Ice-Cream Man Summary Class 5 English Marigold Poem 1

Introduction

The poem "Ice Cream Man" by Rachel Field is all about the happiness kids feel when they see the ice cream seller during the summer. The poem talks about the joy that ice cream brings on hot days. It describes the ice cream man's cart and the different kinds of ice cream he sells. Overall, the poem is fun and captures how much children love getting ice cream in the summer. It makes readers feel the excitement of seeing an ice cream vendor during the hot season.

Detailed Summary

First Stanza

When summer’s in the city, 
And brick’s a blaze of heat, 
The Ice-cream Man with his little cart 
Goes trundling down the street. 

The poet begins by saying it’s the middle of summer, and the city is extremely hot. The sun is shining brightly. An ice-cream seller comes into town with his cart and moves slowly through the streets.

Second Stanza

Beneath his round umbrella,
Oh, what a joyful sight, 
To see him fill the cones with mounds 
Of cooling brown and white: 

In this stanza, the poet claims that in this intense heat, the ice-cream seller is a savior, a source of joy and relief for everyone. The ice-cream vendor filling the cone with ice-cream under his massive circular umbrella is lovely and pleasant to watch.

Third Stanza

Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, 
Or chilly things to drink 
From bottles full of frosty fizz, 
Green, orange, white, or pink. 

In this stanza, the poet describes the ice-cream seller’s cart, which is loaded with flavours such as vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. He also offers a variety of cold frosty fizz drinks in various vibrant colours like green, orange, white and pink.

Fourth Stanza

His cart might be a flower bed, 
Of roses and sweet peas, 
The way the children cluster round 
As thick as honeybees. 

In this stanza, the poet compares the ice cream cart to a lovely garden full of blooming roses and sweet peas. The poet says that the way children gather around the ice cream cart is like honey bees gathering around flowers to collect nectar.

Theme of The Poem

Rachel Field wrote this poem to show how an ice cream vendor brings joy and refreshment during the hot summer days. His cart is filled with different ice cream flavors, and he also offers the kids cool fizzy drinks to quench their thirst. Because of this, the ice cream vendor becomes everyone's favorite.

Difficult Words

• Blaze - That is flaming hot.
• Trundling - A vehicle moving slowly as it is heavy and on small wheels.
• Mounds - Something of large quantity in a pile or heap.
• Frosty-fizz - A chilled drink that makes a sound when opened due to bubbles.
• Cluster - Gathering of similar people or things.