The poem
I'm Nobody! Who are you? Are you -- Nobody -- Too? Then there's a pair of us! Don't tell! they'd advertise -- you know!
How dreary -- to be -- Somebody! How public -- like a Frog -- To tell one's name -- the livelong June -- To an admiring Bog!
Emily Dickinson's short poem opens with a greeting that is also a confession: "I'm Nobody!" The speaker turns to a stranger and finds a fellow Nobody. The two are then sworn to secrecy, and two lonely people become a small, private company.
The second stanza looks at the opposite condition. Being Somebody is pictured as a frog croaking its own name all summer to a marsh. The poem sets obscurity against fame and treats obscurity as the better lot. Its eight lines are both a joke and a serious preference for privacy over display.
The speaker opens by announcing "I'm Nobody!" and at once asks the listener "Who are you?" Line 2 presses the question and asks whether the listener is Nobody as well. No answer is printed, but line 3 takes it as yes and greets the discovery: "Then there's a pair of us!" Line 4 then begs the listener "Don't tell!" The reason follows at once: if others learned of the pair, they would spread the news, as the listener surely knows.
The second stanza turns from being Nobody to being Somebody. The speaker exclaims "How dreary -- to be -- Somebody!" Line 6 adds that it is also "How public" and compares such a person to a frog. In lines 7 and 8 the Somebody, like the frog, must "tell one's name" over and over to "an admiring Bog." This goes on through "the livelong June," and the poem ends on that picture without returning to the pair.
The first theme is obscurity as freedom. The poem reverses the usual ranking of fame over obscurity. Being Nobody is announced with an exclamation mark, as if it were good news. Being Somebody is called "dreary" and "public" in lines 5 and 6. The poem never argues the point but simply makes fame look tiresome and faintly silly.
A second theme is kinship among the unknown. Two Nobodies make "a pair of us" in line 3. This is a paradox, since a group of nobodies is already somebody of a kind. The pair is held together by a shared secret. The demand "Don't tell!" makes obscurity something to guard, not something to escape.
The second stanza presents fame as noise. A frog repeats its name through "the livelong June," so fame is not achievement but constant self-announcement. The audience is no better than the performer. It is "an admiring Bog," a stretch of wet ground that listens without judgement. The satire strikes both the famous and those who admire them.
The poem also touches on names and identity. To be Somebody is "To tell one's name" again and again. Nobody, by contrast, has no name to tell, and the opening question "Who are you?" is never answered with one. The poem can be read as saying that identity kept private is more real than identity broadcast.
The first stanza is playful and conspiratorial. The exclamations in lines 1 and 3 sound like delight at meeting a friend. The whispered "Don't tell!" in line 4 draws the listener into a mock secret. The aside "you know!" assumes the listener already shares the speaker's view of the world.
In the second stanza the tone turns to comic scorn. The word "dreary" is dismissive rather than angry. The frog and the bog make the famous look absurd rather than wicked. The dashes in lines 5 to 7 slow the voice, as if the speaker is savouring each jab.
The tone can also be read less lightly. The pleasure in obscurity may cover some hurt at being overlooked. The text supports both readings. Nothing in the words is bitter, but the insistence on being Nobody can sound defensive.
The poem has 8 lines in 2 stanzas of 4 lines each. Lines run from 6 to 8 syllables. The rhyme scheme is AABCDEFE. The first two lines rhyme on "you" and "Too," and line 6 rhymes with line 8 on "Frog" and "Bog." The other lines do not rhyme.
The metre is loosely iambic. The second stanza comes near common metre, with longer lines alternating with shorter ones. The first stanza is less regular, and its heavy stresses on "Nobody" and "Who" give a trochaic push. Dashes break most lines into short spoken units. Capitals mark Nobody, Somebody, Frog, Bog and June as key words.
Who are you?The speaker speaks straight to the reader or listener. The question pulls the reader into the poem as the second Nobody.
Are you -- Nobody -- Too?Nobody is repeated from line 1 and set off by dashes. The word becomes a title the speaker hopes to share.
Then there's a pair of us!Two Nobodies form a company. The line makes a group out of a condition defined by absence.
they'd advertise -- you know!Being unknown must be kept secret, or others will make it known. The fear of publicity undoes itself with comic logic.
