1 and 2 and lines 6 and 8 end with masculine rhymes. The poet incorporates the pronouns you, we, us, your into the poem, and in doing so, draws the reader into the piece. The poem suggests anonymity is preferable to fame. It was first published in 1891 in Poems, Series 2, a collection of Dickinson’s poems assembled and edited by Mabel Loomis Todd and Thomas Wentworth Higginson.[
The poem is composed of two quatrains, and, with an exception of the first line, the rhythm alternates between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. The poem employs alliteration, anaphora, simile, satire, and internal rhyme but no regular end rhyme scheme. However, lines 1 and 2 and lines 6 and 8 end with masculine rhymes. The poet incorporates the pronouns you, we, us, your into the poem, and in doing so, draws the reader into the piece. The poem suggests anonymity is preferable to fame. It was first published in 1891 in Poems, Series 2, a collection of Dickinson’s poems assembled and edited by Mabel Loomis Todd and Thomas Wentworth Higginson.[
Works Cited （参考文献）
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Nobody!_Who_are_you%3F
II. About the Author
Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts. She attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, but only for one year. Throughout her life, she seldom left her home and visitors were few. The people with whom she did come in contact, however, had an enormous impact on her poetry. She was particularly stirred by the Reverend Charles Wadsworth, whom she first met on a trip to Philadelphia. He left for the West Coast shortly after a visit to her home in 1860, and some critics believe his departure gave rise to the heartsick flow of verse from Dickinson in the years that followed. While it is certain that he was an important figure in her life, it is not clear that their relationship was romantic—she called him “my closest earthly friend.” Other possibilities for the unrequited love that was the subject of many of Dickinson’s poems include Otis P. Lord, a Massachusetts Supreme Court judge, and Samuel Bowles, editor of the Springfield Republican.
Works Cited （参考文献）
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/emily-dickinson
IV. My Reaction
A. Reaction Point - character (登場人物)
"I" and "you" appear in this poetry.
They are very close and are going to make the relations a secret from the world.
"I" and "you" appear in this poetry.
They are very close and are going to make the relations a secret from the world.
B. Reaction Point - alliteration (頭韻)
This poem is constructed by alliteration.
This poem is constructed by alliteration.
I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us -don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.
How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!
C. Reaction Point - connotation (言葉の意味、含意)
"How public, like a frog" means the general public. They're trying to rise their presence to the world.
"How public, like a frog" means the general public. They're trying to rise their presence to the world.
D. My General Opinion
I think this poem is very cute. Because this reading character try to make the relations a secret from the world. It is very innocent to have secret to be known to nobody.
I think this poem is very cute. Because this reading character try to make the relations a secret from the world. It is very innocent to have secret to be known to nobody.
