Analysis of Emperor of Ice Cream
An analysis of Wallace Stevens’ “The Emperor of Ice-Cream,” suggests that a possible interpretation of the poem is an examination of both the seriousness and curious humour of death, as portrayed by the demise of a poor woman. ... Consonant and vowel sounds, rhyme, meter, figures of speech, imagery and diction are all poetic techniques used by Stevens to add to the meaning of the poem “The Emperor of Ice-Cream. ... Before the reader has a chance to get too wrapped up in the serious nature of these lines, however, Stevens quickly chimes in with the light-hearted and humourous line, “The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream” (8 and 16). ... Rhyme is another important technique to consider when analyzing the meaning of “The Emperor of Ice-Cream. ... As with the distinct vowel sounds in these lines, the perfect rhymes “seem,” “beam” and “ice-cream,” make the final point very strong, punchy, and memorable. ... The first example of this is “emperor of ice-cream”. This statement defies logic because it implies that “ice-cream” is an empire - one that requires an emperor. ... This implies that the curds (curdled milk, or possibly ice-cream) have the quality of concupiscence or sexual desire. ... These figures of speech seem odd and cause the reader some discomfort, however, at the same time, they are quite funny (especially the suggestion that curdled milk or ice-cream can have sexual desire), and therefore the reader has no problem moving past them. ... Stevens also uses imagery to convey the meaning of his poem “The Emperor of Ice-Cream. ... Certain words and phrases that appear in the poem which are not a part of everyday English include: “bid him whip,” which means to have him hurry, and “concupiscent curds,” concupiscent meaning having sexual desire and curds meaning curled milk or in this case possibly ice-cream. ... The most important line in this poem is “the only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.