1 Who makes the ice cream? the mother the speaker the roller of big cigars the newspaper boys 2 Which is NOT an adjective you could apply to the cigar man, based on the poem's description of him? arrogant strong masculine capable 3 What do the boys bring to the house? desserts bed sheets funeral clothes flowers 4 What are the wenches doing? taking care of the boys complaining wrapping up the body hanging around 5 How are the ice cream curds described? delicious unwanted surprising lustful 6 What object in the poem is NOT made to seem old? the ice cream the dresser the newspapers the woman 7 What is embroidered on the sheet used to cover the body? leaves birds hearts flowers 8 What is the woman’s dresser lacking? two cigars three glass knobs its top drawer a hand-held mirror 9 How would you describe the woman’s dresser? stained ornate new cheap 10 What is the problem with the embroidered sheet? it is fraying it is ugly it is too short it is transparent 11 What part of the woman’s body might remain visible? her stringy hair her horny feet her closed eyes her wrinkled hands 12 What would that exposed body part tell us about the dead woman? she is stiff and heavy she is unpopular and alone she is cold and silent she is old and rich 13 What kind of light does the speaker ask for in the penultimate line? the sunlight through the window the lit candles the kitchen light the lamp beam 14 What is the central contrast of the poem? masculine versus feminine peace versus anger life versus death fun versus sadness 15 Which of the following is NOT a way you could describe the tone of the poem? sexual declarative whimsical vengeful 16 What type of sentence makes up the majority of the poem? explanatory interjection imperative interrogative 17 Which formal device does Stevens use sparingly at the end of each stanza? allusion rhyme alliteration meter 18 What might the speaker mean by “Let be be finale of seem”? Let all your poems only deal with simple topics Let happiness only exist because of material things Let pure reality replace artifice and illusion Let death be the end of imagination 19 Which of the following does ice cream NOT represent in the poem? vivacity desire maturity pleasure 20 What do ice cream and death have in common? they are cold they are inevitable they are desirable they are rare 21 In this poem, Stevens primarily uses ________ details. auditory scientific physical natural 22 What is the spatial or temporal relationship of the two stanzas? they occur in different cities they are two separate memories they occur in different rooms they occur in different seasons 23 Where does the poem most likely take place? Italy Florida India Maine 24 According to the poem, which of the following is NOT a good descriptor for human life? pristinely organized energetic mundane sexual 25 Why did Stevens count this poem as his favorite? it has a very complex meter it is extremely personal it is gaudy like poetry itself it references the most Classical poets
