When discussing “Anecdote of a Jar,” Professor Janet Beer says that the poem provokes a discussion of
wilderness and civilization. In fact, each of the readings from this unit could provoke an interesting discussion
about two seemingly opposite ideas. For this discussion post, choose two poems from this unit’s readings and
identify the opposite ideas or tensions that you find in them — something like the relationship between
wilderness and civilization. Then, explain how you know that the tension really exists within the poem.