How dreary -- to be -- Somebody!The dashes split the line into three spoken beats. The pause before Somebody makes the word land with mock weariness.
How publicThe line repeats the opening of line 5. The two exclamations pile up the drawbacks of being Somebody.
like a FrogThe famous person is compared to a frog. The comparison reduces fame to loud, repetitive croaking.
the livelong JuneThe name is told all month without pause. The exaggeration makes self-promotion sound endless and tiring.
an admiring BogA marsh is given the power to admire. The audience of fame becomes a swamp, which mocks the admirers as much as the admired.
BogBog rhymes with Frog in line 6. The blunt one-syllable rhyme closes the poem on a comic thud.
Keep reading
Readers
i think ms. emily is trying to say that people think too much of them selves and i think this is very true
I think it's true that we are nobody and often dream to be somebody's. We have to face the reality
She is not saying that we are nobody. She is saying that it is boring to be somebody. Being nobody is unique and interesting and that is what she is...and that is how she likes it.
She is not saying that we are nobody. She is saying that it is boring and ordinary to be "somebody." Being nobody is unique and interesting and that is what she is...and that is how she likes it. To be "somebody" is to be like the frogs in the bog, always trying to convince people that you are "somebody." Just be yourself, unique and extraordinary!
i think she no have friend family died or i dont no
I think that in this poem, Emily Dickinson is trying to share how she feels - she likes people not knowing who she is becouse when she was growing up, lots of people knew who she was because of her father. I also think that she had just met somebody just like herself when this was written.
I think Emily was trying to say that people are more interesting when they keep their lives and thoughts to themselves. I know that this is true in my own life. I would much rather get to know the deep and quiet person in the back of the classroom than the person who is always talking and exposing their personal thoughts to everyone. Mystery makes you more appealing in my eyes.
i think that she is trying to justify or convince herself that there is nothing wrong with her seclusion from society. I also think that the other person or the other "nobody" could possibly be Charles Wadswoth as he too led a very solitary life. And that maybe that they need not go public about their relations, like you would here the frogs vocalising in the heat of June, in the swamps - "bog"
emili uses similes in this poe, like " how public like a frog". In her poems,emili usually uses "i" instad of taking in tird person (he, she, it). I think this poem is very soothing.
I think she is expressing herself very well in this poem and people do think to much of theirselves and i agree with her and i admire her for doing what she did. She didnt want to be recognized because if she did want to be then she couldnt do anything in her life alone and without people all over her like flies on poopy.
I think... her bitterness and sorrow come through in this poem despite her intetions to keep it within, many times her sarcastic tone hides a inner deep loathing what appeals to me most in this poem, though is the unique play of points of view, asking a direct question at the reader, engaging one in a sort of one-sided conversation emily never had an audience, probably never intended to have this poem published, or…
Read the whole commentI think... her bitterness and sorrow come through in this poem
despite her intetions to keep it within, many times her sarcastic tone hides a inner deep loathing
what appeals to me most in this poem, though is the unique play of points of view, asking a direct question at the reader, engaging one in a sort of one-sided conversation
emily never had an audience, probably never intended to have this poem published, or seen by the world
it seems, this poem was a inner consolation for herself, and her lingering doubts
at the same time, she also portrays a strong view of individualism and contentment with who we are, much contrary to the megolomania our society often exerts
instead of living behind a shallow facade, she wants us to be ourselves!
i`m nobody,i always lose myself.but,love makes the world go round.i feel happy now.
To be somebody or to be nobody is a kind of life but it is by the chance of one's fate!here the "frogs "are barking like someone else
It would be nice if they actually got the poem correct. The correct poem is:
Part One: Life
XXVII
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! 5
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!
Emily Dickinson (1830–86). Complete Poems. 1924.
i love this poem i like the writing style of emily
I know what she means. I lock myself in my room. Sometimes i feel like crying because i'm nobody. My life is hard too. I have lost 2 friends through death. I am a poet writer. I started at the age of 6. I am afraid of death, but i write about it anyway.
