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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


ANECDOTE OF THE JAR by WALLACE STEVENS

Poem Explanation Poet Analysis

First Line: I PLACED A JAR IN TENNESSEE
Last Line: LIKE NOTHING ELSE IN TENNESSEE.
Subject(s): AMERICANS; ART & ARTISTS; BOTTLES; CIVILIZATION; UNITED STATES; AMERICA;

I placed a jar in Tennessee,
I placed a jar in Tennessee,
And round it was, upon a hill.
And round it was, upon a hill.
It made the slovenly wilderness
It made the slovenly wilderness
Surround that hill.
Surround that hill.
The wilderness rose up to it,

And sprawled around, no longer wild.
The wilderness rose up to it,
The jar was round upon the ground
And sprawled around, no longer wild.
And tall and of a port in air.
The jar was round upon the ground
It took dominion everywhere.
And tall and of a port in air.
The jar was gray and bare.

It did not give of bird or bush,
It took dominion everywhere.

The jar was gray and bare.
It did not give of bird or bush,
Like nothing else in Tennessee.




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