Emily Dickinson Poem Analysis - Essay Example

Emily Dickinson Poem Analysis “I Am Nobody! Who Are You?” by I decided to analyze one of the rightest and the most typical I would say poems of Emily Dickinson “I am nobody! Who are you?” Emily Dickinson was a rather complicated and unsociable and most her verses can still be seen as revelations and confessions coming deep from her heart. The verse we are talking about was not written for entertainment obviously because Dickinson did not have a goal to make someone laugh or smile with her verses, for her they were much more serious than for any other author. All in all, entertainment as a goal is not typical for most poets who try to say the most sincere and the most private things in poetical form because only this form often helps to explain inexplicable. Thus, for the author the possibility to share her inner anxiety and fears a well as to externalize her internal served as an impact for creation of this poem. Poem is genre is often underestimated by common people because they find it difficult to interpret symbols and to follow the peculiarities of the structure. Yet, in my opinion poem is one of the most potent and powerful genres because poem is never limited in images it can create. There is a possibility to speak with words as well as to speak with evasion, understatement, hints and symbols. Not surprisingly poetry is often considered to be on highest level of written word. Paradoxically enough Emily Dickinson who is now considered one of the most influential women in literature spent a quiet ad secluded life in rural America. She crated almost two thousands poems during her lifetime but managed to publish only small part of them when she was alive. And that poem may seem as one of Dickinson`s most eloquent odes to seclusion, solitude, and privacy but that is not quite so. “I Am Nobody! Who are you?” is not a poem of alienation and separation in my opinion it is still a poem that aims to unite people and bring them closer to each other. Though the author looks like an independent and self-sufficient person proclaiming that she is Nobody in the very second line she immediately breaks through her solitude to learn who is there near her. Dickinson hopes that the person she can meet can be the same Nobody and therefore they can be reunited on the basis of their common aspiration for individuality and personal space. The author is different from the rest of the world even in her extraordinary ability to proclaim that is Nobody but her ability to search for someone similar to her, someone who could instantly understand her inner world and this strange desire of remaining Nobody reveals her tender side. That is what Burke was talking about, according to him, alienation and is inevitable for human existence ad it is rhethoric that can break this vicious circle of separation (Burke) . I case of Dickinson it is bold, free, and very brave rhethoric, a possibility to proclaim that she is Nobody I the very first line that can help to overcome alienation. Dickinson is looking for a soulmate so to say but she does not want just anybody she wants someone special someone who could interpret her rhetoric in a right way. For instance, the line “How dreary – to be – Somebody!” will not be understood by most people. What is so dreary in being Somebody? But for some people, introverted and concentrated on their inner self, being somebody means showing themselves too much to others, creating public image and “selling” oneself to others metaphorically. In this context Burke`s concept of Identification becomes clearer. The author states that Identification is pervasive for human existence and that all of us regardless of our social status, profession, and age strive to identify ourselves with others because we all share common notion of consubstantiality on the basic level. Further people aim to find someone similar to them in perception of the world. For Dickinson these people she aims to identify herself with are the people who prefer being Nobody than shouting about themselves on public “ like a Frog”, those who value inner peace and silence. This small and brief poem is yet full of symbols. Beginning from personal pronouns written from capital letters symbolizing lack of material ad personal (applicable to each and every) ending with the repulsive image of irritating frog singing loudly on a swamp. It is problematic to apply the concept of Burke`s dramatistic pentad to the poem “I am nobody! Who are you?” because only several notions from this pentad can be covered. Therefore, knowing the agent and the act, it is still difficult to understand the exact concept of scene and agency (nevertheless, the purpose can be easily determined without the last two concepts) because we definitely lack information due to the specificity of a poetic genre. As for Burke`s theory of form it is possible to suggest that the verse belongs to qualitative form because the introduction of one quality “I am nobody!” makes readers anticipate for subsequent introduction of the next quality making the whole poem unfold subtly. It seems that readers “are put into a state of mind which another state of mind can appropriately follow” (Burke, 1968). The situation also determines the narration to a great extent. Thus, according to Bitzer, any type of rhetoric is situational which means that if narration is deprived of a context it can lose its meaning partially or completely (1968). It is also understood that rhetoric comes to existence as a response to some situation, and in case of Dickinson, it is the situation of subconscious public critique of her way of life I isolation and seclusion. The poet feels oppressed by the general position of the public which aims to criticize whose who do not seek attention and public acceptance. However, Dickinson does not choose this general public, common people, “frogs” as she calls them as her audience. She refers to the chosen people who are brave enough to consider themselves “nobody”. The author even recommends her audience; however I feel that the audience can be limited to several people in the whole world, not to tell about themselves: “Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!”. The constraint in the case of Dickinson is public common opinion which aims to make everyone alike. The author of the poem is driven by exigence to find someone alike even if there is only one person on the planet who can understand her. Thus, the situation of invisible public oppression that is aimed to make every person “somebody”. To fit into some social category makes an introverted poetess search for soulmates brave enough to fall out of common categories. From the perspective of language “I am Nobody! Who are you?” represents a very interesting and peculiar phenomenon. Bakhtin suggests that all languages demonstrates specific point of view on the world, characterized by its own meaning and values. In this view, language is "shot through with intentions and accents”(Bakhtin, 1994). In this regard the choice of the words by Dickinson sheds light on her world perception. The author writes pronouns from the capital letter and intentionally deprives herself of a name substituting it with a personal pronoun. Moreover, further, after being tremendous and persuasive, Dickinson uses the word “frog” like a nickname from children`s world. Such utilization of the language suggests that Dickinson had very sensitive, even childish which means acute perception of reality. And is impossible to deny that the author`s voice is evident in narrative. Dickinson, as it was already mentioned, lived a secluded life and all her personality was shown with the help of her poems. In this very poem we clearly see a young, talented woman longing for a friend who would share her understanding of the world. Visual content of the poem of Dickinson is very powerful as well. The rhetoric of display helps the reader to see the narration not only hear and feel it (Blair & Lester, 1968). Dickinson craftily creates emptiness with her extensive use of pronouns: empty nobodys join a pair. The author is not afraid to represent herself as void, as air. The imagery id full of space on this level, however, further when there appears somebody the visual realm of the poem fills with material and common things: frogs in June. References Bakhtin, M. & Booth, W. Rhetoric as narration Bitzer, L. (1968) The rhetorical situation, Philosophy and Rhetoric. Blair, C. & Lester. O. (1968) Rhetoric as display Burke, K. Rhetoric as symbolic action Burke, K. (1968) Counter-Statement, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. Read More