Analysis of Wallace Stevens’s “Anecdote of the Jar”

Analysis of Wallace Stevens’s “Anecdote of the Jar” the poem written by Wallace Stevens is mainly about the relationship between nature and art.The poet thinks that the nature is a desultory world and only ideas can make it united as a whole. In fact, “the slovenly wilderness”is the symbol of crudity and ignorance,which indicates that the world is in a state of chaos.While as a piece of artwork the jar is the counterpart that stands for art.However,in Steven’s mind,it is not only a piece of lifeless artwork, but also has its beauty and could be appreciated by people.What’s more,it also represents imaginative creativity and makes the slovenly wilderness orderly. Though the jar itself is a member of the nature,it is not just that.The same goes as civilization to wildness and folly.Civilization is originated from wildness and folly initially,but it is superior to the original wildness.The jar is not decorated,but its brilliant rays are not covered or weaken;the jar does not have life as animals,it has its unique speciality which overshadow other ordinary creature in nature as well as being beautiful and irreplaceable.The poet placed the jar higher han other things in nature,however,it does not mean that the jar can replace the position of “the sloven wilderness”,neither can the jar be put solely away from its backdrop—the nature.Because its art fascination would not exist if it is not with the slovenly wilderness.That is to say,the jar’s being vivid and charming are built on nature and they are closely related to each other. In this poem,the readers can get the message of the aesthetic ideas of the poet,and that is the combination of art,ideas and nature.All of them are indivisible and setting off each other. As for the content of the poem,it almost has the quality of a Zen story discussing the concept of 'emptiness.' Ordinarily a jar contains what is inside it. Here, the jar “contains” what is outside it. “It made the slovenly wilderness/ Surround that hill.” Moreover, “The wilderness rose up to it, / And sprawled around, no longer wild.” So the jar starts out as a demarcation point between the civilized world and the wilderness. But then, the very presence of the jar tames the wilderness, which is “no longer wild.” Indeed, the jar “took dominion everywhere.” In the opening stanza, Stevens mentions that the jar was round, and then he repeats that in the second stanza: it was “round upon the ground.” The geometric nature of the jar makes it unnatural or strictly man-made, and gives it dominion over what is natural and formerly wild. So at least in that sense, the jar does “contain” what is outside it. (BTW, I think this is different from a candy wrapper or a cigarette butt or other litter simply ruining the view. The poet-narrator “placed” it. The jar here contrasts with the “slovenly” wilderness. It is “tall and of a port in air.” It is not just litter.) The poem ends as a sort of joke, as so many Zen stories do. The jar “did not give of bird or bush.” Well, of course not. It will only be of use to a bird or bush if it contained something else, like water, seed, or the bird’s nest. Empty, it “contains” the wilderness. But if it has something in it, then it’s just there. It becomes part of what surrounds it.And then, in the last line, the jar is “Like nothing else in Tennessee.” There is a question: there are no other jars in Tennessee? The answer is: well, no others that contain the wilderness.