“I’m nobody! Who are you?” is one of Emily Dickinson’s most important works from her poetry career. This poem addresses the idea of being accepted in society, or as some critics see it, a coming of age and transformation into the adult world. The speaker is seen as an outcast almost calling out the society that they are in. The aspect of Dickinson’s reclusiveness in her life is shown by this poem with her pointing out the wrongs of a society that everyone is supposed to be a part of. There is also a strong selection of diction used to create the imagery and the tone of the work. This is one characteristic that can be seen in almost all of the works of Emily Dickinson. Although there are many interpretations and many disagreements to the meaning of this poem, it still remains on of Dickinson’s most popular of all time.
The first line of the poem reads “I’m nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody too? (Dickinson)” This is the first testimony that the author is separating themselves from regular society. Rather than claiming to have an identity and individuality, the author says that they are nobody. Then they go on to question whether the reader is also nobody. This leads the reader to believe that there is no true identity for people and the society is simple a created thing. This logic serves as an explanation for the strangeness of Emily Dickinson and her life. There is a strong possibility that this is how she actually felt about the world and in turn this caused her to seclude herself from everyone else because she felt that she was nobody (Leiter). She then says that if there is a pair of people who have made the conclusion that the society is not right, that they must not let it be known because they would be outcast (Dickinson). This is almost a call to the reader to question their society.
Along with the idea of banishment from society, another interpretation is that this is a poem about coming of age and the confusion of adolescents (Leiter). This is reasonable because oftentimes youth feel disconnected from society and struggle to find their place. If they fail to find an acceptable path in life they are banished from society for being different. It all comes down to the way that the reader views the words in the poem.
Diction is a very important part of the woks of Emily Dickinson. This poem is no different with a strong word selection to create the tone that she wanted the reader to experience when she wrote this poem. The simple word selection in the first stanza makes the reader feel as if she is talking directly to them, calling them out to inform them of her realization (Dickinson).
This is one of Dickinson’s most popular poems of all time and for good reason. There are many interpretations, but any way that the reader views the poem it still presents a very strong idea for each interpretation. It is clear that Dickinson’s life had a strong impact on the context of this work, but it caused the poems message to be all the stronger.
Works Cited
Dickinson, Emily. "I'm nobody! Who are you?" Part One: Life. Bartleby.com. Web. 21 Mar. 2011.
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 22, 2011).
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