Emily Dickinson poem “I taste a liquor never brewed” celebrates the intoxicating beauty of nature, comparing it to a divine and limitless drink. Through vivid imagery, Dickinson likens her experience of the natural world to being drunk on an ethereal liquor crafted from the summer air and endless meadows.
The poem is playful and lighthearted, contrasting traditional intoxication with a spiritual, euphoric connection to life’s splendor. Dickinson portrays herself as a joyful reveler in nature, even surpassing bees and butterflies in her delight. Her exuberant diction and whimsical tone highlight her unique ability to find profound inspiration in the everyday, reminding readers of the overwhelming beauty available in the natural world. This piece exemplifies Dickinson’s mastery of metaphor and rich, imaginative language.
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!