Grass is incapable of speech. Or any intelligent thoughts for that matter. But if grass was sentient, what would it think of human race. Would it be impressed by our progress, or disappointed at all the obstacles we have yet to overcome? Carl Sandberg seems to believe the latter, as he writes of an impassive being posing as grass. He captures the unbiased perspective of nature and illustrates how pointless human warfare is to a being above such trivial matters. Sandburg, in his poem Grass, intertwines proper nouns, pronouns, and imperative verbs to illustrate how superficial human conflicts are from the perspective of nature. In “Grass,” the speaker uses proper nouns to put the poem in perspective. Five proper nouns are used throughout this
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This vegetation doesn’t care that these soldiers had lives, friends, and families waiting for them back home. It doesn’t care how much these soldiers loved their country, or just felt like it was their patriotic duty to fight thee wars. The speaker sees these matters as trivial, and looks down at humans for caring for such concepts. This is shown the speakers use of the word “shovel” (Line 6.) The grass is in no position to demand this of mankind, yet it does so anyway. Furthermore, the speakers use of the word “pile” (line 4) similarly connotes a sense of command. No one goes around piling up bodies for fun, which means that someone is ordering these men to do this. Odds are, the grass isn’t in charge of these men. But that doesn’t stop the speaker from attempting to command these men. The only people who go around commanding strangers to work are either in a position of great power or falsely believe they have great power. This speaker is definitely the latter.
Carl Sandburg, in his poem Grass, uses proper nouns, pronouns, and imperative verbs to illustrate how pointless human conflicts are from the perspective of nature. He, under the guise of vegetation, questions the purpose of war and mocks the aftermath. If even grass, inanimate and thoughtless beings, sees how fruitless battles really are then how can we call ourselves
This vegetation doesn’t care that these soldiers had lives, friends, and families waiting for them back home. It doesn’t care how much these soldiers loved their country, or just felt like it was their patriotic duty to fight thee wars. The speaker sees these matters as trivial, and looks down at humans for caring for such concepts. This is shown the speakers use of the word “shovel” (Line 6.) The grass is in no position to demand this of mankind, yet it does so anyway. Furthermore, the speakers use of the word “pile” (line 4) similarly connotes a sense of command. No one goes around piling up bodies for fun, which means that someone is ordering these men to do this. Odds are, the grass isn’t in charge of these men. But that doesn’t stop the speaker from attempting to command these men. The only people who go around commanding strangers to work are either in a position of great power or falsely believe they have great power. This speaker is definitely the latter.
Carl Sandburg, in his poem Grass, uses proper nouns, pronouns, and imperative verbs to illustrate how pointless human conflicts are from the perspective of nature. He, under the guise of vegetation, questions the purpose of war and mocks the aftermath. If even grass, inanimate and thoughtless beings, sees how fruitless battles really are then how can we call ourselves