Dickinson seemed to hold her contemporaries in contempt not so much for accepting the status quo but for their inability to question their own culture and to understand that common words could convey a variety of meanings. Weisbuch observes that Dickinson used words to their greatest ability and contrived a puzzle for the intellect giving rise to thought, not just for a moment but for long after the poem was read. Weisbuch states that Emily Dickinson set out "to make words mean as much as they can" (13).
In The Undiscovered Continent, Suzanne Juhasz suggests that Dickinson, through her imagination, contrived a house in the mind wherein she could live. The house of poetry provided safety and security while at the same time gave her the opportunity to imaginatively pursue endless possibilities. Juhasz concentrates on several of Dickinson's poems addressing the idea of enclosed mental strength. Juhasz notes that "In all of these poems the enclosure experienced in the place of the mind, an enclosure that can mean confinement and internal strife, is established with an architectural vocabulary" (19). Juhasz suggests that the imagination established a secluded haven for Dickinson. She disguised her poetry with the use of words and created a house that was perceived as open to all who could imagine it and closed to those who could not understand the meaning of the poetry. In discussing "I dwell," Juhasz notes that "This house is 'Possibility,' the imagination. Dwelling there, the lady of the manor makes not cakes but poetry . . . . because of the power of the imagination, the 'housewife' can be a poet" (20). These observances clarify Dickinson's egalitarianism wherein she believed everyone had the opportunity to access the outer limits of the mind.
In "'I dwell in Possibility': ED in the Subjenctive [sic] Mood," Suzanne Juhasz suggests that Emily Dickinson used the subjunctive verb tense in order to allow the intellect to be safe and bold at the same time. Juhasz explores "the function of the subjunctive mood in her [Emily Dickinson's] poetry, finding it to provide protection for extreme daring: a formal, rhetorical, hypothetical framework circumscribing intense, extravagant emotional reality" (105). Juhasz notes that "The subjunctive structure consistently provides protection for the speaker of the poem, so that her excessive emotional states can be expressed within a context that is overtly hypothetical" (108). Although "I dwell" is not written in the subjunctive mood, Juhasz uses it to describe that mood. Juhasz notes that "To dwell in Possibility does not mean, for Dickinson, to dwell in unreality. Possibility, as her poem on the subject maintains, is the space of the mind and of the poem: the space of emotional and intellectual experience. Dickinson's poems in the subjunctive mood are one version of that strategy with which she as woman and poet could in fact achieve both power and safety. By living in the mind, in Possibility, she [Emily Dickinson] establishes a harbor from which she can do no less than gather Paradise" (109).

On the other hand, it is important to note that this "religion" is not conventional but the newly created Transcendental myth that says, through connection to the oversoul, it is possible to reach out and "gather paradise." In other words, the realm of the oversoul is the only true place where humans and nature are in complete harmony, and for this reason it seems quite like a paradise.
Dickinson suggests, then, that the oversoul becomes the only channel in which the women of this restricted era may seek their own identity and find a connection with the whole of humanity. Dickinson illustrates this quite well throughout "I dwell in Possibility"; as Weisbuch and New demonstrate, the Transcendental ideal played a major part in her poetry, just as it perhaps played a role in the later readers of the work. Critical readings of Emily Dickinson's "I dwell in Possibility" suggest that Emily Dickinson had found a way to survive in a world not quite alien to her but a world which she viewed as being unaware of the wealth of communication available through poetry. According to critics, Emily Dickinson's poetry was her life, a life which was filled with double meanings and contradictions; these double meanings and contradictions became embedded in her poetry and provided it with provocativeness and richness. While the critics focus on different aspects of "I dwell in Possibility," they all agree that in this poem Emily Dickinson describes poetry as providing her the freedom to see beyond the obvious and thus allows her to explore endless possibilities without discretion or interruption. In Emily Dickinson's Poetry, Robert Weisbuch explains that Emily Dickinson lived in an intellectual Paradise that allowed her to use poetry to navigate her mind into uncharted and forbidden places through various meanings and uses of words. Weisbuch notes that "Dickinson discovered that the most ordinary word, tenderly nurtured in the mind's rich soil, could become a signifier of utmost mysteries . . ." (1). He explains that Emily Dickinson used words to enable her to circumnavigate the usual and invent the sublime in her mind. Weisbuch uses "I dwell" in the introduction to his book as an example of Emily Dickinson's unique vision. Words such as "chambers" and "impregnable" used in conjunction with a word like "everlasting" give rise to the idea of a dense, impenetrable, confined space. Yet the house described in the poem was not impenetrable but was, instead, a secure house of freedom.

In Emily Dickinson and the Problem of Others, Christopher Benfey says, "This poem . . . says something about privacy, as though privacy is tied in some necessary way to what Dickinson calls ‘possibility.’ The chambers must be ‘Impregnable of Eye’ if it is truly to be a dwelling place of possibility. Prose would then correspond to the public realm" (28). Benfey suggests that privacy is necessary for Emily Dickinson's opportunity. She must be completely enclosed and away from the public realm because the public realm would only interfere with a woman's attempt to establish an identity or connect to community. The private spaces are necessary because only within them will the door of opportunity open to show her the way to the "Gambrels of the Sky--." This image suggests that for Emily Dickinson creating poetry is a journey to the spiritual world. In this world, Emily Dickinson connects to the oversoul, where the "Visitors" are the "fairest" and where everything will be transparent and clear. In the last stanza, Dickinson describes the actual "occupation" of the poet as one which allows for exploration in order to reach the oversoul. She describes this exploration when she says, "The spreading wide of my narrow Hands / To gather Paradise." Here the spreading of her narrow hands implies that as she is writing her poetry she is able to surpass all that she could have conceived of achieving. In "Difficult Writing, Difficult God: Emily Dickinson's Poems Beyond Circumference," Elisa New suggests that while many of Emily Dickinson's poems may show a qualified Transcendentalism, "I dwell in Possibility" demonstrates her belief in Transcendental philosophy: Dickinson is as capable as any Emersonian transcendentalist of writing poems of heady optimism, poems of a renewed and purified Christianity. . . . 'I dwell in Possibility' promises all in one leap the simultaneous ventilation of both poetry and religion. (6)

