I Taste A Liquor Never Brewed-Emil Dickinson

[student1]

Hello everyone, can someone pls help me analyze this poem :S

I Taste A Liquor Never Brewed
Poem lyrics of I Taste A Liquor Never Brewed by Emily Dickinson.

I taste a liquor never brewed,
From tankards scooped in pearl;
Not all the vats upon the Rhine
Yield such an alcohol!

Inebriate of air am I,
And debauchee of dew,
Reeling, through endless summer days,
From inns of molten blue.

When the landlord 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!

[Nightmare9870]

Hello student1.

The poem is about nature and how experiencing it is so wonderful and intoxicating that it's like being drunk.


I taste a liquor never brewed,
From tankards scooped in pearl;
Not all the vats upon the Rhine
Yield such an alcohol!

She tastes a liquor that never existed, meaning the liquor symbolizes something else, nature. Vats are containers used to hold liquids and the Rhine is a river that runs through Germany, which is a country famous for making beers and other such beverages.


Inebriate of air am I,
And debauchee of dew,
Reeling, through endless summer days,
From inns of molten blue.

She's breathing in the air and dew (debauchee means a person who can't get enough of something) and reels/staggers (keeping up with the theme of being drunk) through nice summer days. In the line, "From inns of molten blue" the word inns refers to a tavern and molten blue refers to the blue sky.


When the landlord turn the drunken bee
Out of the foxglove's door,
When butterflies renounce their drams,
I shall but drink the more!

A bartender kicks out a drunk like a bee leaves a foxglove (it's a flower that has a round opening and a deep inside. I suppose it's kind of like leaving a door). It's also important to note that the foxglove is poisonous to humans. I've always taken this as a reference to the fact that alcohol can be deadly, but others have said it's a reference to suicide.

Drams are small amounts of liquor. The line talks about how when a person has had enough to drink, they just go back to have some more.


Till seraphs swing their snowy hats,
And saints to windows run,
To see the little tippler
Leaning against the sun!

She will continue drinking (enjoying nature) until seraphs (which are the highest ranks of angels) and saints notice her, meaning she will enjoy nature until she has died.

[student1]

thanks for the help:)