Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Nature's Sweet Nectar

("I Taste A Liquor never Brewed", Dickinson)

The speaker of this poem is not attempting to justify drinking, drunks, or "tankards". Once the reader has sifted through the vocabulary concerning drinking, the purpose of the poem becomes revealed. The central ideal of the poem is to create the image of intoxicating nature. The diction and imagery fit this description. The "Debauchee (person addicted to excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures) of Dew" and "Reeling, endless summer days" capture fields and meadows rather than bars and tailgates. The last stanza describes to seraphs (angels of the highest order) and saints watching the happy "Tipper" go about their day. Perhaps these angels represent those distant from nature, behind windows and snowy caps, who think they know better than the drunk and better than everyone. It would be best for these poor individuals to join the happy drunk outside.

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