"I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed" Pg. 797 Question 4

As explained in Question 4, the last stanza of Emily Dickinson’s “I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed” does in fact paint the image of a stereotypical street scene in which neighbors or townspeople flock to windows to observe the comical behavior of a drunkard. Stereotypical drunkards in this situation would be likely to lean against a sturdy structure such as a lamppost or even the side of a building. However, because Dickinson’s poem presents an extended metaphor and is not literally depicting an individual who is drunk due to excessive consumption of alcohol, the drunkard in this poem does not lean on any stereotypical structure on the streets. Rather, the speaker in the poem is “drunk” as a result of feverishly drinking in the beauty of nature. Consequently, the speaker is described as leaning against the sun rather than a lamppost or building. However, the component of this final stanza of the poem which is bound to capture the attention of the reader the most is the description of the seraphs and saints. Dickinson describes these entities in the following manner: “Till seraphs swing their snowy Hats—and Saints—to the windows run—to see the little Tippler leaning against the—Sun—“ (Dickinson, 797). While one may expect neighbors and onlookers in a stereotypical situation in which a drunkard is on the streets to fly to the windows of their homes to take entertainment and delight in the drunk individual’s actions, one would not expect such holy beings as angels and saints to desire to rush to observe such shameful events. However, because the speaker in the poem is “drunk” on the beauty of nature rather than the excessive consumption of alcohol, the seraphs and saints would in fact take pleasure in observing such actions. After all, loving and admiring the magnificence of God’s creation is a pleasing act in stark contrast to the shame or immorality of drinking too much alcohol. Therefore, Dickinson’s use of imagery in including this image of holy beings such as seraphs and saints taking delight in the speaker’s “drunkenness” serves to emphasize the goodness of the speaker’s actions and enhance the contrast between the speaker’s form of intoxication with the stereotypical drunkenness of all others on normal liquor. This also ultimately reinforces the meaning of the title “I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed” in indicating that the speaker is unique in her sheer delight and inebriation caused purely by the natural elegance of the earth.

"Sorting Laundry" Symbolism

                The sorting of laundry which is performed by the speaker in Elisavietta Ritchie’s poem “Sorting Laundry” is to be interpreted both literally and figuratively. While the speaker is in fact literally sorting laundry, the articles of clothing which the speaker is handling are each representative of a component of the couple’s relationship; therefore, the poem can be characterized by the many examples of symbolism which occur throughout the entirety of the speaker’s words. In each piece of laundry that the speaker sorts, a different component of the couple’s relationship can be observed. For example, the speaker describes the pillowcases in the following manner: “Pillowcases, despite so many washings, seams still holding our dreams” (Ritchie, 841). Even within this very short statement, many insights can be made into the couple’s relationship. Because the speaker notes the fact that the pillowcases have been washed numerous times, the reader can reasonably assume that the man and woman in the poem have been in relationship for an extended period of time. Furthermore, seams are the components of a pillowcase which hold the two pieces of fabric used to make the pillowcase together. Therefore, as the speaker describes the seams of the pillow as still holding their dreams, she is not just referring to the fact that the couple’s dreams have been encouraged and preserved after all their time together. Rather, she is also referring to the fact that, just as seams keep two pieces of fabric bound to one another, the couple’s dreams do in fact keep the two individuals in the relationship bound to one another, as well. As the poem progresses, the speaker refers to other pieces of laundry to describe their life together, as well. For example, the horribly ugly patterns depicted on their towels suggest that the couple has a vibrant and lively relationship which does not demand perfection or a pristine outward appearance. Additionally, just as the speaker mentions that the couple never bleached the gaudy patterns out of the towels, she suggests that the couple would never desire to wash the colorfulness or uniqueness out of their own relationship. Moreover, even without considering specific pieces of laundry, the load of clothes as a whole is representative of the couple’s lives together. For instance, although they each have their own individual pieces of laundry, all articles of clothing are thrown into the wash together and combine into one massive pile of existence. In a similar way, just as two people in a relationship will always remain unique and distinct individuals, their lives combine in such a manner that they are, in many senses, a single unit, just as a pile of laundry composed of individual pieces of clothes can still be regarded as one unit, or load.

                Understanding the many examples of symbolism utilized by Ritchie in this poem is essential to understanding the mood shift at the end of the poem. As the poem concludes, the speaker expresses her fear at the thought of her lover one day leaving her. If the reader does not understand the symbolism presented in the other pieces of laundry, the reader will have a less clear understanding of the depth of the couple’s relationship and therefore will have less insight into the fear the speaker feels at the potential loss of this love. Therefore, the symbolism is an essential component of the poem “Sorting Laundry.”

"Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God" Paradox

The speaker in John Donne’s sonnet “Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God” essentially expresses a desire to grow closer in his relationship with God by turning away from sin and embodying goodness. While this desire may be the central theme of many religious poems, however, the speaker’s approach in asking God for guidance on his endeavors for goodness is fairly unusual. Consequently, the sonnet establishes a paradox which is developed throughout the course of the sonnet and is revealed in its entirety in the last two lines of the poem. Instead of simply asking God to purify his heart in order to make him more holy in mind and deed, the speaker requests that God batter his heart; in other words, he asks God to strike him repeatedly. Furthermore, the speaker insists, “That I may rise and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new” (Donne, 840). Ultimately, the speaker is essentially asking God to beat him into submission. While the speaker may be seeking the same spiritual strength and relationship with God as many others do, the speaker separates himself from others by realizing that the only way for him to personally avoid sin is to be so broken and beaten down that God could reshape his heart and make him anew. The irony in the speaker’s request of God can further be seen in his statement that “…Dearly I love you and would be loved fain, but am betrothed unto your enemy” (Donne, 840). With the assertion, the speaker suggests that, while he truly loves God and desires to have a close relationship with him, he bitterly has to admit that he cannot escape the grasp of sin, which is in direct opposition to God. With this in mind, the paradox that is present in this poem is brought to completion with the last two lines of the poem, in which the speaker expresses that, in order to be free of evil, he wishes for God to imprison him, and in order to be made chaste, he wishes for God to “ravish” him. While it may seem like a contradiction to seek freedom through imprisonment and chastity through enthrallment, a certain amount of truth does exist in the speaker’s request. The speaker is fully aware of his own weakness and therefore understands his own limits; he knows that he will be incapable of ever being free of sin and imperfection unless the God of Goodness himself would make his heart pure by force. Therefore, Donne’s sonnet ultimately presents a paradox in the idea that, in order to be rid of evil and full of purity, the speaker desires to be broken, beaten, and imprisoned in order to be made new.

"The Convergence of the Twain" Juxtaposition and Situational Irony

                Thomas Hardy’s “The Convergence of the Twain” is divided into eleven stanzas, or subsections, which are centered around two central ideas that Hardy intends to convey through his employment of juxtaposition and situational irony. In the first five stanzas of the poem, Hardy paints a stark contrast between the lavish manner in which the Titanic was designed to exist and the displeasing reality of its true existence on the floor of the ocean. To accomplish this, Hardy juxtaposes a number of features of the boat as they were intended to exist in comparison to their tarnished state in the depths of the ocean. For example, Hardy writes, “Jewels in joy designed to ravish the sensuous mind lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind” (Hardy, 778). In this statement, Hardy creates a juxtaposition that presents the opulence of extravagant jewels meant to dazzle even the richest of passengers in opposition to their dullness and dimness crushed under the great depths of the sea. Hardy also juxtaposes the elegant mirrors meant to reflect the beauty of the ship’s finer passengers against the status of the mirror as it rests on the ocean floor with dumb and indifferent sea-worms tarnishing its beauty. In establishing such stark contrasts, Hardy also highlights the situational irony in the fact that all the features of the Titanic which were manufactured at such great length to exemplify the extravagance of mankind met an immediate fate in the darkness of the deep sea. While one would expect such beautiful structures to please the human eye for years to come, Hardy instead illustrates the situational irony of the ship’s destruction by pointing to the fact that the ship now rested as far away from human contact as possible and could be seen only by dim “moon-eyed” fishes scavenging the ocean floor.

                The second half of the poem from stanzas six to eleven use the same techniques of juxtaposition and situational irony to illustrate another idea related to the sinking of the Titanic: the converged fates of the ship itself with the iceberg which brought about its destruction. In this piece of the poem, Hardy compares the construction of the ship to the simultaneous creation of the iceberg and then proceeds to illustrate how their existences were eventually destined to clash in an imminent yet tragic collision. Hardy best articulates this idea with this statement, “No mortal eye could see the intimate welding of their later history, or sign that they were bent by paths coincident on being anon twin halves of one august event” (Hardy, 779). Hardy therefore utilizes juxtaposition by continually throughout the six stanzas of this portion of the poem comparing the life of the Titanic to the life of the iceberg. This juxtaposition in turn points to the situational irony in the fact that, while most people entertained the misconception that the Titanic was unsinkable, fate led the mighty ship to be struck down on its maiden voyage by an iceberg which had swollen to its own grandeur at the same time that the Titanic itself was constructed. Thus, the full meaning of Hardy’s poem is revealed through juxtaposition and situational irony.