I believe this poem relates a great deal to Emily Dickinson's life and the fact that she did not want to be public and famous.
i really like this poem because i feel exactly like this and i hope that someday someone would like me for who i am
Notice how everybody calls her "Emily," rather than "Dickinson?" In the Robert Frost comment section, no one talks about Robert. It's Frost. The Walt Whitman comments all say Whitman, not Walt. I assume this is becuase she is female. Just an observation.
I really enjoy writting poems and i would like to know how do i get my poem to be famous and the top number 1 poem without being stolen
I think emily wrote this because she was emphasizing her life alone. she did not want or need contact from the outside world.
What I think Emily is trying to get across is that being an individual is better then trying to be like your favorite movie star. It's what's on the inside that counts and you shouldn't care what other's opinions of you are. It's what you think and how you feel. Don't let the public get the best of you.
When you talk about Emily's poem you must remember that she would write several versions of the same poem. For example, the differences in the words Nobody and nobody, advertise and banish, one's name and your name, and livelong June and livelong day. Remember Emily had Bright's disease(leads to kidney falure), was going blind, lived in a time when women, even thought they were exceptionally smart, weren't accepted…
Read the whole commentWhen you talk about Emily's poem you must remember that she would write several versions of the same poem. For example, the differences in the words Nobody and nobody, advertise and banish, one's name and your name, and livelong June and livelong day. Remember Emily had Bright's disease(leads to kidney falure), was going blind, lived in a time when women, even thought they were exceptionally smart, weren't accepted in professional circles as worthy of interaction, and, most were expected to marry and become housewives. Her father and brother were lawyers and patriarchs of the town. I think this poem may have been a result of these factors but more specifically from her experience at school when she refused to raise her hand ,like all the other girls, to indicate that she accepted the religous views of the day. This resulted in the principal bawling her out, alienation from the other students and shortly there after leaving school. Her refusal to conform due to her strong conscience set her apart from everyone who just raised their hand just because everyone else did.
I think that everybody is a nobody really. Even if they are the richest person, a movie star, or work at McDonald's, they are all the same . We should be who we are because we're all the same, and we can't change that.
I beleive that Emily was trying to say that she is a nobody,and she was addressing that to her sister,Lavinia.Im 11 years old and I think she is awesome.
i agree with every one about this poem, i think that Emily was a very keep things to yourself kind of person who just tried to be herself other than a fraud. i would rather be myself then be someone everyone else wants me to be. This is the best poem that i have ever read i think because i can relate it to myself because to be myself is more interesting and unique.
THIS POEM IS SAYING THAT EMILY WAS PROBLY SHARING HER FEELINGS ABOUT WHEN SHE DIDNT HAVE FRIENDS
I think that she thinks that no one talks to her so she thinks that no one ever sees her or talks to her or anything
I think Emily was trying to say that being famous is not what you think it is and isn't the most important thing in life! I also think she is proclaiming her proudness of being a nobody.
i think that sometimes she feels sad and she needs a friend to help her along the way.
I think she was trying to give the message that being famous looks great and your rich it isn't as great as it looks. I think this because you would always be in the spotlight and you wouldn't have privacy. I think that was a great message to put through a poem.
She total outcast amterial and i think thats cool she can ahng out wiht me and meh buds if she was still alive ^_~ love yo poems emily !
Ems! come back! I want to be your friend! goin my group of outcasts!I lvoe you ems!
I believe the theme of this poem lies in Emily Dickinson's desire for seclusion. In the early 1860's, she began withdrawing from society, and this poem reflects that. It's really brilliant, too.
Just curious, does anybody here know off-hand of any other Dickinson poems which might relate in theme to this one? Thanks!
i think she also deals with not comforming, she knows she's different, and although she's accepted it, she realises that she lives in a world where difference is not accepted, thus her saying, 'dont tell, they'd banish us...' There's a slight bitterness and anger to that, and then maybe there's slight disappointment 2. and then theres criticism, becos. emily dickinson defines somebody as someone who conforms, goes…
Read the whole commenti think she also deals with not comforming, she knows she's different, and although she's accepted it, she realises that she lives in a world where difference is not accepted, thus her saying, 'dont tell, they'd banish us...' There's a slight bitterness and anger to that, and then maybe there's slight disappointment 2. and then theres criticism, becos. emily dickinson defines somebody as someone who conforms, goes along with what everyone else is saying or doing, just for the sake of fitting in, and she's saying that she never wants to be that kind of person....
i give her points for that, i myself consider myself as trying never to go along with the crowd, but its really hard though, because it seems that the people who conform get the better end of the deal than those who dont, they fit in better, get treated better...etc.
