What is the subject of T. S. Eliot s masterpiece T

正确答案：'Anecdote of the Jar' is a strange poem in some ways and not very easy to interpret. Wallace Stevens seems to agree with T. S. Eliot' s notion of poetry as an autonomous construction capable of more than one interpretation.We can only decipher the meaning of ' Anecdote of the Jar' by placing it in the larger context of his aesthetic credo and thematic concerns. Here lies the wild-and chaotic and formless-rural Tennessee which let us assume is a symbol of the world of nature. Then the 'I' of the poem places in it a tall round jar a manmade object which is suggestive of the world of art and by extension the world of imagination. What happens when the jar is standing there is almost a miracle; it controls the whole disorderly landscape so that 'The wilderness rose up to it / And sprawled around no longer wild.The poem seems to be talking about the relationship between art and nature. The world of nature shapeless and slovenly takes shape and order from the presence of the jar. The world of art and imagination gives form and meaning to that of nature and reality thus suggesting as Stevens may be doing that any society without art is one without order and that man makes the order he perceives and the world he inhabits is one he half creates. Stevens firmly believes that the poet is the archetype of creative power on which all human understanding depends. His poet is 'the necessary angel of the earth' in whose sight man sees the earth again. The poet is in other words an instrument by means of which man is made to see life whole again.
'AnecdoteoftheJar'isastrangepoeminsomewaysandnotveryeasytointerpret.WallaceStevensseemstoagreewithT.S.Eliot'snotionofpoetryasanautonomousconstructioncapableofmorethanoneinterpretation.Wecanonlydecipherthemeaningof'AnecdoteoftheJar'byplacingitinthelargercontextofhisaestheticcredoandthematicconcerns.Hereliesthewild-andchaoticandformless-ruralTennessee,whichletusassumeisasymboloftheworldofnature.Thenthe'I'ofthepoemplacesinitatall,roundjar,amanmadeobject,whichissuggestiveoftheworldofart,andbyextension,theworldofimagination.Whathappenswhenthejarisstandingthereisalmostamiracle;itcontrolsthewholedisorderlylandscape,sothat'Thewildernessroseuptoit,/Andsprawledaround,nolongerwild.Thepoemseemstobetalkingabouttherelationshipbetweenartandnature.Theworldofnature,shapelessandslovenly,takesshapeandorderfromthepresenceofthejar.Theworldofartandimaginationgivesformandmeaningtothatofnatureandreality,thussuggesting,asStevensmaybedoing,thatanysocietywithoutartisonewithoutorderandthatmanmakestheorderheperceives,andtheworldheinhabitsisonehehalfcreates.Stevensfirmlybelievesthatthepoetisthearchetypeofcreativepoweronwhichallhumanunderstandingdepends.Hispoetis'thenecessaryangeloftheearth',inwhosesightmanseestheearthagain.Thepoetis,inotherwords,aninstrumentbymeansofwhichmanismadetoseelifewholeagain.