In "Grass," Sandburg uses the image of grass to represent the resilience of life. The poem begins with the line, "Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo," which refers to two major battles in the Napoleonic Wars. Sandburg then goes on to describe how the grass grows over the battlefield, covering up the bodies and restoring life to the land. This imagery suggests that even in the midst of death and destruction, there is still hope for new life.
In "Anecdote of the Jar," Stevens uses the image of a jar to represent the power of art to transform the natural world. The poem begins with the line, "I placed a jar in Tennessee," which seems like a simple statement of fact. However, Stevens then goes on to describe how the jar changes the landscape around it. The jar becomes a focal point for the natural world, and it seems to bring order and beauty to the chaos. This imagery suggests that art has the power to make sense of the world and to create something new and beautiful out of the ordinary.
Both "Grass" and "Anecdote of the Jar" are powerful poems that use natural imagery to explore complex ideas about life, death, and art. While the two poems are different in many ways, they share some important similarities in their themes and imagery.