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Mr Nobody Close Reading

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Mr Nobody Close Reading

Read the original poem below, then complete the questions. Use short quotations as evidence where asked. More than one interpretation may be reasonable if it is supported by the poem.

Mr Nobody

I know a funny little man,\nAs quiet as a mouse,\nWho does the mischief that is done\nIn everybody’s house!\n\nThere’s no one ever sees his face,\nAnd yet we all agree\nThat every plate we break was cracked\nBy Mr Nobody.\n\n’Tis he who always tears our books,\nWho leaves the door ajar;\nHe pulls the buttons from our shirts,\nAnd scatters pins afar;\n\nThat squeaking door will always squeak,\nFor, prithee, don’t you see,\nWe leave the oiling to be done\nBy Mr Nobody.\n\nThe finger marks upon the door\nBy none of us are made;\nWe never leave the blinds unclosed,\nTo let the curtains fade;\nThe ink we never spill; the boots\nThat lying round you see\nAre not our boots—they all belong\nTo Mr Nobody.

Investigate the clues

The speaker blames an unseen character for ordinary household mess and damage. Read closely: notice both what the poem says and what its playful excuses suggest.

1.Which description best fits the poem’s speaker?

A witness who has seen Mr Nobody doing the mischief
A playful voice pretending not to know who causes the mess
A visitor warning a family about a real intruder
A servant giving instructions for cleaning

2.Select the three nouns that name things Mr Nobody is said to affect.

plate
quiet
buttons
squeaking
curtains

3.In “As quiet as a mouse”, what technique is used, and what does it suggest about the man?

4.Which line most clearly shows that Mr Nobody is a humorous excuse rather than a person the speaker has actually seen?

“Who does the mischief that is done”
“There’s no one ever sees his face”
“He pulls the buttons from our shirts”
“That squeaking door will always squeak”

5.The poem lists broken plates, torn books and missing buttons. What effect does this list have on the reader? Support your answer with two examples.

6.Choose the best meaning of “ajar” in “Who leaves the door ajar”.

slightly open
locked tightly
hanging crookedly
painted brightly

7.Explain the irony in the lines about the squeaking door and “leave the oiling to be done / By Mr Nobody”.

8.How does the repeated naming of “Mr Nobody” help shape the poem’s rhythm and humour?

9.What human behaviour does Mr Nobody represent? Give one detail from the poem as evidence.

10.Imagine the speaker finally admits what happened. Write two sentences in the speaker’s voice, taking responsibility for one mess from the poem and explaining how it will be fixed.