The Emperor of Ice-Cream
Call the roller of big cigars,The muscular one, and bid him whipIn kitchen cups concupiscent curds.Let the wenches dawdle in such dressAs they are used to wear, and let the boysBring 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 sheetOn which she embroidered fantails onceAnd spread it so as to cover her face.If her horny feet protrude, they comeTo show how cold she is, and dumb.Let the lamp affix its beam.The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.
Words in this poem
- concupiscent a.
- Having sexual lust; libidinous; lustful; lecherous; salacious. [L. concupiscens, p. pr. of concupiscere, v. incho. of concupere to long for; con- + cupere. See Covet.]
- dawdle v. i.
- To waste time in trifling employment; to trifle; to saunter. [Cf. Daddle.]
- finale n.
- Close; termination; as: (a) (Mus.) The last movement of a symphony, sonata, concerto, or any instrumental composition. [It. See Final.]
- dresser n.
- One who dresses; one who put in order or makes ready for use; one who on clothes or ornaments.
- protrude v. t.
- To thrust forward; to drive or force along. [L. protrudere, protrusum; pro forward + trudere to thrust. See Threat.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Emperor of Ice-Cream is in the public domain. This text is taken from Harmonium, Project Gutenberg ebook #78743; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Wallace Stevens, The Emperor of Ice-Cream, in Harmonium (1923), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #78743, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stevens-harmonium/the-emperor-of-ice-cream.html, id L01047.
Form and metre
The Emperor of Ice-Cream is 16 lines in 2 stanzas of 8 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 38% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ----AABB cigars · whip · curds · dress · boysA · newspapersA · seemB · creamB
- 2 ----AABB deal · sheet · once · face · comeA · dumbA · beamB · creamB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Call the roller of big cigars, | 8 | ··/˘··˘/ |
| The muscular one, and bid him whip | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| In kitchen cups concupiscent curds. | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘· |
| Let the wenches dawdle in such dress | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| As they are used to wear, and let the boys | 10 | ·········· |
| Bring flowers in last month’s newspapers. | 9 | ·/˘···/·˘ |
| Let be be finale of seem. | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream. | 12 | ·/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Take from the dresser of deal, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet | 8 | /˘······ |
| On which she embroidered fantails once | 10 | ···˘/˘˘/·· |
| And spread it so as to cover her face. | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| If her horny feet protrude, they come | 9 | ··/˘·˘/·· |
| To show how cold she is, and dumb. | 8 | ········ |
| Let the lamp affix its beam. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream. | 12 | ·/˘/˘··/˘··· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.