"I taste a liquor never brewed" Explication

In this poem, Emily Dickinson is intoxicated with nature. The extended metaphor compares the feeling of drunkenness to being invigorated by the beauty of nature. She plays with both the positive and negative meanings of intoxication and ironically describes the similarities between contamination from alcohol and the fresh pure air. Although being drunk has a negative connotation, she uses the experience in a lighthearted way to describe the same feeling of pleasure when surrounded by nature. She uses the third form of metaphor, where she names the literal term "alcohol" and the implied figurative term is nature. She boldly exclaims that her liquor, which cannot be brewed by humans, is far superior to wine from the Rhine wineries, which is highly regarded for its fine alcohol. Dickinson uses metonymy when she is drunk on the air and dew, referring to nature in general. Also, she calls herself an "inebriate", who is a drunkard, and a "debauchee", who is a person addicted to excessive indulgence usually referring to alcohol. She creates a comical image of herself because she is intoxicated to the point that she begins to stagger. Her condition is similar to a drunk person who cannot walk straight or think clearly because she is so overjoyed with being close to nature. Yet, she continues to drink in the blue skies of summer like an alcoholic at an inn, where she has no self-control and cannot stop herself from drinking. She implies that nectar from flowers is nature's alcohol and the bees and butterflies are the people at the bar. Even when drunk people are kicked out of the bar and others have stopped drinking, she seems to drink endlessly as she becomes more drunk on nature. The Seraphs and Saints act similar to the people who run to see the amusing sight of a drunkard. She leans against the sun like a drunk person leaning against a wall for support.