Question

Grass by Carl Sandburg

1. An allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers. Identify the allusions and discuss why these particular ones are used.
2. A. The dominant rhetorical strategy is personification (giving human qualities to nonhuman objects or ideas). What is personified?
B. How does this help produce the tone of the poem? Remember, tone is how the author feels about the subject.


3. If one of Sandburg’s contentions is that people forget about war and fallen heroes, does the fact that many war memorials and statues, cannons, and plaques dot the landscape at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg contradict this?

Answer 1

Carl Sandburg's poem 'Grass' uses allusions to historical battlefields and personification to create a reflective tone on the nature of memory and the futility of war. The presence of memorials, while aiming to preserve history, might not be sufficient to prevent the gradual fading of individual memories over time.

Step-by-step explanation:

In Carl Sandburg's poem Grass, the allusions refer to various notable battlefields such as Austerlitz, Waterloo, Gettysburg, Ypres, and Verdun. These allusions are used to highlight the historical significance of the battles that took place at these locations, implying the vast number of lives lost and the ease with which history can be forgotten despite such monumental events.

The poem also prominently features personification by giving the grass human characteristics, like the ability to cover and 'forget' the dead from these battles. This personification creates a somber and reflective tone, leading readers to contemplate the transient nature of human memory and the futility of war.

Regarding the existence of monuments and memorials at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, it can be argued that while these structures seek to prevent the forgetting of the past, Sandburg may suggest that the natural passage of time and the continuous cycle of life, represented by the grass growing over battlefields, will eventually obscure individual memories, despite physical attempts to preserve them.

Answer 2

1. The Allusions in this poem are all famous historical battle sites. Austerlitz and Waterloo are two famous sites of battles led by Napoleon in the 1800s. Gettysburg is a famous site where there was a pivotal battle during the Civil War. Ypres and Verdun are both places where battles were held during World War I. All of these battle sites mark areas and moments of significant bloodshed, which relates to the overall idea of the poem that even the most gruesome history can be brushed over, and can produce growth. The grass in the poem wishes to cover the death and the darkness left behind by tragedies such as these.

2. Grass is personified in this poem. It continuously speaks throughout the poem (a human quality), and says "Let me work". Doing work is seen as a predominantly human activity, which also lends to the personification of the grass.

3. This is mostly an opinion question, but it could either be argued that either:

- Yes, this is contradictory, because there are all of these tokens that cover over the land where this tragic event took place, turning it into a tourist site, rather than a solemn gravesite

or

- No, because these memorial items represent the loss that happened at this site, and pay homage to it, so that the battle and lives lost are not forgotten.