Transcript Poem Analysis

Poem Analysis
I’m Nobody! Who are You?
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
I’m Nobody! Who Are You?
• II. Point of View
1. Who is the speaker in the poem?
2. Who is he/she talking to?
3. 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?
I’m Nobody! Who Are You?
1.
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?)
3. 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.)
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?
I’m Nobody! Who Are You?
• III. Imagery (language that appeals to the
five senses)
Words
What sense appealed to
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
I’m Nobody! Who Are You?
• IV. Figurative Language (metaphor, simile,
personification)
Word/Phrase Type What is being compared
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
I’m Nobody! Who Are You?
• V. Topic and theme
1. What is the subject matter?
2. What kind of tone does the speaker have?
Does this tone change throughout the
poem?
3. Write a sentence or two on the truth
about life that the poet is trying to
communicate.
I’m Nobody! Who Are You?
• V. Topic and theme
1. It deals with life, and people’s attitude toward
fame and publicity. (What does this poem
reveal about the poet’s life/personality?)
2. 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.
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. (?)
I’m Nobody! Who Are You?
• Let’s watch a short film in
which a few girls act out this poem.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdFH6
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