“The Emperor of Ice-Cream” Introduction

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“The Emperor of Ice-Cream” Summary

“The Emperor of Ice-Cream” Themes

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  Reality vs. Appearances

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• 

  Life, Death, and Sensuality

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Emperor of Ice-Cream”

• Lines 1-3

  Call the roller of big cigars,
  The muscular one, and bid him whip
  In kitchen cups concupiscent curds.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 4-6

  Let the wenches dawdle in such dress
  As they are used to wear, and let the boys
  Bring flowers in last month's newspapers.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 7-8

  Let be be finale of seem.
  The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  Take from the dresser of deal,
  Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet
  On which she embroidered fantails once
  And spread it so as to cover her face.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-14

  If her horny feet protrude, they come
  To show how cold she is, and dumb.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 15-16

  Let the lamp affix its beam.
  The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.

  

  

  

  

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“The Emperor of Ice-Cream” Symbols

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  Ice Cream

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  Clothes and Sheets

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  Flowers in Newspaper

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“The Emperor of Ice-Cream” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Assonance

  

  

  

  

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• Allusion

  

  

  

  

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• Caesura

  

  

  

  

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• Consonance

  

  

  

  

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• End-Stopped Line

  

  

  

  

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• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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• Personification

  

  

  

  

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“The Emperor of Ice-Cream” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Bid
• Concupiscent
• Curds
• Wenches
• Dawdle
• Finale
• Dresser
• Deal
• Embroidered
• Fantails
• Horny Feet
• Protrude
• Dumb
• Affix

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Emperor of Ice-Cream”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“The Emperor of Ice-Cream” Speaker

“The Emperor of Ice-Cream” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “The Emperor of Ice-Cream”

More “The Emperor of Ice-Cream” Resources

• External Resources

  • More Stevens Poems and Information — A bountiful resource from the Poetry Foundation, including podcasts, essays, and more poems all relating to Stevens.  

  • Bloom on Stevens — Audio of a fascinating lecture on Stevens by Harold Bloom, one of the most influential literary critics of the 20th century.  

  • A Reading — The poem read by YouTube Tom O'Bedlam.

  • The Thrilling Mind of Wallace Stevens — An interesting article about Stevens's life and work.  

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