"I taste a liquor never brewed" is not about simple admiration, it is expressing sheer awe at the wonder that is nature. Nature's beauty is so powerful that it can inebriate us if we allow it to, and the speaker in the poem has definitely allowed it. Though we know that Dickinson is a fan of nature and writing poems about it, this one is so over the top that it makes the reader question whether she's poking just a little bit of fun at those who were just a wee bit more stodgy—we're looking at you, Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Questions About Awe and Amazement
- How does the idea of inebriation lend itself to the concept of awe?
- How effective is the vocabulary that Dickinson uses in making the reader understand the depth of the emotions and experiences that she is describing?
Chew on This
Dickinson wouldn't be quite so awestruck by nature if, you know, she got out of the house more often.
Open your mind already. The awe that nature inspires does not necessarily have to speak to the observer's spiritual or religious beliefs.