HELP Grass
by Carl Sandburg

1 Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work – I am the grass; I cover all.
And pile them high at Gettysburg
5 And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?
10 I am the grass.
Let me work.

NOTE – The poem lists the sites of several legendary and bloody battles, including those fought in the Napoleonic Wars (Austerlitz and Waterloo), the Civil War (Gettysburg), and World War I (Verdun and Ypres).
Reread line 5 of the poem.

5 And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.

What literary device is used in this line?
A)Metaphor, representing the grass as a large pile
B)Simile, comparing the grass to battles
C)Alliteration, repeating the “p” sound
D)Allusion, referring to the two bloody battles
2)
What literary device is used to create rhythm in the poem?
A)Consonance, repeating the “p” sound
B)Repetition, saying things more than once
C)Allusion, mentioning the battles
D)Alliteration, repeating vowel sounds
3)
Which statement best summarizes the poem?
A)Visitors pile bodies high as a peace offering to the grass
B)The grass attracts tourists to former battlegrounds
C)The grass hides the violent evidence of human war
D)Visitors want to get away from the grass at the battlegrounds
4)
What is the overall tone of the poem?
A)Humorous, laughing at the ridiculous nature of war
B)Optimistic, believing that war will not happen again
C)Theatrical, dramatizing the pain caused by all of these battles
D)Calm, emphasizing the peace in these places after time
5)
The grass as the speaker of the poem is an example of ...
A)Allusion, by referring to the shovel used to bury people
B)Tone, by creating a peaceful feeling in the poem
C)Personification, by giving the grass human qualities
D)Simile, by comparing the speaker to the growing grass