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

1、Analysis of Wallace Stevenss “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

2、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 Stevens mind,it is not only a piece of lifeless artwork, but also has its beauty and could be appreciated by people.Whats more,it also represents

3、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 i

4、s 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 doe

5、s not mean that the jar can replace the position of “the sloven wilderness”,neither can the jar be put solely away from its backdropthe nature.Because its art fascination would not exist if it is not with the slovenly wilderness.That is to say,the jars being vivid and charming are built on nature an

6、d 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

7、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

8、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

9、 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 o

10、r 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 bu

11、sh.” 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 birds nest. Empty, it “contains” the wilderness. But if it has something in it, then its just there. It becomes part of what surrounds it.And then, in the last line, the jar is

12、 “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.In so far as the technique of this poem,the most important one is symbolism and surrealism.For example,the “I”in the poem maybe not refers to the w

13、riter Wallace Stevens himself,it can be anyone.And the jar symbolize art,while the wilderness in Tennessee is the symbol of nature.The purpose of surrealism is to put the relatively discordant verbal images and physical objects together so as to create a feeling of surreal.In this poem,the jar and t

14、he slovenly wilderness are placed together to produce the effect of being surreal.And another part of the poem to analyze is its structure.There are totally three parts in this poem.In the first stanza, “I”put a empty jar in the hill among the slovenly wilderness to make it orderly.In the second sta

15、nza,the jar is just like the king that is dignified,high up above the masses.And the wilderness is like the its people obedient.In the last stanza,though the jar controls the whole,it does not have real life as plants and birds.In the appreciation of the poem,we know that the writer is very prudent

16、in using words,and the contrasting between the jar and the slovenly wilderness is everywhere in the poem,such as round versus slovenly in the first stanza,tall and of a port in air versus sprawled around in the second,and gray and bare versus give of bird or bush in the third stanza.罐子轶事  

17、  美国 斯蒂文斯我把一个罐子放在田那西，圆的，搁在山上。它使懒散的荒野围拢了那山冈荒野向它升起，并在四围蔓延，不再野性。罐子在地上是圆而高的，是空气中的避风港。它统辖四遭，罐子灰扑扑光秃秃，它并没有变出鸟儿或树木，不象田那西的任何东西。 它简直不可解释。人的创造和自然的相遇，力、空间、孤独、默契，美好而广大的关系。人要是在罐子的位置可能会慌乱，不如罐子的自若    本詩討論藝術(art) 與自然 (nature) 之間的關係。自然原是一片蕪雜，但在藝術影響之下則呈現一種秩序感。惟自然

18、本身有繁殖的能力，而藝術品則無。    技法(Technique)：本詩最重要的技法為象徵主義 (symbolism) 和超現實主義(surrealism)。    象徵主義：詩中的我"I" 並不一定指作者Wallace Stevens本人，可以代表任何詩人或藝術家。瓶子 (the jar) 象徵藝術 (art) 而田納西州的荒野 (wilderness in Tennessee) 則象徵著自然 (nature)。    超現實主義：超現實主義的目標在把一般認為不協調的文字意象 (verbal images) 和實際事物(physical objects) 予以並置，如此產生一種如夢似幻超越現實的感覺。本詩為瓶的軼事，將渾圓之瓶與田納西州的荒野並置，彼此映照，正可以產生超現實的效果。   結構(Structu