As one of Emily Dickinson’s few poems that were published during her life, “I taste a liquor never brewed” explores the complexity of nature and its intoxicating power. Dickinson employs an extended metaphor of drunkenness to convey the captivation that the beauty of nature provides (“Overview”). Written in alternating verses of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter, four quatrains comprise the entirety of this lyrical poem. All of the verses follow this pattern with the exception of verse 15: “to see the little tippler”. It should have four feet, but is missing one syllable. Consequently, the reader must break his or her rhythm resulting in suspense and emphasis of the final verse. Additionally, Emily Dickinson often uses unorthodox punctuation
…show more content…
Line 1, “I taste a liquor never brewed” indicates that the speaker is not tasting alcohol, but something else. Line 2, “from tankards scooped in pearl”, provides the image of a mug of beer. Tankards are mugs in which people serve beer. Scooped in pearl is an image for the white foam of beer, yet also serves to place the unknown toxicant above alcohol because “pearls” are of high value. Line 3, “not all the vats upon the Rhine”, alludes to a main river that runs through Germany. Dickinson probably elected this image because Germany is known for its production of alcohol (“Overview”). In the conclusion of the first stanza, the speaker declares that the vats on the Rhine will not “yield such an alcohol” compared to the one she tastes. In lines 5 and 6, “inebriate of air am I, and debauchee of dew”, the speaker reveals what intoxicates her: air and dew. Inebriate and debauchee are both words associated with indulgence and excess. The air and dew provide images of nature that draw the reader to examine the power of the environment. In line 7, the speaker states that she will be “reeling, through endless summer days”, implying that she will be under the influence of nature forever (Melani). The concluding line of the second quatrain, “from inns of molten blue” affords the picture of a beautiful, clear, and blue
Line 1, “I taste a liquor never brewed” indicates that the speaker is not tasting alcohol, but something else. Line 2, “from tankards scooped in pearl”, provides the image of a mug of beer. Tankards are mugs in which people serve beer. Scooped in pearl is an image for the white foam of beer, yet also serves to place the unknown toxicant above alcohol because “pearls” are of high value. Line 3, “not all the vats upon the Rhine”, alludes to a main river that runs through Germany. Dickinson probably elected this image because Germany is known for its production of alcohol (“Overview”). In the conclusion of the first stanza, the speaker declares that the vats on the Rhine will not “yield such an alcohol” compared to the one she tastes. In lines 5 and 6, “inebriate of air am I, and debauchee of dew”, the speaker reveals what intoxicates her: air and dew. Inebriate and debauchee are both words associated with indulgence and excess. The air and dew provide images of nature that draw the reader to examine the power of the environment. In line 7, the speaker states that she will be “reeling, through endless summer days”, implying that she will be under the influence of nature forever (Melani). The concluding line of the second quatrain, “from inns of molten blue” affords the picture of a beautiful, clear, and blue