Wallace Stevens was one of the most significant American poets of the 20th century.”Anecdote of the Jar” is the poem from his first book “Harmonium” and was published in 1919. It discusses how imagination imposes on reality.
In the poem, Stevens reveals relationship between nature and society. Actually, he wants to show who the dominant figure in the modern world is and how the two are related to each other. In the poem, humans have only the illusion on control. The relationships between nature and society are like a game. Sometimes it is hard to understand and these relationships seem unsolvable. The truth of this poem can be reached only trough imagination. In order to do it, he uses more symbolism, rhythm, and also repetitions.
Wallace Stevens depicts that all the events take place in Tennessee, a place that located in Southern United States. He mentions the place in the first and the final stanza, so that the whole circle is there. Everything started and ended in the place. As well as, nature has its own circles of seasons, birth and death, etc. With the word “Tennessee” the poet starts and finishes the poem in a calm way. It is clear, the word depicts that there are connection between wilderness and humanity. The first line is the beginning of these relationships but the last one is the end. In the three stanzas of the poem, Stevens has shown every aspect of relationship that he wanted. Therefore, the key word of “Anecdote of the Jar” is “dominion”.
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