This peom is showing that emily probly didnt have an friends when she wrote this.
Sometimes your journal or a poem is your only means of getting out your feelings. The loneliness isn't so oppressive when kept inside. Emily refused to conform so she shut out the world. Sad but true life can cause us to become reclusive
wow what a pshyco. she must have no life..
It means that she liked to be alone, to be shut out from the world. Besides she shut her self in her house with only her sister to take care of her, so yes she was lonely but that made her happy.
i think emily has a good point .. the world worries to much in being somebody .. people need to be unique .. nobody is what everyone really is, if you look at it my way .. A 'nobody' can actually be a good thing ..
i love all of emily dickinson's poetry... especially this one because i can really relate to it. I also like what the person that posted before said " nobody is what everyone really is" that is so true...
In the past, I always want to be somebody. so every time i'm chasing. Now, I know I'm unique, I needn't to be somebody. Just to be myself. I'm God's master peace, For Him I'm somebody.
Emily Dickinson is trying to say to people all over the world that the people who are nobodies are the most unoique peole and that just because some one has no friends or has metal problems doesnt mean they aren't somebody because there a nobody...the ones who arnt popular or cool in the begining if there life become a person later that everybody wants to be around. no one wants to hang around with someone who gets you into trouble or does bad things to them or others.
In the poem, "I'm nobody!Who are you?", the direct meaning will always be 'be yourself' and 'don't let anyone try and change you because being you is unique.'
But she is already making it seem that people who don't fit in with one group, can fit in another. Dickinson had wanted to be cut off from the world, for reasons unknown. She always did have a bad taste in men.(all the men she liked were married, and none of them wanted to leave their wives for her.)
I think that her poem is saying that you need to be yourself and not let society try to mold into everyone else. Go Emily!!
Jennifer, I was at another website and someone mentioned the poem as you have stated, but that version is called Banish us. Banish replaces one's with you and June with Day. Also the forth line in I'm nobody reads as follows Don't tell!! they'd adverise-you know! Versus your version that uses the word bansih. I would really like to know what others think about there being multi versions of the same poem. I also read that Emily would frequently send her poems to friends then change the poem based on their feedback. I think this is a great example where this could have happened.
I was introduced to this poem when I was 10, and whenever I'm feeling low, I write it out somewhere and I'll read and read and cry over it.
I can really relate to it and someone--well, Emily Dickinson, actually understood what it felt like and how it was to a nobody and used the status of what she was, a poet, to encourage other nobodies around the world, namely, me. No matter what and when or how many years later, it will still be my favourite poem.
Anyway, it's been 5 years since I first knew this poem.
this is, certainly, an escape from vanality of this materialism. she has reached a higher level...spiritualism maybe.
she compares somebody with frogs! it is easy to be somebody, but being nobody is too much harder...
good poem
It means that if you want to be somebody you don't have to look for name,promotion,etc.
This poem is very likely to the "Rumi"'s which said I found being somebody in being nobody.
I think she sounds very depressed. I feel sorry for her. Does anybody know when Emily Dickinson wrote this poem?
Very positive. Dickenson's way of placing questions in print albiet in poem is worth pondering. It gives life! Life full of allusions.
does anyone know what, "How public – like a Frog –
To tell one's name – the livelong June –
To an admiring Bog!" means???
I dont lke it. im not tryin to be mean but i did not just get it, at all.
I think that Emily Dickinson did a good job on her poem. In that poem she is tring to tell us that we are not no body, because we are somebody.
The frogs bit is referrring to the fact tha frogs are usually the loudest of the bogs, hence they croak a lot and everyone hears them
who does she mean "they" in this poem? Is this somebody, famous people? if yes, why do they banish her as she isn't at their same point? why do public dislike "a frog"?
