I taste a liquor never brewed

"I taste a liquor never brewed"
Emily Dickinson

This just cracked me up!

I completely missed the point of this poem the first couple times I read it and did not understand the whole nature aspect before I came to class yesterday.  Now that I know that she means nature as her liquor, I can begin to really analyze her diction and other rhetorical devices.  Most noticeable is probably her use of words such as "liquor" (Dickinson, line 1), "tankards" (line 2) and "alcohol" (line 4).  This diction usually speaks of intoxication, but here it is used to describe her feelings and experiences with nature.  This piece is an extended metaphor for her intoxication after being around nature.  Words such as "pearl," "summer," and "blue" disprove any ideas that she is really drinking liquor, but describe instead what she experiences outdoors.  Also notable is the random capitalization because it highlights some of the more important terms in the poem.  Dickinson's piece also has dashes at the end of many lines which break apart the sentences but also lead right into the next line.  The poem has a specific structure and follows a set rhyme scheme--the second and third lines rhyme throughout each stanza.  The exact nature of the poem consisting of four stanzas contrasts with the craziness of nature.