18 pages • 36 minutes read
Emily DickinsonI'm Nobody! Who Are You?
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1891A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
“When I Peruse the Conquer’d Fame” by Walt Whitman (1867)
In this poem from the famous Leaves of Grass collection by Dickinson’s literary contemporary Walt Whitman, he writes about his lack of jealousy for the fame of “mighty generals” (Line 2). Instead, it is the “brotherhood of lovers” (Line 6), a shared connection over time that fills him with envy. Similarly, Dickinson takes comfort in her nobody status, perhaps sharing it with one other special person, but she is not interested in advertising it to the wide, open public.
“anyone lived in a pretty how town” by E. E. Cummings (1923)
In this popular Cummings poem, the main character is named anyone, and anyone lives his life and dies without any notice by the others in the town. In fact, “Women and men (both little and small) cared for anyone not at all” (Lines 5-6). The theme of anonymity is present in this poem, as it is in “I’m Nobody! Who Are You?” Also similar in both poems is the use of four-line stanzas, or quatrains, and a unique presentation of the English language, the ordering of words and the lowercase in Cummings’s poem and punctuation and particularly dashes in Dickinson’s.
“Fame is a bee” by Emily Dickinson (1999)
R. W. Franklin edited this particular version of the poem for the 1999 collection The Poems of Emily Dickinson. In this four-line poem, Dickinson compares fame to a bee: It has a song and stings simultaneously. The idea of fame is connected to the idea of a life in the private versus the public eye, as addressed in “I’m Nobody! Who Are You?” It seems that while Dickinson lived a secluded life, she did consider publication and what fame might entail based on her letters and the series of poems she wrote about the imperfection of fame.
“Fame is a fickle food” by Emily Dickinson (1999)
From the same collection as “Fame is a bee” and with a similar theme, this 10-line poem explores fame in its various phases related to food and the dinner table, including inviting guests and then not inviting them a second time and how the crumbs from the meal are not even good enough for the crows. Dickinson’s ultimate statement about fame comes in the final line, when she writes, “Men eat of it and die” (Line 10). This final line is reminiscent of her attitude in “I’m Nobody! Who Are You?” in which her stance is that being somebody is just terrible.
“Fame is the one that does not stay” by Emily Dickinson (1999)
Also from The Poems of Emily Dickinson collection, this poem continues to address the theme of fame’s fleetingness as “its occupant must die” (Line 2). Like “Fame is a fickle food,” Dickinson mentions the theme of death in relation to fame, suggesting fame’s underbelly or undoing. When examining “I’m Nobody! Who Are You” in relation to these other poems of Dickinson’s on fame, it seems clear that being nobody would be the safer, even healthier choice to make.
Further Literary Resources
Letters of Emily Dickinson edited by Mabel Loomis Todd (1894)
This is the first publishing of Dickinson’s letters by her brother’s lover in a long history of her letters being published throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, documented by the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, MA. Todd, who never met Dickinson and called her the “lady whom the people call the Myth,” selected and edited this collection of letters. Because of her unsuccessful relationship with Susan Gilbert, her lover’s wife, Todd often downplayed the role Gilbert played in Dickinson’s life.
Emily Dickinson: A Collection of Critical Essays edited by Judith Farr (1995)
In this collection of 18 essays, various authors share their insights on Dickinson’s poems, including framing her work in a religious or a feminist light. Some authors, like Kamilla Denman and Cristanne Miller, focus on Dickinson’s use of grammar and punctuation in her poetry. Also included in the book are a biography and an annotated bibliography for further reference.
Open Me Carefully: Emily Dickinson’s Intimate Letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson edited by Ellen Louise Hart and Martha Nell Smith (1998)
Dickinson’s complex relationship with her sister-in-law, namely their correspondence over the course of 36 years, has been censored and hushed for many years, confounding scholars and readers who study her work and life. In this collection, the letters are faithfully reproduced, without much editing, to show their supportive relationship with some brief commentary by the editors. Renee Tursi reviews this book in a 1998 New York Times article titled “Two Belles of Amherst.”
These Fevered Days: Ten Pivotal Moments in the Making of Emily Dickinson by Martha Ackmann (2020)
In this book, Ackmann selects and examines 10 critical moments that she feels showcase Dickinson as the legendary American poet she became. Using Dickinson’s letters, poems, and lesser-known photos, she focuses on a plethora of examples from Dickinson’s complicated relationship with religion as a young woman to her later relationships with writers and editors during her time of reclusiveness.
Listen to Poem
Julie Harris performs “I’m Nobody! Who Are You?” in a production of The Belle of Amherst in 2017.
Related Titles
By Emily Dickinson