I really like this poem. It shows a lot about Emily. This poem refers to her time at the college Mt. Holyoke. One of her teachers, Mary Lyons, split the class into three groups; the hopers, the Christians, and the no-hopers. Hopers meaning people that wanted to be Christians and no-hopers being people that did not; they minded their own business. Emily was a no-hoper. People did not accept that at Mt. Holyoke…
Read the whole commentI really like this poem. It shows a lot about Emily. This poem refers to her time at the college Mt. Holyoke. One of her teachers, Mary Lyons, split the class into three groups; the hopers, the Christians, and the no-hopers. Hopers meaning people that wanted to be Christians and no-hopers being people that did not; they minded their own business. Emily was a no-hoper. People did not accept that at Mt. Holyoke college, and she was considered a nobody. She was fine with that though, she didn't like to get out, kept to herself. She didn't want to be a somebody. Somebodies got all the attention. This is what Emily means by "how public like a frog." Frogs are the noisy animals in a pond. They are sort of saying "I'm the Frog!! I'm the best!! I'm the Frog!! I'm the best!!" and when do they come out? Livelong June...
I think that it means being a nobody is important and you shouldn't advertise yourself. Being a somebody is horrible because you have to live in the public eye living as someone your not entertaining people who don't really matter anyway.
Sorry about how the post looked. The coment post box did not implement my "enter" key to show line endings. Webmaster, is there a key to hit for line endings?
I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's the 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!
from "advertise" to "banish" there's a 180-degree difference. (I did not read all 6 pages of the comments to this poem, and this might have been posted already. If so, I'm sorry. Could anyone comment on why there would be various versions of her poetry?
I really liked it. she put her feeling into the poem you can really tell were she is coming from. It is like she is asking sombody who do they think they are or who there pretendind to be. She makes me want to be a poem writer
hello i am the muffin man and i liked the poem im depressed so i can relate to the poem and if u want some muffins call 1-800-muf-fins.
I like this poem a lot. I think what she might've been trying to say is that its better to be nobody-as long as you're happy-than to be a somebody just to please others. Don't get me wrong-I don't think its all about pleasing yourself, but if you're just putting on a show, that's not cool.
That is one of my favorite poems;my favorite poem by Emilie!
In this poem, the speaker introduce herself as unimportant. Here she mocks the pretension of the public world by imaging public figure as bull frogs. The speaker also describes public opinion as a swamp, something one sinks into, not some thing you would respect. She also implies that any other person of modesty would be hiding out with her free from the bog. She rhymes "Frog" and "Bog" to describe the somebody which she is making fun of.
Min Yee--
There are various versions of Emily's poetry because she did not submit them for publishing herself. Her brother and sister-in-law reworded some of her poetry after her death to make it more understandable. I can only imagine that the poem was reworded at this time.
It is a common mistake of people to say Emily Dickinson was secluded from the world and reflected this through her poetry. On the contrary, Dickinson tried very hard to publish her work but never succeeded. Not to say she was a social person, or "somebody," as she referred to people thought to be important in this poem, but she did ask many newspaper people and other companies to inform the world of her magnifacent…
Read the whole commentIt is a common mistake of people to say Emily Dickinson was secluded from the world and reflected this through her poetry. On the contrary, Dickinson tried very hard to publish her work but never succeeded. Not to say she was a social person, or "somebody," as she referred to people thought to be important in this poem, but she did ask many newspaper people and other companies to inform the world of her magnifacent and deep poetry, but never had her poetry published. Her poetry is very misleading in this area. Emily wrote poems that expressed feelings of loneliness or seclusion. So, many concluded that because her work was never published, and because most of her poems are of sadness, she must be lonely and never tried to do anything to enlighten the world of her poetry. This common misconception had led many to believe "facts" in documentaries on her which, in fact, are just inferences.
I thought this poem was very good.
well this poem is very moving:) i like it alot
I like this poem a lot. To me it means that Emily Dickinson was a nobody and became a somebody.
" I'm Nobody, Who Are You?" is a great poem. Emily Dickinson is trying to say that she just wants to be herself instead of being watched through a microscope as today's celebrities are.
