The Emperor of DEATH

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’ poem, “The Emperor of Ice-Cream”, was first published in the early eighteenth century.  The public immediately took to the poem, and the poem widely influenced many different outlets throughout popular culture.  There have been songs and even novels that have been influenced by this legendary poem.  Upon first glace of the poem, it is unclear what the true message Stevens’ is trying to get across.  Is this a poem about a cold, sweet dessert?  Could the poem have to do with a ruler of a land who was too sweet for his own good?  After reading the poem, it is even more unclear than it was previously as to what the true meaning of this poem is.  It is obvious that the meaning of the poem and the title of the poem have very little in common.  After several readings and deep analysis of form and language, a clearer meaning of “The Emperor of Ice-Cream” can be seen without difficulty.  The poem is discussing a funeral, but it is unclear whether the Emperor is the Emperor of life, or the Emperor of death.  In Wallace Stevens’ poem, “The Emperor of Ice-Cream”, the Emperor discussed in the poem could be looked at as both life and death.

            Before the meaning of the poem is explored, it is important to first look at the dynamics of the poetry so the audience can take note of anything substantially noticeable throughout the piece.  The first noticeable thing about the form of the poem is that it is written in two stanzas.  Each stanza is composed of eight lines each, and neither of the stanzas have a clear meter pattern.  Even though the rhyme scheme is irregular, the couplet that ends the first stanza and the two couplets ending the second stanza seem to rhyme.  This helps to put emphasis on these lines, which contain only 8 to 9 syllables apiece.  The feet of the poem differ noticeably, indicating no regular pattern of meter.

            In the article, “Wallace Stevens’ Ice-Cream” by Richard Ellmann, he states, “The last battlement before us is the line, ‘The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.’  There are two going interpretations of this line, one that the emperor is life, the other that he is death” (94).  When examining the poem, there are points that could be argued for both sides of the life or death battle.  However, after several readings of the poem, it becomes clear that the poem is to be perceived as a celebratory event-taking place.  It slowly becomes evident that the occasion of the poem is a funeral of some sort.  The poem makes two major references to funerals when Stevens states, “Let the wenches dawdle in such dress/As they are used to wear, and let the boys/Bring flowers in last month’s newspapers” (4-6), as well as “Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet/On which she embroidered fantails once/And spread it so as to cover her face” (10-12).  The boys bringing flowers and the sheet covering the woman’s face are common characteristics of funerals throughout time.  The way that these events are described in the poem is more celebratory than mourning, indicating that the “Emperor of Ice-Cream” is indicating life rather than death.  Not to mention that ice cream is generally a refreshing and delicious treat, one that a person would enjoy while in a good mood.  The call for the “roller of big cigars” would also be seen as a symbol for the celebration of life.

            More critics would argue that this poem is showing the emperor to be perceived as death.  Ellmann states, “I think we may reach a little nearer if we remember that the characteristics of ice cream are that it is tasty, transitory, and cold.  Life may be tasty and perishable, but it is not cold” (94).  The coldness of what the ice cream actually is shows how the emperor could very well be death.  In Karl P. Wentersdof’s article, “Wallace Stevens, Dante, Alighieri, and the Emperor”, he describes his first view of ice cream as being “a symbol for Epicureanism; on the second, it is an image both of the coldness of death and of the transience of hedonistic values” (200). There are obvious points in this poem of both positive and negative nature, however the negative outweighs the positive.  The women entering the funeral are wenches who “dawdle in such dress as they are used to wear” (4-5), and the flowers are brought in “last month’s newspapers” (7).  There is not much respect for the funeral in general.  The disrespect continues when the poem suggests the sheet used to cover the woman will not cover her feet, but no one seems to care about the poor dead woman and covering her body fully.  There is an overwhelming sense of coldness that comes with the handling of the body, and it is evident that no one really cared about this woman.  The negative undertones go hand in hand with the emperor of ice cream being death itself seeing as how death is generally a negative event.

            Although there are many ways the subject of this poem can be perceived, it is notorious that the ideas of both life and death are more than present throughout.  The references of negativity and positivity are pretty steady throughout the entire poem, sending mixed messages to the readers.  Stevens himself was vague about the poems exact meaning, in Elman’s article he states, “When Stevens was informed of this difference of critical opinion, he said, in effect, ‘So much the better!’ and refused to judge between them” (93).  The vagueness of this poem has influenced many different outlets throughout our culture, showing how widely popular this poem truly is.  In the end, it can be said that the true meaning of the poem lies within the reader and their personal views of life and death.

Works Cited

Ellmann, Richard. "Wallace Stevens' Ice-Cream." The Kenyon Review 19.1 (1957): 89-105.

Print.

Smith, Philip. 100 Best-Loved Poems. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. Print.

Wentersdorf, Karl P.. "Wallace Stevens, Dante Alighieri, and the Emperor." Twentieth Century

Literature 13.4 (1968): 197-204. Print. 

So upon researching this topic, I found this slightly disturbing tribute to Stevens poem.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.