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