I taste a liquor never brewed

"I taste a liquor never brewed" adds another seemingly meaningless, unpunctuated poem to Emily Dickinson's collection. Despite being just as grammatically incorrect as always, this poem is slightly easier to analyze. It is clear by the first sentence that the speaker is using a metaphor. As the poem continues, one can see it is an extended metaphor, as the "liquor" the speaker is drunk on is nature. It is through her diction that one can truly see the love or intoxication this speaker has for nature. Statements such as "Reeling, through endless summer days, from inns of molten blue" not only serve the metaphor of being drunk, but also express her deep appreciation of the surroundings. She deepens the metaphor when she states that she will drink until the bees are kicked out of the flowers as well. This constant comparison of nature to liquor suggests she not only loves nature, but feels overwhelmed and intoxicated by being in its very presence. Dickinson also uses another literary technique besides metaphors, alliteration. She often refers to biblical beings, such as saints and seraphs, which further express her love of nature, as this suggests she finds nature great enough to be around biblical beings.