{"id":240,"date":"2025-09-22T18:26:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T18:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hartfordlit.org\/?p=240"},"modified":"2026-01-28T21:31:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T21:31:48","slug":"anecdote-of-the-jar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hartfordlit.org\/?p=240","title":{"rendered":"Anecdote of the Jar\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stevens thought a lot about the importance of imagination in life.\u00a0 Here the speaker performs one odd, imaginative act\u2014he places a jar on a hilltop.\u00a0 The man-made jar sticks out from the natural scene surrounding it, commanding our attention and becoming a focal point in the landscape.\u00a0 The speaker\u2019s gesture is an example of how we create human order in the world.\u00a0 How does the jar affect the landscape around it?\u00a0 Does the poem suggest that this is a good or a bad thing?\u00a0 How?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Anecdote of the Jar<\/strong><\/h2>\n

by Wallace Stevens<\/strong><\/p>\n

I placed a jar in Tennessee,
\nAnd round it was, upon a hill.
\nIt made the slovenly wilderness
\nSurround that hill.<\/p>\n

The wilderness rose up to it,
\nAnd sprawled around, no longer wild.
\nThe jar was round upon the ground
\nAnd tall and of a port in air.<\/p>\n

It took dominion everywhere.
\nThe jar was gray and bare.
\nIt did not give of bird or bush,
\nLike nothing else in Tennessee.<\/p>\n

\n

Glossary<\/strong>
\nslovenly<\/em>: untidy
\ndominion<\/em>: sovereignty, ownership (rule)
\ngive of<\/em>: produce, bring forth (bear)<\/p>\n

of a port<\/em>: This unusual phrase has at least two possible meanings:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0 A \u201cport\u201d can be an opening or portal (doorway).\u00a0 \u201cOf a port in air\u201d may therefore suggest a sort of mysterious entryway.<\/p>\n

2) A \u201cport\u201d can also be a person\u2019s \u201cbearing\u201d or way of carrying themselves.\u00a0 \u201cOf a port\u201d may therefore suggest the jar\u2019s impressive presence<\/p>\n

Wallace Stevens, \"Anecdote of the Jar\" from Harmonium<\/i>. (New York:\u00a0<\/strong>Alfred A. Knopf, 1923. Public domain.)<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Stevens thought a lot about the importance of imagination in life.\u00a0 Here the speaker performs one odd, imaginative act\u2014he places a jar on a hilltop.\u00a0 The man-made jar sticks out from the natural scene surrounding it, commanding our attention and becoming a focal point in the landscape.\u00a0 The speaker\u2019s gesture is an example of how … Continue reading Anecdote of the Jar\u00a0<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[34,32,31],"class_list":["post-240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wallace-stevens","tag-nature","tag-poem","tag-poetry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartfordlit.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartfordlit.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartfordlit.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartfordlit.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartfordlit.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hartfordlit.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartfordlit.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartfordlit.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartfordlit.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}