‘Bleezer’s Ice Cream,’ a poem written by popular children’s poet Jack Prelutsky, is about the ice cream store of Ebenezer Bleezer who has all sorts of flavors on his list. This poem is best for children who want to learn about alliteration and rhyming. The musical adaptation of the poem by Natalie Merchant helps us understand how the end rhymes, internal rhymes, and alliteration works in the piece. The poem was first published in Prelutsky’s 1984 collection of children’s poetry entitled The New Kid on the Block.
Summary
‘Bleezer’s Ice Cream’ by Jack Prelutsky is a poem about Ebenezer Bleezer and his ice cream store, where twenty-eight different flavors of ice creams are sold.
The speaker of the poem, Ebenezer Bleezer first introduces himself as a proud owner of BLEEZER’S ICE CREAM STORE. There are twenty-eight different flavors in his freezers that nobody has ever seen. His ice creams are too delicious to resist. Thus, one will be doing themselves a favor by having a scoop from one of his flavors. The list of his ice creams includes all sorts of flavors ranging from fruits, vegetables, butter, cheese, and different cooked dishes. It is quite bizarre to know how Bleezer could have invented a flavor by mixing “TUNA TACO BAKED POTATO,” “PEANUT PUMPKIN BUBBLEGUM,” or “ORANGE OLIVE BAGEL BEET.”
You can read the full poem here.
Detailed Analysis
Stanza One
I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER’S ICE CREAM STORE,
there are flavors in my freezer
you have never seen before,
twenty-eight divine creations
too delicious to resist,
why not do yourself a favor,
try the flavors on my list:
The poem ‘Bleezer’s Ice Cream’ by Jack Prelutsky begins with an introduction to the speaker. His name is Ebenezer Bleezer, the proud owner of an ice cream store that goes by the name, “BLEEZER’S ICE CREAM STORE.” The speaker describes how he has some new flavors in his freezer that nobody has ever seen or tasted. He describes the ice cream flavors as “divine creations.” The flavors have nothing to do with God or heaven. He is actually referring to how delicious the ice creams taste by the phrase “divine creations.”
In the following lines, the speaker uses another hyperbolic expression in order to describe how tasty his ice creams are. Nobody can resist his ice cream for sure. By buying ice creams from his store, one will not be doing a favor to Mr. Bleezer, but they will be doing a favor to themselves. Such is Mr. Bleezer’s conviction.
Stanza Two
COCOA MOCHA MACARONI
TAPIOCA SMOKED BALONEY
CHECKERBERRY CHEDDAR CHEW
(…)
LENTIL LEMON LIVER LAVA
ORANGE OLIVE BAGEL BEET
WATERMELON WAFFLE WHEAT
In the second stanza, Mr. Bleezer holds the list of “divine” flavors in front of the readers. The name of each mix has nothing to do with their taste. Else, how could one be so satisfied to have an ice cream that contains chicken, tuna, or lobster?
Prelutsky actually uses the names of a lot of vegetables, fruits, and other food items in order to evoke the sense of hearing, not the sense of taste. For instance, there is an alliteration of the “m” sound in “MOCHA” and “MACARONI”. Similarly, there is a consonance of the “p” sound in “PEPPER,” “PICKLE,” “POMEGRANATE,” “PUMPERNICKEL,” “PEACH,” “PIMENTO,” “PIZZA,” “PLUM,” “PEANUT,” and “PUMPKIN”. The poet also uses assonance, such as in “ORANGE OLIVE,” “LITCHI LIMA,” etc.
After exploring the list, it becomes clear that nothing there could be tasted if one does not wish to hate ice creams afterward. This odd list of flavors definitely teaches us a lot more about the sounds of words, rather than tastes.
Stanza Three
I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
(…)
you will surely ask for more.
In the last stanza of ‘Bleezer’s Ice Cream,’ Prelutsky uses the repetition of the first two lines. The speaker once again gives a brief introduction about himself. After showing the list, he is still confident that the first buyers would be willing to ask for more. In this stanza, the poet rhymes the word “Bleezer” with “freezer” and “STORE” with “more”. It is the same rhyme scheme that he has used in the first four lines. There is only one difference. In the second and fourth lines of the poem, the word “STORE” rhymes with “before”. It is not a perfect rhyme. Only the last syllables of both words rhyme.
Structure and Form
‘Bleezer’s Ice Cream’ is a sing-song-like poem with a regular ABAB and AABB rhyme scheme. In the first four lines, Prelutsky uses the ABAB rhyme scheme. The second stanza that contains the list of ice cream flavors has the AABB rhyme scheme. For instance, the first two lines of this stanza end with the same rhyming words, “MACARONI” and “BALONEY.” The poem ends with the ABAB scheme. Alongside that, the poet uses several internal rhymes throughout the poem. It is written from the first-person point of view.
Literary Devices
Prelutsky makes use of the following literary devices in the poem ‘Bleezer’s Ice Cream’:
- Hyperbole: In the first stanza, readers come across the following hyperbolic remarks, “you have never seen before” and “twenty-eight divine creations/ too delicious to resist”.
- Alliteration: This device is used extensively throughout the poem. It occurs in “MOCHA MACARONI,” “CHECKERBERRY CHEDDAR CHEW/ CHICKEN CHERRY,” “TOMATO/ TUNA TACO,” “LOBSTER LICHI LIMA,” “MOZZARELLA MANGOSTEEN,” etc.
- Anaphora: The poem begins with the use of anaphora. It also occurs in the first two lines of the last stanza. These lines are used as a refrain.
- Consonance: In the first two lines, there is a repetition of the “b” sound. The third line contains a recurrence of the “f” sound in “flavors” and “freezer.” This device is also used in some other instances.
FAQs
Jack Prelutsky’s poem ‘Bleezer’s Ice Cream’ is about Mr. Ebenezer Bleezer who owns the “BLEEZER’S ICE CREAM STORE”. He sells a total of twenty-eight flavors of ice creams. Though there are some interesting mixes, nothing from the list can be tasted or tried at home.
There are a total of twenty-one flavors in Mr. Bleezer’s freezer that he describes as “divine creations.” Some of his flavors include “COCOA MOCHA MACARONI,” TAPIOCA SMOKED BALONEY,” “TUTTI-FRUTTI STEWED TOMATO,” etc.
‘Bleezer’s Ice Cream’ is a musical poem that is written using a fixed rhyme scheme. The poem consists of three stanzas with eight, twenty-eight, and four lines respectively.
The poem was first published in Jack Prelutsky’s children’s book of poetry, The New Kid on the Block in 1984. This collection is illustrated by James Stevenson, author of a hundred children’s books.
Similar Poetry
Readers who enjoyed exploring the ice cream flavors in Prelutsky’s ‘Bleezer’s Ice Cream,’ will also find the following poems interesting.
- ‘The Emperor of Ice-Cream’ by Wallace Stevens — This poem speaks on human’s inability to control death and the ability to live a good life.
- ‘Dirty Face’ by Shel Silverstein — This piece contains several amusing explanations from a child, as to the reason for their dirty face.
- ‘Eletelephony’ by Laura Elizabeth Richards — This nonsense poem depicts the attempts of a speaker to describe an elephant using a telephone.
- ‘On The Ning Nang Nong’ by Spike Milligan — This poem creates a make-believe world made primarily out of noises through nonsensical language.
You can also explore these short humorous poems for kids.
