I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed Analysis - Literary devices and Poetic devices

I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed

I taste a liquor never brewed –
From Tankards scooped in Pearl –
Not all the Frankfort Berries
Yield such an Alcohol!

Inebriate of air – am I –
And Debauchee of Dew –
Reeling – thro’ endless summer days –
From inns of molten Blue –

When “Landlords” turn the drunken Bee
Out of the Foxglove’s door –
When Butterflies – renounce their “drams” –
I shall but drink the more!

Till Seraphs swing their snowy Hats –
And Saints – to windows run –
To see the little Tippler
Leaning against the – Sun!

Summary of I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed

Popularity of “I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed”: This beautiful poem “I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed” by Emily Dickinson, an American spiritual, poetic soul, presents the poet’s intoxicated state of mind. Appearing in 1861, like several other poems, this lyrical, poetic output has an interesting history in that it was taken out of the lost copies of her poetic output. It was initially titled “The May-Wine,” though Dickinson never intended to title it as such.
“I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed” As a Representative of Life’s Magical Reality: The poet titles her poem as if she is a drunk. She merges the thematic strand of her absorption into the magical reality of life through her drunken state in symbolic terms. Having stated that she has drunk from some gorgeous bowl full of wine produced from the best grapes of a valley and then having taken air on summer days would have made her feel intoxicated more than an addictive drunkard. She further highlights the role of butterflies and bees in sipping nectar like her that even saints and angles would have envied her. These all shenanigans of Dickinson in terms of wine and a drunkard person show her absorption in the magic of life.
Major Themes in “I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed”: Spirituality, the magic of life, and the poet’s power of poetic output are three major themes of this short poem “I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed.” The poet highlights her situation, saying that she has drunk from the magic of life as much as it seems that she has taken the best wine from the best grapes in the world. She has drunk so much that it seems that even the bees and butterflies have never taken so much nectar. Her reference to the angels and saints shows that she is rather priggishly spiritual and thinks that they would have saluted her arrival when she was bathed in the sunlight of her spirituality. This is her poetic output in which she has often painted her persona in a holy aura.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed

Emily Dickinson used various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices have been analyzed below.

Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “Not all the Frankfort Berries” and the sound of /o/ in “Out of the Foxglove’s door .”
Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /s/ in “Seraphs swing.”
Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ in “To see the little Tippler” and the sound of /s/ in “Till Seraphs swing their snowy Hats .”
Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

Till Seraphs swing their snowy Hats –
And Saints – to windows run –
To see the little Tippler
Leaning against the – Sun!

Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The poem shows irony in its presentation as life has been presented through the prism of wine drinking.
Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Emily Dickinson used imagery in this poem, such as “From Tankards scooped in Pearl ”, “Out of the Foxglove’s door ” and “I shall but drink the more.”
Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poem shows the extended metaphor of wine and drunkard used for the spiritual person.
Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as liquor, alcohol, the molten blue, and the seraphs show spiritual life in real terms.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

Diction and Tone: Diction means the type of language, and tone means the voice of the text. The diction in this poem is formal, oblique, and metaphorical, while the tone is exciting and spiritual.
End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Emily Dickinson used the end rhyme dew/blue and run/sun.
Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows an ABCB rhyme scheme, and this pattern continues in the next stanzas.
Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are four stanzas in this poem, with each comprising four verses.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful to quote spiritual excellence.