I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed

In Emily Dickinson's I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed, Dickinson describes what she enjoys in life. She writes "Inebriate of Air--Am I--And Debaucheree of Dew," showing that she gets drunk off of life. She doesn't find the need to drink alcohol, when she has life to live. She gets her fun out of simply living life. She doesn't find it necessary to get inebriated off of alcohol. This poem serves as a metaphor to being drunk. She considers the enjoyment she gets our of nature to the feelings one gets from drinking. This poem speaks well to nature, and how the effects it can have on people. For the speaker, it gives her a drunkenness and gleefulness matched by alcohol. She enjoys nature so much that she considers it superior to the finest brew.

Convergence of the Twain

"Convergence of the Twain" by Thomas Hardy uses the imagery of the titanic to describe vanity. The poem is saying that vanity is fleeting. It is not as important as what is put on it. Hardy writes "Over the mirrors meant to glass the opulent The sea-worm crawls--grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent." This shows that while in the short time, it may sometimes seem as if vanity is very important, in the end it will not matter at all. All the time and effort that was put into making the titanic look beautiful didn't end up mattering at all once it hit an iceberg. The poem also talks about fate. It says that it was the ship's fate to hit the iceberg. Hardy shows how vanity leaves so very quickly. It may seem as if it will last forever, but when, in the end, life is over, no one will care about what you look like. When your bones are decaying in the ground, suddenly no one will care what color suit you're wearing inside the casket.

Dove Beach

In Matthew Arnold's Dover Beach, a strong message of fear and love is delivered through poetic wording. Arnold writes "The Sea of Faith was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled. But now I only hear it's melancholy, long withdrawing roar." This shows that the author believes that faith is waning. The world is becoming a worse place for whatever reason and he must turn away. The speaker says to his unidentified companion that they must turn to each other in this tough time. They must turn to the love they hold in each other's hearts. The speaker believes the only constant in the world is that of the love he has for his companion. The author uses setting as a primary vehicle to explain this,  using the imagery of a body of water at low tide to show how the world's becoming less faithful. He describes what Sophocles' called "The turbid ebb and flow of human misery." The author's use of imagery helps to illustrate to the audience what is happening in the world and why he must turn to his lover.

Sorting Laundry

Sorting Laundry, by Elisavietta Ritchie uses an extended metaphor to explain a relationship. The speaker, we know is a woman, due to her saying "If I were to fold only my own clothes, the convexes of my blouses, panties, stockings, bras, turned upon themselves." She talks about her relationship, through sheets, pillow cases, towels and more seemingly arbitrary laundry items. She uses them to describe how her relationship is going. She seems to convey that her relationship is going pretty well. She says"Pillowcases, despite so many washings  still holding our dreams", which shows how her relationship still has hopes and dreams that can be fulfilled. They haven't broken the seams, and their love is still alive. The poem does a good job explaining itself though the metaphor of laundry items. One of the best examples is "So many shirts and skirts and pants recycling week after week, head over heels recapitulating themselves." This shows how the clothing rotates in the washer on the surface, but on a deeper level is shows how the two in the couple keep falling in love with each other. At the end of the poem, a shift comes asking what if her lover were to leave. She seems to be simply thinking of the worse due to the quality of their relationship.