However, Dickinson believed that the best inspiration came from doing without. I believe that this is the basis for "I'm Nobody! Who are you?" Dickinson not only chose to be a "Nobody," she preferred it. She enjoyed herself the most when she was alone, tending the gardens around her family home, writing poetry, reading. Her choice to publish her poems anonymously is a direct reflection of her choice to be a nobody. For this reason, I would argue that the poem "I'm Nobody! Who are you?" is a direct reflection of Dickinson's ideals on life."Are you -- Nobody -- too?" The friendships that Dickinson kept in her life were intimate. There were so intimate, in fact, that her sexuality is often questioned based on the letters she wrote to her friends. All of the people that theorists have connected to Dickinson as being the "love" she spoke of in her poems are people to whom she corresponded with by letters, men and women alike. This second line paired with the third, "Then there's a pair of us!" suggests that Dickinson was not so much of a recluse. Rather, she was looking for another "Nobody," another person who valued anonymity, to spend her time with.Two nobodies together are no longer nobodies. Dickinson wanted to find another "Nobody," but not because she wanted to become a "Somebody." As a "Somebody," she'd have to face the scrutiny that comes from being in the public-eye. In her life, she was scrutinized for refusing to sign an oath professing her Christianity. Additionally, she was scrutinized by the editor of the Atlantic Monthly when she submitted her poetry to them -- he asked her to revise them. Dickinson did not want to be banished from being a "Nobody" because she didn't want to have to face scrutiny from others toward her ideals, life decisions, and work. As a "Nobody," she could comfortably be herself.

The poem “I dwell in Possibility” is using possibility as a synonym for poetry. The fact that possibility also is tied into some necessary privacy, I see a relationship between privacy and poetry. None of Emily Dickinson’s poetry was published with her name until after her death, and her poetry explains her longing for privacy and individuality in her poetry. These two specific poems are examples of why not only her poetry was kept secret, but also her personal life, as portrayed in “I’m nobody! Who are you?”. In another Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Letter to the Universe” there is also a reoccurring theme of solitude and privacy. The line that says, “The simple news that Nature told, With tender majesty” means that her poetry was of the things that were obvious in life, sent with love. “Her message is committed To hands I cannot see” is a direct reflection that nature has a message for the world, the place Emily Dickinson excluded herself from.

In The Undiscovered Continent: Emily Dickinson and the Space of Mind, Suzanne Juhasz states that: "Possibility is a concept: it is the idea of the imagination itself, where what has not occurred in external reality may be thought of as occurring". The world of poetry for Dickinson then, as for many Transcendentalists, is the window to the realm of possibility, the realm of the oversoul.

The final lines of this poem, “The spreading wide my narrow Hands To gather Paradise” shows that such small hands can acquire so much, especially through poetry. Since Emily Dickinson’s poetry was never published by her, there’s no explanation to what her poems mean. However, it is contradictory on weather this poem is relating to gender controversy or not. During this time, women were not granted the same freedom as the men were, and Emily Dickinson’s poetry reflected such a longing to become free and to have many possibilities. It is certain though that this poem is about how poetry provides her the freedom to see beyond the obvious things in life and rather deeper, like chambers as the Cedars as she describes in her poem.
This poem ties in closely with “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” because they are both about being secretive and alone, but in a good way. In Emily Dickinson’s Poetry, Robert Weisbuch explains that Emily Dickinson lived in an intellectual Paradise that allowed her to use poetry to navigate her mind into uncharted and forbidden places through various meanings and uses of words. I agree with this statement and I believe that Emily Dickinson uses words to their full potential. In “I dwell in Possibility”, Dickinson uses words like “impregnable” and “chambers” and “everlasting” which give idea that it would be a hollow, perhaps a rather mysterious place that’s described. Yet the house that is portrayed in this poem is a full of windows with a roof that never ends and superior doors, which give you a sense of safety and freedom.

Procrastination is Key...wait, what?

Emily Dickinson has shown some similar themes in her poetry. Dickinson only published about ten poems in her lifetime, all of which anonymously. The style of her poetry is similar in most of her poems, where she uses dashes and unconventional capitalization. Her particular style of writing, vocabulary, and imagination bind together to create a very unique and popular lyric style of poetry. Three of Emily Dickinson’s poems, “I’m nobody! Who are you?”, “I dwell in Possibility”, and “Letter to the Universe” all share the common themes of solitude, privacy, and freedom.
In Emily Dickinson’s poem “I’m nobody! Who are you?” shows an excitement and curiosity towards finding someone who is nobody like her. Dickinson’s choice to only publish her poems anonymously is a direct reflection of her choice to be a nobody. There’s a line in the poem that reads, “Don’t tell! They’d advertise—you know!” (697) which implies that she doesn’t want the publicity in her personal life or her poetry. She compares being “somebody” to being like a frog, which in my opinion are noticed by all people, but never really thought about twice.

In the poem “I dwell in Possibility” Emily Dickinson represents poetry as being something private and personal. She uses possibility as a form of poetry and it’s comparison with Prose, the opposite of poetry. The line that reads: “A fairer House than Prose —More numerous of Windows—“relates to the opportunities and freedom that poetry creates compared to Prose. In this poem I believe that she’s talking about the House of Poetry, which is described as free, open, and creative.