Anecdote of the Jar
Wallace Stevens





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10 

 I placed a jar in Tennessee, 
And round it was, upon a hill. 
It made the slovenly wilderness 
Surround that hill. 
5 The wilderness rose up to it, 
And sprawled around, no longer wild. 
The jar was round upon the ground 
And tall and of a port in air. 
It took dominion everywhere. 
10 The jar was gray and bare. 
It did not give of bird or bush, 
Like nothing else in Tennessee. 

Disillusionment of Ten o'clock
Wallace Stevens





5




10 




15		 The houses are haunted 
By white night-gowns. 
None are green, 
Or purple with green rings, 
Or green with yellow rings, 
Or yellow with blue rings. 
None of them are strange, 
With socks of lace 
And beaded ceintures.° 
People are not going 
To dream of baboons and periwinkles.° 
Only, here and there, an old sailor, 
Drunk and asleep in his boots, 
Catches tigers 
In red weather. 

Making Meanings
Anecdote of the Jar / Disillusionment of Ten o'clock

1. Read “Anecdote of the Jar” and “Disillusionment of Ten O’Clock” at least twice. After each reading, write down what you think each poem is about. Exchange your ideas with a partner. How similar are your statements about the poems? 

Anecdote of the Jar

2. Describe what the speaker does in the first stanza. What adjective does the speaker use to describe the jar? How does he describe the wilderness in which he places the jar? 
3. In the second stanza, what effect does the jar have on the wilderness? 
4. What does the jar “not give” in the last stanza? 
5. Some critics say that the jar is a metaphor for the poet’s act of imagination in creating this poem, or for the poem itself. Do you agree with either interpretation? Why or why not? What else could the jar stand for? 
6. If the jar stands for the poet’s art (or for any kind of art), what is the “wilderness” that the jar has “dominion” or control over? 
7. Some other critics think the jar is a metaphor for human interference with nature. Reread the poem and see if you could justify this interpretation. 

Disillusionment of Ten o'clock

8. Describe the nightgowns that do not haunt the houses. 
9. What won’t the people in these houses dream about? 
10. Why do you suppose the poet says that the houses are “haunted” by white nightgowns? 
11. What is the speaker implying about the old sailor, based on the sailor's dream? How does the sailor contrast with the other people? 
12. What could the “disillusionment” of the title refer to? (What does the speaker expect? What does he discover?) 
13. List other fantastic things that these people will never dream about.

Choices

1. Collecting Ideas for an Interpretive Essay

Use the following questions to analyze any poem in this collection. then, freewrite a paragraph explaining how literary elements work together to help create the poem's meaning.

  1. What is the subject of the poem?
  2. What is the tone of the poem?
  3. What images does the poet use?
  4. What figures of speech does the poem contain?
  5. What symbols does the poem contain?
  6. How does the poem use rhyme, meter, and other sound effects?
  7. Which elements are most important in the poem? Which are least important?
  8. What does the poem's title mean?
  9. What is the poem's theme?
  10. What is your emotional response to the text?

2. Imagination: Necessary?

Write an essay about people's imaginative lives today. Where is imagination needed? How can imagination be nourished? How do children lose their imaginations? If you wish, refer to Stevens's poems to make your point. 

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