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QuizMultiple Choice

Meta Poetry: Poetry about Poetry

Question 1 • GA-Literature and Composition III A

Read “Grass” by Carl Sandburg.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 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? I am the grass. Let me work. Which statement best describes the speaker of the poem?

Answer
A
The speaker is the grass that is determined to grow over the earth.
B
The speaker is the shovel that carries the earth and the grass.
C
The speaker is the body that the grass covers.
D
The speaker is the person who cares for the grass at the battlefields.

Explanation

The speaker identifies itself directly: “I am the grass,” and says it covers the bodies and works over time. The battles and graves are eventually hidden so completely that passengers ask what place they are in. Therefore, the speaker is the grass, which is determined to grow over and cover the earth.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.

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