The Emperor of Ice-Cream by Wallace Stevens from Web

The Emperor of Ice-Cream   by Wallace Stevens

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.

Wallace Stevens’ “The Emperor of Ice Cream” was published in 1922. The time is the early 20th Century. The place is the residence of a deceased woman in an American city. Apparently people of Latin-American ancestry live in the neighbourhood and roll cigars (wrap cured tobacco in a cigar leaf) to earn money. This poem is set up as a counterpoint between a scene of a funeral and images of enjoyment.

The narrator calls for a muscular cigar roller to make ice cream to be served to visitors attending the wake (a vigil held beside the body of someone who has died) for the deceased woman. In earlier times, a wake frequently took place in the home of the deceased. Besides paying their last respects to the dead person, visitors often ate, drank, and told stories.

The woman’s death presents an opportunity for her acquaintances to hold a party. The pleasure they will derive from the occasion apparently matters more than the memory of the deceased woman they are supposed to be mourning. No doubt, the women who attend will pay homage to the muscular man who makes the “concupiscent curds” (Line 3)--that is, Sensual; appealing to the senses appetizing. He and the ice cream represent sensual or physical pleasure. In turn, the “boys” (Line 5) will no doubt want to live it up with the “wenches” (Line 4), even if they are attending a wake. Everyone wants to seize the day - carpe diem.

“Let the lamp affix its beam”(Line15), appears to say, “Let us now place our attention, our spotlight, on life, not death”. The attendees will walk in the light of life, not in the darkness of death.

Ice-cream is short-lived, it melts away, it is consumed but it represents something that's delicious and attractive. It's temporary, like life, can be held, shared, and enjoyed to the full. This poem is about the affirmation of precious life, made real by the language of imagination.