Where can I find a poem this great? This website is very helpful. Is there anywhere I can get essays on this?
IM NOT TO GOOD WITH THE WHOLE POEM THING THE ONLY REASON IM HERE IS BECAUSE IM DOING A REPORT BUT TO ME SHE IS SAYING THAT SOMETIMES ITS BETTER TO KEEP TO YOURSELF AND NOT TELL EVERYTHING TO JUST ANYONE YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THE PERSON YOU ARE TELLINGS ISNT GOING TO EVERYONE ELSE. IN OUR WORLD TODAY PEOPLE DONT LIKE THINGS THEY CANT UNDERSTAND.
I love you all butt not really.
it was a funni poem, she must really have a sence of humor and peoms can really tell u alot obout who ever wrote them.
You all missed one of her truly intentional points that was obscured for good reasons, for she was a sort of a mystery writer, that she wrote this for you...can you guess? She wanted you all to F@%* YOURSELVES!!! She counted success the SWEETEST, oh yes, she knew that after she died, that things would change, that her writing would be known, oh yes, and that being nobody would matter--IN DEATH! And now she is a…
Read the whole commentYou all missed one of her truly intentional points that was obscured for good reasons, for she was a sort of a mystery writer, that she wrote this for you...can you guess? She wanted you all to F@%* YOURSELVES!!! She counted success the SWEETEST, oh yes, she knew that after she died, that things would change, that her writing would be known, oh yes, and that being nobody would matter--IN DEATH! And now she is a ghost, yes, and being a ghost she saw that success that was the sweetest of any poet EVER to achieve, for life didn't matter to be in that bog, to be admired, she knew that in life, only death mattered, that as life never would, for she was a women--that death would, THAT WOULD MATTER THE MOST!!!!!!
Boys and girls, she pulled off the greatest success that those in fame would never see and that death would curse, and now there is me, the next for reconciliation of her fierce anger, to be known this time, for the time has come of all poets from ever to ever, that I am the coming of the Light!
This poem has to be one of my all-time childhood favorites. I mean, it's right up there with Jabberwocky and the tale of custard the dragon. :) This poem isn't deep or macabre or depressing in any respect. It's philosophical in a whimsical sort of way. Like she's poking fun at all previous ideas of 'serious'. She's completely awesome. This is probably the one poem I randomly quote when I'm feeling invisible or philosophical. I'm doing a report on her and I couldn't love her more! :)Hurrah for Emily Dickinson!
it is a great poem indeed
Please quote the poem correctly!
Thank you.
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 love this poem! It would have to be my favorite one written by her! She is an amazing poet, that I feel I can really relate to.
It is a wonderful poem.Small in content but at the same time rich in meaning.It is also applicable to all times & places around the world :)
Emily realized how many people live their lives for the sake of other people. And how many of them all lead fake lives. She probably knew that they were all really unhappy because they had created an entirely fictional world for the public eye so that they could be the center of attention. I believe that Emily explains that she does not feel that this is much of a life and lives her life away from people and…
Read the whole commentEmily realized how many people live their lives for the sake of other people. And how many of them all lead fake lives. She probably knew that they were all really unhappy because they had created an entirely fictional world for the public eye so that they could be the center of attention. I believe that Emily explains that she does not feel that this is much of a life and lives her life away from people and publicity to write poems for herself, not to publish and become famous - I believe this was not her goal - She wrote poetry for her own satisfaction and altering these works and reproducing them is such an insult and disrespectful but hey.. at least somebody made money off them.. I'm sure thats what she would have wanted.
Emily dickinson is a feminist obsessed with death. Why doesn't she do more womanly things. She mentions bird and bees but she's a virgin. she should lather the shaft with amneotic fluids
I would have to agree w/ Renee. please quote it directly. thank you.
In the poem “I’m nobody! Who are you?” I think that she is not saying that we are nobody. She is saying that it is boring and ordinary to be "somebody." Being nobody is unique and interesting and that is what she is, and that is how she likes it. To be "somebody" is to be like the frogs in the bog, always trying to convince people that you are "somebody." Just be yourself.
