What Figurative Language Is I Am Nobody?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

, , , ,

What figurative language is I am nobody?

Oxymoron

: It is a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunctions. For example, the first two lines of the poem, “I'm Nobody!

How does Emily Dickinson use Paradox?

The paradox of Emily Dickinson's life is that

from her seclusion, she is able to tell the world more about the truth of human love, suffering and loss than the world itself maybe aware of

. Her life may be said to have been almost monastic.

What is the primary theme of the poem I'm nobody who are you?

is one of Emily Dickinson's short , being only two stanzas, eight lines, in length. It has the classic hallmarks of a Dickinson poem, namely lots of dashes, unorthodox punctuation and exquisite use of words. The main theme is

self-identity

and all that goes with it.

How does Emily Dickinson use irony and sarcasm?

Perhaps one of the most obvious examples of Emily Dickinson's irony and sarcasm is

her short poem “I'm Nobody! Who are you?”

First, saying “I'm Nobody” is verbal irony, because everybody is somebody. Verbal irony means that the words say the opposite of what is meant or what is true.

What is as simile?

A simile is

a phrase that uses a comparison to describe

.

For example, “life” can be described as similar to “a box of chocolates.” You know you've spotted one when you see the words like or as in a comparison.

Figurative language makes meaning by

asking the reader or listener to understand something by virtue of its relation to some other thing, action, or image

. Figurative language can be contrasted with literal language, which describes something explicitly rather than by reference to something else.

The possibility of conferring meaning to a meaninglessword is the purpose of Dickinson's search, trying to find the outlines, the limits of meaning and truth. To do so,

she employs strategies

. That is why she called a paradox-poet.

What is the meaning of the two paradoxes, or apparent contradictions in the first three lines of ” Much Madness is divinest sense”

People who are considered ” mad” make sense. People who have much ” sense” are mad. Nonconformists who go against society's standards have divinest sense.

This “admiring Bog” represents

those people who allow the public figures to think they are important

, the general masses who lift them up. These masses are not even granted the respect of having a sentient being to represent them.

In the second and final stanza of this short poem, Dickinson declares, “How dreary – to be – Somebody! / How public – like a Frog – / To tell one's name – the livelong June – / To an admiring Bog!” She is basically

comparing popular people to frogs, ones who won't become princes no matter how many kisses they get

.

Personification examples



The sun smiled down on us

.” ‘The story jumped off the page.” “The light danced on the surface of the water.”

  • Life is a highway.
  • Her eyes were diamonds.
  • He is a shining star.
  • The snow is a white blanket.
  • She is an early bird.

A simile is a figure of speech that compares two otherwise dissimilar things, often introduced by the words like or as (‘you are like a summer's day'). A metaphor is when a word is used in place of another to suggest a likeness (‘you are a summer's day').

Personification is

the attribution of human characteristics to non-living objects

. Using personification affects the way readers imagine things, and it sparks an interest in the subject.

No one, nobody, nothing and nowhere are

indefinite pronouns

. We use no one, nobody, nothing and nowhere to refer to an absence of people, things or places. We use them with a singular verb: Nobody ever goes to see her.

In the poem, “I'm Nobody, Who are You”, which of the following statements best summarizes a theme of the poem?

It is better to maintain a private identity than to seek fame and recognition.

The brain is wider than the sky despite the sky's awesome size because

the brain is able to incorporate the universe into itself, and thereby even to absorb the ocean

. The source of this capacity, in this poem, is God.

A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically unacceptable conclusion.

As a rhetorical device, paradox is “

a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth

.” Rhetorical devices—which include our old friends metaphor and hyperbole—are used to make a point when you're speaking.

Amira Khan
Author
Amira Khan
Amira Khan is a philosopher and scholar of religion with a Ph.D. in philosophy and theology. Amira's expertise includes the history of philosophy and religion, ethics, and the philosophy of science. She is passionate about helping readers navigate complex philosophical and religious concepts in a clear and accessible way.