Emily Dickinson as a Proto-Straight Edge, Christian Punk or On Emily Dickinson’s I taste a liquor never brewed (214) -- A Coursera ModPo 500-Word Essay
# Literal (if a little snarky)
STANZA1-2: I’m high on life--
STANZA3-4: --even through the Apocalypse!
# Figurative
STANA1: Speaker’s vice is something you can’t make.
* Introduction of drinking metaphor
STANZA2: Drunkenness and sexual satisfaction derived from nature with blue skies.
* "Debauchee of Dew" Interestingly Debauchee can have a sensual connotation.
* "From inns of Molten Blue"... The sky (Heaven?) as pub.
STANZA3: When nature goes haywire aka the Apocalypse, the speaker shall remain true to the straight edge lifestyle.
* While insects stop harvesting pollen, the speaker will have even more faith.
STANZA4: Building on S3’s Ragnarök, Angels start twirling halos. Saints watch the little Tippler (which can be read as little Dipper [the confusion of names being consistent with the Speaker being high or drunk] *or* as the speaker) come into contact with the sun.
* Halos become snowy hats either because they’re now unneeded or Heaven is cold.
* Saints watch as either the cosmos is folded upon itself or the speaker is installed in Heaven.
# Symbolic
It seems to be a declaration of faith, a celebration of the Divine in nature. When it comes time for the universe to be unmade, the speaker seems to say that s/he will rely on faith more.
# About the Title
1. Why not?
2. To get you to read it.
3. Straight edge because no drug use
4. Punk because Dickinson as iconoclast
# Structure
[SIDE NOTE: For more on my concept of forcing rhyme, please see my previous post that includes it.]
8 - x/x/x/x/ - A (forced) - NEVER -
6 - x/x/x/ - B (slant rhyme) - PEARL
8 - x/x/x/x/ - A - RHINE
6 - /xx/x/ - B (slant rhyme) - ALCOHOL
8 - x/x/x/x/ - C (forced) - I - vowel sounds.
6 - x/x/x/ - D - DEW
7 - /x/x/x/ - C - DAYS
6 - x/x/x/ - D - BLUE
8 - x/x/x/x/ - E (forced) - DRUNKEN
6 - /xx/x/ - F - DOOR
8 - x/x/x/x/ - E - DRAMS
6 - x/x/x/ - F - MORE
8 - x/x/x/x/ - G (forced) - HATS
6 - x/x/x/ - H - RUN
7 - x/x/x/x - G - TIP
6 - /xx/x/ - H - SUN