Dickinson described herself as “small, like the Wren, and my Hair is bold, like the Chestnut Bur- and my eyes, like the Sherry in the Glass, that the Guest leaves-” In response I checked to see if Dickinson ever used the word “sherry” in any of her poems – AND – I checked for other alcoholic terms as well – and all of that reminded me of this cartoon I saw long ago, “thirst editions” by John Atkinson. Of course, Mr. Atkinson’s chart might make one wonder what libations would top a similar list for poets – and what would the drink of choice be for Emily Dickinson? |
In 1849, Emily Dickinson wrote to her cousins Frances and Louisa Norcross. In her letter, Dickinson stated the following:
"There is to be a party at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house tomorrow night. They say that home is where the heart is ~ I think it is where the Sigma house is, and the adjacent buildings.
Vinnie and I will be happy amid this delightful kegger, and well we will drink our icy beers ~ and the world there will be so beautiful, and things so sweet and fair, that my heart will be soothed and comforted."
Well, I suspect you know that this post is a jest; however, yesterday I reported on the use of “drunkard” in Dickinson’s poems (the word is used in two poems), but I did not check upon the word “drunk” – and that word appears in three poems, “Had I known that the first was the last,” “One of the ones that midas touched,” “We – bee and I – live by the quaffing.” The latter two use the word to mean a state of inebriation; the first uses the word as the part participle of “to drink” – BUT – only in the Johnson version of the poem. The Franklin and Miller editions both use the word “mixed” instead. The Miller edition includes this note about the poem: “Matthew 19:30, ‘many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.’” |