I placed a jar in Tennessee,
And round it was, upon a hill.
It made the slovenly wilderness
Surround that hill.
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 every where.
The jar was gray and bare.
It did not give of bird or bush,
Like nothing else in Tennessee.
《Anecdote of the Jar》无疑是史蒂文斯的著名诗作之一。诗人以一个俯瞰的视野向读者呈现了田纳西一片荒野的景象。一派荒凉的风景朝着一个被放置在小山丘的坛子向心聚拢。因为坛子在这里的存在，这片原本零乱的世界产生了一种强烈的向心力。这是诗人力图告诉我们的，左右自然世界的一种秩序。坛子是空的，表面平淡无奇的。空洞的坛口从空中望去犹如一个黑洞，对周围产生了强大而神秘的吸引力，这是秩序产生的源泉。