Poetry

Poetry Packet

Poetry Project   see the Media Center page on edline
 * A ****ssignment **
 * Example Annotated Bibliography **
 * Citation Help **

 TP-FASTT 
 * Handouts on Explication **
 * ﻿ **

SOAPSTone 

=Oodles of Explications!= The speaker communicates with the audience in an outgoing and proud manner when she immediately announces "I'm Nobody!" The loud and exclamatory statement is seemingly unfitting of a true nobody. She is claiming her status as a "nobody" and taking pride in it, so she is showing she does not feel the label as an insult but rather something worth owning. She doesn't feel being a somebody is that special. it would be "dreary...to be...like a Frog...to tell one's name...the livelong June" and constantly having to be somebody and never have the opportunity to change yourself or hide away. "I'm Nobody!" tells the audience that just because labels assigned by others may not define you, you can still find a way to label yourself as something that you feel fits you. What people may assume to be desirable--"to be somebody"--may in fact be vulgar to someone else. The speaker happily prefers the label of a nobody or possibly anything but "somebody." || 2. In Emily Dickinson's "I'm Nobody! Who are you?" develops the signifcance of being an individual yet alone and looking for companionship. The speaker is questioning who his audience believes himself to be. Comparing himself to a "Frog," the speaker expresses his conflicting feelings about those who are not like him (line 6). Using literary devices such as punctuation, capitalization and personification, the speaker expresses his "Nobody" status in an unusual way. The reader first notices the exclamation "I'm Nobody!" (line 1). The exclamation point after a statement such as this is uncharacteristic and directly contradicts the subject matter. The fact that the speaker questions the audience by asking "Who are you?" after so boldly stating "I'm Nobody!" shows the security that she feels in being "Nobody." By using caesura in multiple lines, an emphais is created on words that might create a conflict within the reader. They also emphasize the thoughts that the speaker may want to withhold. Comparing "Nobody" to a "Frog" and "Somebody" to a "Bog" shows that although the frog may seem insignificant, like a nobody, the somebody is insignificant also because of what it is compared to. || Dickinson opens the poem with three questions, showing the speaker's eagerness to find a companion that shares the same joy in being a nobody. The speaker's enthusiastic exclamation in the first line: "I'm Nobody!," in which "nobody" is capitalized, glorifies the status of being a nobody. This point is furthur demonstrated in the next line: "Are you -- Nobody -- too?," in which "Nobody" stands alone, representing the speaker who is alone and looking for a companion. The speaker's eagerness is further portrayed through the fact that she doesn't wait for an answer but goes immediately to describing them as "a pair." The final connection made by the speaker in the concluding sentence compares the frog's life in June to the brevity of fame. || 4. Emily Dickinson's "I'm Nobody! Who are you?" is a poem that delves into the idea that being well-known is not always ideal. The conversational tone leads the reader to forming their own perspective on the subject. The speaker identifies herself as "Nobody" and does so in an exclamatory statement, indicating that she is comfortable with who she is. She directly speaks to the reader in the next questions: "Who are you?/are you -- Nobody --too?" The mocking tone of the second stanza demonstrates the speaker's true feelings about being "Somebody." Being somebody is compared, in a simile, to a "Frog," which has a negative connotation. || The speaker proposes an interesting view of society. She separates herself and the audience from society by saying "there's a pair of us" indicating they are the only two. She further creates the divide by saying "they'd advertise" showing there is a difference between the audience and everyone else. This generalizes, and at the same time, villifies society to show its self absorbance. She personifies the frog as society by asserting "how public -- like a Frog -- " which is saying society projects itself as better than everyone else: like a frog in a bog. The irony is that the bog is filled with frogs, none better than the next. Dickinson's final statement leaves the reader with the feeling of individuality, and not conforming with society. Within the poem, both "Nobody" and "Somebody" are capitalized to show that you don't have to sacrifice your individuality to be important. || 6. Emily Dickinson's poem "I am Nobody! Who are you?" is an extended metaphor for the absence of recognition in society. Through a series of declarations and questions Dickinson develops her stance. With her initial declaration "I am Nobody!" it is clear that she is proud of her status in society. With the question that follows, "Who are you?," she is asking readers to look inward and contemplate their own self worth. The next line when the speaker asks "Are you -- Nobody --too?" indicates she's looking for company. The dashes indicate her hesitance to ask, afraid she might be let down if they turn out to be "Somebody." The next questions, "Then there's a pair of us?" shows her excitement and possible disbelief as it's a question. A period at the end would be emotionless. The fact that she was so elated to find a pair makes her seem less confident in being a lone "Nobody." "Don't tell They'd adverise -- you know!" seems like she wants this relationship to remain secret to stay untouched or untainted by society or the "Bog." All in all, society and its pressures to be "somebody" are negatively referenced as an "admiring Bog." || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; overflow: hidden;">**I ran out of time, so I was not able to type up all, but I think these should help!** The Explication Powerpoint from Class
 * 1. In Emily Dickinson's "I'm Novody! Who are you?" the speaker desires the choice to identify herself. The speaker claims to be alone and a "Nobody." However, the speaker is proud of her "nobody" status. They seem to find being a "Somebody" "dreary" and repetitive.
 * 3. "I'm Nobody! Who are you?" by Emily Dickinson declares the speaker's satisfaction with being a "Nobody" and her sardonic disdain for the vacuous morals of the "Somebody"s.
 * 5. The poem "I'm Nobody!" by Emily Dickinson explores the concept of individuality in society. This is illustrated by Dickinson beginning with the question "Who are you?," which directly questions the reader's concept of self. She immediately establishes a friendly and informal tone using personal pronouns to connect with the reader as an individual.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; overflow: hidden;">Developing your thesis <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; overflow: hidden;">Steps for developing your essay <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; overflow: hidden;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; overflow: hidden;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; overflow: hidden;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; overflow: hidden;">Example compare/contrast ap exam essays <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; overflow: hidden;">[] <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; overflow: hidden;">[]
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; overflow: hidden;">Handouts on Comparison Essay **