The Emperor of Ice-Cream By: Wallace Stevens Anthony Jandres Nam Dang Joel Hernandez

The Emperor of Ice-Cream Call the roller of big cigars, The muscular one, and bid him whip In kitchen cups concupiscent curds. Let the wenches dawdle in such dress As they are used to wear, and let the boys Bring flowers in last month’s newspapers. Let be be finale of seem. The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream. 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. If her horny feet protrude, they come To show how cold she is, and dumb. Let the lamp affix its beam. The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream. The Emperor of Ice-Cream

Wallace Stevens Born on October 2, 1897 Died on August 2, 1955 Birthplace: Reading, Pennsylvania Went to school at Harvard University and New York Law School In 1923, Stevens published his first book Harmonium Made a total of 6 major books

Call the / roller / of big / cigars, The mus / cular / one, and / bid him / whip In kit / chen cups / concup / iscent / curds. Let the/ wenches / dawdle / in such / dress As they / are used / to wear, / and let / the boys Bring flo / wers in / last month’s / newspapers. Let be / be fin / ale of / seem. The on / ly em / peror / is the / emper / or of / ice-cream. Take from / the dress / er of / deal, Lacking / the three / glass knobs, / that sheet On which / she em / broidered / fantails / once And spread / it so / as to / cover / her face. If her / horny / feet pro / trude, they / come To show / how cold / she is, / and dumb. Let the/ lamp af / fix its / beam. The on / ly em / peror / is the / emper / or of / ice-cream.

Call the roller of big cigars, The muscular one, and bid him whip In kitchen cups concupiscent curds. Let the wenches dawdle in such dress As they are used to wear, and let the boys Bring flowers in last month's newspapers. Let be be finale of seem. The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream. 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. If her horny feet protrude, they come To show how cold she is, and dumb. Let the lamp affix its beam. Concupiscent- filled with sexual desires Curds- soft white substance used for cheese or ice cream Wenches- a prostitute Dawdle- move slowly Deal- a cheap type of wood Embroidered- decorated by sowing detailed patterns Fantails- a fan shaped tail or end like a peacock Horny feet- horn like feet Protrude- extend beyond or above a surface Dumb- mute, silent Affix- to stick or to fasten something to something else

Poem Analysis Free Verse 16- Lined Poem Composed of 2 octet Has no rhyme scheme Each stanza ends with a rhyming couplet The theme is “Enjoy your life as you’d enjoy your ice cream”

What the Poem Means Stanza 1 The roller of big cigars is muscular and is being called to whip the concupiscent curds. He is making ice cream. Cigars are often used to celebrate or recognize an event. “Kitchen cups concupiscent curds” is an alliteration. Wenches in this poem means prostitute, they are coming over in suggestive dresses. There are a lot of sexual meanings in the poem. The boys come over with flowers wrapped in newspapers, that are no longer current. Seem means giving the impression of being something. Let be(Noun) be(verb) finale of seem means that let be(Noun) be the end(finale) of superficial appearances, let's just be real. Emperors are rich important men who rule vast imperial land. Stevens is poking fun at emperors by suggesting that their job is no more important than overseeing ice cream. They will die someday their status is not permanent. The focus of the poem is to get us to reconsider the way we live and the value of appearance Call the roller of big cigars, The muscular one, and bid him whip In kitchen cups concupiscent curds. Let the wenches dawdle in such dress As they are used to wear, and let the boys Bring flowers in last month’s newspapers. Let be be finale of seem. The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.

What the Poem Means Stanza 2 Dresser of deal is made of cheap wood and it is also missing three glass knobs, so it is cheap furniture. The woman probably didn't spend a lot of money or make a lot of money. A fantail could mean it is a decorative design she had embroidered(sewn). The woman's face is being covered, suggesting that she is dead. Horny feet could mean that they are callaced or have bunions. Her life was filled with tough physical labor. You can’t ignore her feet because they protrude from the sheets. The corpse is cold and dumb(meaning mute or silent). Let the lamp affix its beam means to shine the light to a specific target, the speaker is calling for enlightenment. The lamp symbolizes enlightenment. What really matters is how we enjoy life. What the Poem Means 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. If her horny feet protrude, they come To show how cold she is, and dumb. Let the lamp affix its beam. The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.

Quiz True/False. The poem has a rhyme scheme When was Wallace Stevens born? Where was Wallace Stevens born? What is the diction of the poem? What is the structure of the poem? What does the word concupiscent mean? What does the word dawdle mean? What is the theme of the poem? True/False. The poem has a rhyme scheme True/False. The poem is about a celebration True/False. This poem is filled with symbolism