Emily Dickinson juxtaposes the buzz that she feels when she takes a drink of alcohol with the grandiose aromas and images she experiences when being buzzed off of summer. This poem was written at the apex of the temperance movement when there was a lot of support behind making alcohol illegal in America. In the very first stanza Dickinson explains that she is drinking a strange variety of alcohol that was never brewed but is finer than any wine in the world. In the second stanza she reveals that she is actually getting inebriated off of summer itself. The third quatrain however really gives the poem life as she delineates between a bar and a bee in flowers and how they are both kicked out of their place. The drink she has though is not something that she has to stop imbibing for fear of alcohol poisoning. In the final part she states that she will continue to drink in the summer as it brings her ever higher spiritually. The indifference towards the conservative attitudes often voiced during this period is prominently showcased by her use of drunkenness introduce the importance of being one with summer and nature in its entirety.
The poetic structure employed by Dickinson throughout the body of the poem is used primarily in order to convey a sense of the staggering and pauses in thought that are felt when there is alcohol coursing through your veins. The informal structure of the poem also adds to the loose feel of the speakers thoughts. They are clearly in a state of intoxication that cannot be completely overcome while the comparison is being perpetuated. In addition the random capitalization is actually anything but haphazard as the words that are capitalized often carry extra meaning while seeming to be a byproduct of her drunken stupor. Even the way in which certain words are written calls them out as having a greater importance in the mind of an intoxicated Dickinson. Nothing is done by accident and even the smallest of details has been planned out in this poetic work.
When looking at the poetic devices used in this poem clearly the metaphor centering the poem around the similarities of a summer s effects to a beers properties is the most crucial. Throughout every quatrain the idea of a summer being just as much to get excited about as a drink after a long day is added to until the reader cant help but prefer the more natural of the options. Imagery is another device that is absolutely littered throughout the poem, the scenes of summer are often depicted as she draws joy from them in much they same way a drunk enjoys his flask. Personification is also used as the bee is drunk and the butterfly renounces its drams. The rhyme scheme of this poem matches the second and fourth lines of every stanza, the only example of a slant rhyme is in the first quatrain when brewed and alcohol dont line up quite right. All of these devices combine in the end to set up a jovial mood in which there is quite a bit of wit and humor for the observant reader. All in all, Dickinson sets up this poem in a clever way in which no rock is left unturned as the reader is disparaged from turning to the bottle to early or often.
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