Wednesday, March 14, 2018

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. Furthermore, Dickinson capitalizes Nobody, indicating that Nobody is somebody. She then goes on to ask the reader/listener if he or she is also Nobody and assumes the answer is yes because "then there's a pair of us." The irony continues—the speaker knows the audience is somebody. The speaker then urges silence since "they'd advertise." This is also ironic because if someone is nobody, then he or she is unimportant and therefore must be unworthy of being advertised.
The second stanza reverses the perspective but continues the irony. The speaker asserts that being "Somebody" must be dreary. The capitalization and context of Somebody suggest the definition of the word as "a person of importance or authority." Normally, such a person would be considered fascinating, not "dreary." The speaker then critiques the pretentiousness of Somebodies: They croak out their names incessantly to their admirers. Here the sarcasm is discernible. Those who admire the Somebodies are labeled the "Bog." Most people would feel insulted if you called them a bog. A bog is swampy, sometimes smelly, and not nearly as picturesque as a lake, stream, or other body of water. Dickinson ends the poem on a note of mockery.
Dickinson uses irony and sarcasm in other poems as well; this short poem is an excellent example of her incisive wit.
https://literarydevices.net/sarcasm/

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