Question

3
read the first stanza of wallace stevenss \the anecdote of the jar\ below:
i placed a jar in tennessee,
and round it was, upon a hill.
it made the slovenly wilderness
surround that hill.
which of these is the best paraphrase of the stanza?
a. i placed a jar on a round, wilderness-covered hill in tennessee.
b. i put a round jar on a hill in tennessee, and the jar made the wilderness surround it.
c. when i placed a jar outside in tennessee, it seemed to dominate all of nature.
d. the round jar i put on a hill looked strange amidst the wildness of nature.

Explanation:

This option directly restates all key details from the original stanza: the round jar placed on a Tennessee hill, and the jar causing the wilderness to surround that hill, matching the poem's exact meaning without adding or omitting critical elements. Other options either misinterpret details (A misplaces the "round" descriptor) or add unstated implications (C's "dominate all of nature" and D's "looked strange" are not in the original text).

Answer:

B. I put a round jar on a hill in Tennessee, and the jar made the wilderness surround it.