Emily Dickinson inspired me in all ways. Shes not only my favorite poet,but I feel as if she wrote this poem to me and I'm not just saying that because we have the same name! She is soo wonderful, more than ever!!!!!!
I like her poem. It's really good she inspires me to be the best I can. Its a great poem
Actually Renne, the correct quotation is:
I Am 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!
In Her Orginal poem,she did not use a contration.
I love ALL of Emily's poems,and the first time i read this one(I think it was 4th grade)I fell in love with it!
i like almost all emily's but i can say this is one of them i like the most. it's inspiring me to be someone that never cares of what people may think of us before we really do what we intend to do. if one somebody can banish or publish us, what will happen if we can't manage being with many of them :)
oftentime, a poem is stronger in supporting me than anything can give...
I think this poem is really inspiring and I think Emily has a wide range of knowledge. From my perspective, Emily is telling you to be yourself, and being like everyone else is boring.
what`s "hush can nununan casa flinken heish ulgen hoffer bolshi haethen shetr klinken" mean???
can someone translate for me?
what Ryan said is so true!!! I'd rather be a Nobody 10 times more than be a somebody. I wouldnt know how to act if i werent being myself! I wouldnt want to be a around a frog, someone thats tryin to hard to fit in when everyones born to stand out in their own way! be happy in your OWN SKIN!!!!
Is it possible that Emily was actually compltley insane and that we are all over analyzing this. The reason, because the frog refrence makes no sense to the rest of the poem. I think its very possible she was just completley insane
The frog reference does make sense. I haven't read too many previous posts so I don't know if this is explained or not but the similie that Dickinson uses to compare "somebodies" to frogs is genius. Frogs croak constantly making their existence known to the whole "bog" (swamp). We can also infer from this poem that Dickinson did consider herself a "nobody" because she was not well known while she was alive and only 10 of her poems were published. She does however illustrate a luxury in being a nobody that the dreary somebodies cannot understand.
xNelson
(high school senior)
This poem of Emily Dickinson’s, I’m nobody who are you?, is very comforting. I think the intent of this poem is to cheer you up when you’re feeling down and lonely. It’s supposed to remind you that whatever situation you’re in, whatever your feeling, you’re not alone. Someone else is feeling the same way you are. When Emily mentions nobodies, I think she means a person who is powerless and can’t change what or who they are. Because Emily continued to use I she is considering herself a nobody. This makes sense because she was very isolated her whole life and didn’t feel important while living.
To be nobody, that's Emily 's style,and that's Emily always wanted to be
Yes okay! We all get that being quite and mysterious is great but isn't this poem telling us to be ourselves have any of you ever considered that maybe the loud people in your class are being themselves. How on earth would you no if you don't talk to them and label them as something they are not. You never judge someone just because of the way they look, wear etc stop labeling them by societys acceptance of it.…
Read the whole commentYes okay! We all get that being quite and mysterious is great but isn't this poem telling us to be ourselves have any of you ever considered that maybe the loud people in your class are being themselves. How on earth would you no if you don't talk to them and label them as something they are not. You never judge someone just because of the way they look, wear etc stop labeling them by societys acceptance of it. maybe the loud people are affraid of being themselves maybe they are being themselves did you ever consider the fact that it might be the quite people that are scared of being themselves. loud and outgoing people are being themselves see you get it they couldn't give a rats what you people think cause they are enjoying life and expressing their feelings "being themselves"
whenever i feeling low, i write this poem out anywher and i read it and read it then i cry, i feel emily write it for me i related to this poem. really it is agood poem
Emily Dickensen's poem has been inferenced, analysed and crtisised!
Wow! I am surprised with the intrinsic interest in this poem.
I will add my own interpretation; and inference this poem using an old Chinese proverb; source unknown;'...he who has a lot to say; says too much and not enough, he has no depth in the spoken word. He who speaks little has much to say and has depth in what he says...'
I hope this inferencing is clear and understood.
Well this comment has alot of meaning to it.
Seems as if she is trying to tell you to be yourself...
ok.
