Choose either “we real cool” or “i’m nobody” to analyze. then, evaluate the poem for the appropriateness and effect of the diction and imagery. be sure to use lines from the poem to support your analysis.

In “I’m Nobody” by Emily Dickinson, the diction is surprising because she spins the usual negative connotation of the word “nobody” into a positive message and does the opposite for the usually positive word “somebody.” The “nobody” in the poem is proud to be a nobody; the speaker declares confidently in the first line, “I’m nobody!” and quickly makes a new friend of the reader: “Are you nobody, too?/Then there’s a pair of us—don’t tell!” The “somebody,” usually accepted, is the outsider in this poem and is compared to a frog. The imagery of the somebody as a frog is particularly powerful. The reader can clearly imagine a pompous frog sitting in the middle of a bog, croaking confidently. However, the reader is aware that the bog is just the wet environment of the frog. It’s just the frog’s imagination if it thinks the bog is admiring it!

I hope this helps!