This paper discusses the poem "The Emperor of Ice-Cream" by Wallace Stevens which describes a funeral scene. It shows how
although the poem is based on the story of an old woman's wake, Stevens delves into the deeper meanings of life, death and reality in the poem. It examines how the title also symbolizes the primacy of physical, sensual
pleasures, which is one of the themes of the poem. Although a funeral is about to take place, the narrator and the funeral attendants are more concerned with mundane details such as ice cream. It looks at how the poet ends each stanza with the line, "The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream," which emphasizes that sensual pleasures are more important than thoughts of
religion or the hereafter.