Emily Dickinson is not talking about not having friends. It is much deeper than that. She comments on being a nobody, and she also comments on being banished. Isnt a nobody already banished from society either by themselves or by society? She didn't want to have friends... she like many other transcendentalist believed in SELF-RELIANCE. If she is not bringing up the idea that Nobodies are already banished, than surely her stating that she is a nobody is just another way of expressing her and Emerson's (whom which she was greatly inspired by) views on the poet not being above anybody else.
So I really found this poem interesting.
I agree that I feel this poem is saying "Yea! I'm a nobody! Who cares?"
I also found the frog part interesting, but what I don't understant is "the livelong June" is there a reference I am missing?
this is a very funny poem it epitomizes the poet's humor; it reveals Dickinson's tendency towards concealment and evasion, it also consolidates her preference for disguise as she eschews public scrutiny and flees social exhibition. She is a private poet and she conveys this through this poem
im no body means that she is against fame she isolates herself from this society cares only 4 outer appearance and showing off so some body is the opposite of no body as somebody is this showy peson she appreciated hard work so u can evaluate one by his work and his innerself also speaking about her personal side she defends herself as she was attacked in her writtings so the title shows her confidence its her own experience in life the poem is very deep has a moral lesson
i really was inspired by this poem especially this one. wht can i say to the whole world :
"BE UR SELF YO GUYS"
just fight for ur own rights dnt do wht society thinks is right ,they just think being like evr1 is da right thing to do ,oh no thy r wrg at tht point.
MORE OF THE SAME
Who is the miserable jerk-off who changed Emily's words? These are not the original words. Emily said nothing about "advertising." She did say "They'd banish us, you know." Thus the poem is about isolation, not being made publically exposed. For Emily, banishing was good. She liked that. Because, as the poem says, she wasn't a part of all the stupidity all around her. Sounds lika a good sentiment for today!
I'm Nobody...text
For those who were concened about the "word changes" in the version of "I'm nobody" that was posted: "Advertise" and "June" are actually Dickinson's words from the original manuscripts. She may have suggested "Banish us" and "bog" as alternates, but in the latest edition of her complete works, the editor Ralph Franklin has opted for "Advertise" and "June" as her preferred choices. Remember, she never had a chance to do the editng of her work. The original published poems were edited by others.
Discovery of the Universal in Personal
Dickinson unlike Wordsworth researches her true self .The background without and the within her had an incessant battle till her demise .She was spiritually throbbed ,even having no religious cult .Hers was a life of seclusion ,austerity ,ordeal ,and non attachment . In "I'm Nobody ,Who are you" ,the poetess signals a few words as ,- Bog ,Frog ,June and advertise .In those four words she reveals her mystic -feelings…
Read the whole commentDickinson unlike Wordsworth researches her true self .The background without and the within her had an incessant battle till her demise .She was spiritually throbbed ,even having no religious cult .Hers was a life of seclusion ,austerity ,ordeal ,and non attachment .
In "I'm Nobody ,Who are you" ,the poetess signals a
few words as ,- Bog ,Frog ,June and advertise .In those four words she reveals her mystic -feelings and warns the blunt headed worldly- religious-people who like a toad jump here and there knowing never not the truth .God needs no advertise .The apparent world itself is His canvas .To a seer He gets mirrored as "the livelong June" ,calm ,fresh ,and beauteous .Living in marshland , the frog-like fanatics announce the merits and demerits of their profit-reasoned religion.
Emily's realisation is certainly an aspirant's feeling .In fact we are none to display , advise , and command
Every one of us is in his/her own platform .
Subrata Ray .Mousumipara.Uluberia .West Bengal .India
I'm nobody
I've loved this poem since first read some 40 years ago. It has never been truer than now. Absolutely prophetic.
BEST EVER
THE BEST POEM EVER
Popular people are shallow; the nobodies can experience real friendship.
our english teacher told us about that poem..and its so cool!
i'm nobody
ivah is my classmate she's right our tchr. gave us this assignment about the poem of emily dickinson
Emily about Emily
I think Emily is right in that everyone is inclined to call Dickinson just Emily, because she is a woman. I find it curious then that you present yourself as jus t Emily ;-) In my comment on her poem Blossoms will run away, I address her as Miss Dickinson ...