"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.