Anecdote of the Jar

I really enjoyed Wallace Stevens's poem Anecdote of the Jar. After writing my close reading assignment on it, I was interested in finding some background information about the poem. It was written in 1919 and published with Steven's first book of poetry, Harmonium. This was a surprise to me that it was written so long ago - the style seems modern, as do the ideas that I concluded from the poem. It seems to me that Stevens is commenting on the human influence on the natural world, and I am surprised and impressed that such ideas surrounding nature were appearing as earlier as 1919. Of course, it is entirely possible that Stevens's ideas when writing this poem were entirely different - it is a poem, as most are, that could be interpreted in many different ways through many different lenses. I personally hope that Stevens was referencing some of the ideas that I took away from the poem, because I think this is a very powerful piece when interpreted through an environmental perspective.

Anecdote of the Jar - Wallace Stevens

I placed a jar in Tennessee,

And round it was, upon a hill.

It made the slovenly wilderness

Surround that hill.

The wilderness rose up to it,

And sprawled around, no longer wild.

The jar was round upon the ground

And tall and of a port in air.

It took dominion every where.

The jar was gray and bare.

It did not give of bird or bush,

Like nothing else in Tennessee.