Page 108 - 100 Best Loved Poems - Teaching Unit

“The Emperor of Ice Cream”
by Wallace Stevens, pages 86-87

Vocabulary
concupiscent – lusty; full of desire
protrude – stick out
affix – fasten

1. What kind of ceremony is taking place in this poem?

A wake is being held.

2. The speaker suggests that the girls wear their everyday dresses and that the boys bring
flowers “in last month’s newspapers.” What does this say about his attitude towards
ceremony and propriety?

Answers may vary. 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.

3. What do you think the speaker means by the line “Let be be finale of seem”?

Answers may vary. Example: The speaker means that we should stop worrying about how
things seem or look to others and simply let them be as they are.

4. What do you think the speaker means by the poem’s refrain of “The only emperor is the
emperor of ice-cream”?

Answers may vary. Example: This assertion is related to the speaker’s suggestion that we
let “be be finale of seem.” We invest emperors and ceremonies with ridiculous power and
meaning, taking them too seriously. The speaker is pointing this out. Alternative
interpretations abound:
• despite death, the sweetness of life still exists
• the only important thing is life
• the only important thing is death
• both life and the end of life are to be savored
• etc.

T-90