Frequently anthologised and widely researched, “Anecdote of the Jar” (1919) is, despite its length, one of the most well-known poems in
Harmonium, Wallace Stevens’ first published collection of poems (1923). The status and importance of the poem, similar to those of the other short pieces entitled “anecdotes” in the volume – such as “Earthy Anecdote”, “Anecdote of the Prince of Peacocks” and others – seem deceptively secondary to longer, more complex poems such as “The Comedian as the Letter C”, “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” or “Notes Towards a Supreme Fiction”. Strategically placed within the volume – the riddle poem “Earthy” anecdote opens the book – these anecdotes typically deepen, modify or challenge ideas which have been already…
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Citation: Jiménez Muñoz, Antonio José. "Anecdote of the Jar". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 September 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6660, accessed 24 November 2024.]
