"I taste a liquor never brewed" by Emily Dickinson

In her poem "I taste a liquor never brewed," Emily Dickinson makes quite an interesting and unusual comparison. Within her poem, she describes her infatuation and love for nature in relation to drinking and alcohol. While it is quite obviously stated in the title of her poem that the speaker is not referring to real alcohol, as she tastes "a liquor never brewed," she, in so many words, becomes drunk off of nature. The poem is full of alcohol and drunkenness related words, including "inebriate," "tankards," and "vats." Yet Dickinson portrays her love of nature by attaching natural plants and features to those words. Furthermore, she is so amazed by nature that she even states she will never stop drinking it all in. Dickinson writes, " When Butterflies - renounce their "drams" - I shall but drink the more!" (Dickinson, 797). Through this statement, the speaker addresses that, even if the nature around her stops drinking, she will never stop taking it all in. Furthermore, this idea of drinking in nature leads to a paradox. Dickinson mentions angels and saints being interested in her drunken behavior, which would not be expected of such holy characters. However, because she is drunk due to the nature around her, a beautiful creation of God's, they see nothing wrong with her behavior.

“Batter my heart, three-personed God” by John Donne

The speaker in John Donne’s poem, “Batter my heart, three-personed God,” greatly utilizes irony in order to portray his feelings and perception of his relationship with God within the poem. Within the poem, the speaker tells of his struggle to stay connected to God. He feels as though he is constantly tempted by the devil, and he cannot escape him. However, there is an ironic situation in the poem. Although the speaker feels imprisoned or trapped by evil and sin, he wants to be rescued from that and then jailed once again by God Himself. Donne writes, “Take me to you, imprison me,” in reference to his desire (Donne, 840). While one might find that strange, that a person’s reaction to new found freedom would be the desire to become trapped again, the speaker has a reason. He feels as though the only way to avoid the devil is to belong to God completely, which resolves the ironic statement earlier.  Furthermore, the speaker ironically states that the way he can become imprisoned in God is if God beats and batters him. While that also sounds like a strange request, the speaker believes that if God breaks him down, he will become a better follower and believer.

 

"Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold

After reading “Dover Beach,” a poem by Matthew Arnold, the importance of imagery within the poem became very apparent. While each stanza carries imagery, it is used quite often within the first stanza. While both sound and sight imagery are used, each is used to convey a certain purpose or illustrate a different meaning. Positive descriptions, such as “glimmering,”  “vast,” and “gleaming” portray a peaceful, beautiful place where people would want to be. However, when the sound imagery is introduced, it takes on a much more negative tone. Words such as “grating roar” and “tremulous cadence” add a much more eerie and unpleasant tone to the poem. Furthermore, it is this shift in the tone of imagery that connects this first stanza to the rest. Arnold writes, “…and bring the eternal note of sadness in,” portraying the sadness associated with what he is about to mention (Arnold, 892). As the poem discusses the world’s loss of faith, the transition of imagery reflects this. The positive sight imager reflects how, in the past, everyone was faithful and happy, yet with time, the faith has slowly drained, as reflected by the negative and gloomy sound imagery.

"The Convergence of the Twain" by Thomas Hardy

While most people are aware of one of history’s most famous events, the sinking of the luxury ship the Titanic, Thomas Hardy’s poem “The Convergence of the Twain” captures the true essence of the event. The Titanic was created to be the most luxurious and glamorous ship ever built – a supposedly unsinkable vessel. It carried the hopes and dreams of many people for a new life, yet its sinking destroyed those dreams. In his poem, Hardy displays the true cause of the disaster and the lack of any good that came from it. In regard to the fate of the ship, the poem states that it lies, “In a solitude of the sea, deep from human vanity,” (Hardy, 778). This line proves how the carelessness and vanity of humans caused such a disaster. Because the ship was supposed to look elegant, life boats were removed. Because the ship was supposed to be fast, speeds were increased to dangerous levels. Hardy writes how the vanity of humans can lead to disaster when it overtakes common sense and reason. Furthermore, Hardy portrays the worthlessness of vanity. So much money was spent on making the Titanic beautiful, yet because of the lack of care of humans, the only things admiring the beauty of the ship now are the fish at the bottom of the ocean. Through his poem, Hardy not only remembers the terrible disaster of the early 1900’s but also warns humanity of the dangers of vanity.