"The Emperor of Ice-Cream" is a poem written by Wallace Stevens, a 20th-century American poet known for his modernist style and innovative use of language. The poem is a celebration of the ordinary, everyday pleasures of life, particularly the simple joy of eating ice cream.
The poem begins with the speaker urging the reader to "Call the roller of big cigars, / The muscular one, and bid him whip / In kitchen cups concupiscent curds." This opening line establishes the theme of indulgence and pleasure, as the speaker is calling for someone to bring out the best, most luxurious treats. The imagery of "big cigars" and "muscular" ice cream makers suggests a sense of opulence and extravagance.
The next stanza describes the setting of the poem, describing a group of people gathered in a room and preparing to enjoy their ice cream. The speaker describes the setting in vivid detail, using words like "bananas, splits, / Strawberries, cream, / Chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter / Mints, gum, and bubble gum!" to paint a picture of a rich and varied dessert spread.
The poem reaches its climax in the third stanza, where the speaker introduces the titular "Emperor of Ice-Cream." This mysterious figure is described as "white as an angel, / Naked, except for the girdle of grass." The imagery of the angelic, naked emperor suggests a sense of purity and innocence, as well as a connection to nature and the natural world.
The final stanza of the poem returns to the theme of indulgence and pleasure, as the speaker urges the reader to "Take down this book, / Dial the speckled phone." The speaker is inviting the reader to join in the celebration of ice cream and the simple pleasures of life.
Overall, "The Emperor of Ice-Cream" is a celebration of the ordinary, everyday joys of life, particularly the pleasures of food and indulgence. Stevens uses vivid imagery and language to paint a picture of a lavish dessert spread and the mysterious, angelic emperor who presides over it. The poem serves as a reminder to appreciate and savor the simple joys of life, and to indulge in the things that bring us pleasure and happiness.
The Emperor of Ice Cream “The Emperor of Ice
We found no such entries for this book title. Let the wenches dawdle in such dress As they are used to wear, and let the boys Bring flowers in last month's newspapers. There is an important allusion, or reference, in ''The Emperor of Ice-Cream'' that helps clarify the poem's meaning. As mentioned above, the ice cream evokes the themes of life and sensuality that are woven throughout the work. For so far as we can say, it describes a funeral-an angry, happy, sad, joyous paradox—in which mourners at a wake are called to order by the writer. The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream. Stevens implies a lot of the poem's meaning through the connotation of words without having to state it outright.
The Emperor of Ice
The old woman is covered by a sheet ''on which she embroidered fantails once. This image is somewhat undercut by the fact that the sheet does not cover her feet. They represent mourning, as they often do at funerals, even if they are wrapped in old newspapers. The line sounds like a reference to the following quote from Hamlet by William Shakespeare: Your worm is your only emperor for diet: we fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots: your fat king and your lean beggar is but variable service, two dishes, but to one table: that's the end Act IV, Scene II. Stevens' poem does not have a singular clear meaning, but rather layers of meaning that come into and out of focus as one reads the work. Auden - Summary and Analysis Questions and Answers 1. The cheap dresser, missing three knobs, evokes incompleteness, the loose ends of an ended life.
The Emperor Of Ice Cream Short Summary
Symbols in ''The Emperor of Ice-Cream'' There are several important symbols in ''The Emperor of Ice-Cream,'' each of which elaborates further on the themes and meaning of the poem. The last two lines of the stanza are more obscure: ''Let be be finale of seem'' sounds like a request for things to be as they are, not as they appear to be. Perhaps the woman, now deceased, fell ill before she got a chance to replace the knobs. Example: The speaker scoffs a bit but not scornfully at the formal ceremony and he sees no reason to dress up the fact that a woman is dead. Let the lamp affix its beam. In the bedroom, according to the poem's second half, death seems to predominate—and "seeming," according to the poet, makes it so. He strikes up a friendship with Red, a fellow inmate, and requests a rock hammer.
Poetry of Wallace Stevens The Emperor Of Ice Cream Summary
Several guests are staying at the house, including Lily Briscoe, Charles Tansley, William Bankes, and Paul Rayley and Minta Doyle. If her horny feet protrude, they come To show how cold she is, and dumb. The dawdling wenches and flower-bearing boys create an atmosphere of suspension, as if they are waiting for physical fulfillment. Hamlet says this line to his uncle Claudius. The fact of death is a simple physical matter here; it is the diction, or choice of words, that's fancy. READ ALSO: As I Walked Out One Evening by W. The women invited to the event are told to wear their regular clothes.
“The Emperor of Ice Cream” by Wallace Stevens : Summary and Questions » Smart English Notes
The word ''wenches,'' for instance, is an interesting choice that might suggest young women, women of lower social classes, or even sex workers. All these details sustain the idea that death and its aftermath are not something fanciful or special. Entering his seventies, he began to write a poetry of late old age, in which a sense of the disembodied, the purely mental, gave rise to a discourse that had grown newly austere, solemn, and strange even to its author. Full Book Notes and Study Guides Sites like SparkNotes with a The Emperor Of Ice Cream study guide or cliff notes. Not until the second stanza does the poem reveal that the occasion is a wake, a gathering for a recently deceased woman.
