Notes: I taste a liquor never brewed Flashcards
Introduce this poem
This poem is something of a rarity for Dickinson, in the fact that this rapturous poem about summer uses the metaphor of intoxication to capture the essence of this wonderful season.
What is the paradox in this poem?
It is a contradiction (a liquor never brewed).
How is intoxication brought on in this poem?
Intoxication brought on by the joy and appreciation of the beauty of the world around us.
“I taste a liquor never brewed”
The opening line/title has a riddle-like quality
“From Tankards scooped in Pearl-
Not all the Vats upon the Rhine
Yield such an Alcohol!”
Extravagant imagery captures the dizzy happiness and infuses the poem
“When ‘Landlords’ turn the drunken Bee
Out of the Foxglove’s door-“
almost cartoon humour used to suggest insatiable thirst fro the beauty of the natural world.
Inebriate of Air-am I-
And Debauchee of Dew-
The poet is drunk on life (inebriate and debauchee).
Who are the drunks in this poem?
The butterflies and bees but Dickinson can drink more than them
“From inns of Molten Blue-“
The pubs are the inns of molten blue, i.e. the sky
“I shall but drink the more!”
This roots the poem in reality, as drunken people always feel they can manage more.
Till Seraphs swing their snowy Hats-
And Saints-to windows run-
To see the little Tippler
Leaning against the-Sun-
This inverse Christian imagery of angels and saints looking in awe and envy.
The little tippler stands drunkenly leaning against the sun, a celestial lamppost.
The final dash suggests the crooked stance of the little drunk one.
How does the imagery add to this poem?
The exaggerated imagery, such as the metaphor of the flower as a pub and the bee as the drunk, all add ti the fantasy-land atmosphere.
How do the verbs effect the poem?
It is the verbs that carry the sense of mad fun most effectively, ‘scooped’, ‘reeling’, ‘‘swing’, ‘leaning’
Give a comment on the overall flow of the poem
The poem lurches and flows in an almost uncontrollable way as the ecstasy of overindulging in the delirious pleasure of nature is vividly conveyed.
