Question

Modernist poetry explored the problems that arose from rapid urbanization and industrialization in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Which lines in this excerpt from "Anecdote of the Jar" by Wallace Stevens reflect the themes of barrenness and emptiness in modern life?

Answer 1

In my opinion, the lines that reflect the themes of barrenness and emptiness are 4. The jar was gray and bare and 5. It did not give of bird or bush, / Like nothing else in Tennessee. The jar in Stevens' poem epitomizes the effect and positioning of civilization within nature. Apparently, nature (nothing, that is everything else in Tennessee) still has powers which the futile and barren civilization doesn't have.