Anecdote of the Jar Literary Elements

The speaker is first-person but does not focus on himself. Instead, he focuses on the jar and its influence on the world around it.

There are four lines per stanza and no regular rhyme scheme

The final lines of the poem can be considered a simile, but uses convoluted syntax:
"It did not give of bird or bush,
Like nothing else in Tennessee."

The line "It did not give of bird or bush" uses alliteration.

Although a jar is generally thought to be a mundane object, it is the subject matter of this poem, and an inspiration for the poet.

20th century poetry.

The setting is Tennessee.

The tone is thoughtful.

There is no antagonist, and the protagonist is the speaker.

The conflict is between the jar, and the world around it as it begins to adapt to the presence of the jar.

The climax is the end of the poem, where the speaker says that the jar
"did not give of bird or bush,
Like nothing else in Tennessee."

In the first stanza the fact that the jar "made the slovenly wilderness surround that hill," foreshadows how nature will adapt to the jar.

A jar is considered to be a mundane object, and therefore may be understated. However, in this poem, Stevens shows how a jar can have an influence on the natural world, and can inspire poetry.

According to some critics, Anecdote of the Jar alludes to Keats' "Ode to a Grecian Urn."

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The jar is personified in the following line: "It took dominion everywhere."

The line "it took dominion everywhere" is hyperbole, as the jar did not actually take dominion absolutely everywhere.

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