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,
Perfectly round objects –like this jar– do not exist in nature. Stevens is addressing humanity’s tendency to impose man-made entities onto nature, disturbing uncorrupted space with their domineering creations. Placing the jar “upon” (making it “above” or superior to) a hill signifies man’s attempted ascendancy over the natural world.
Anecdote of the Jar