
1. In this poem, Shel Silverstein uses hyperbole to create humor. The sentence "The garbage reached across the state, from New York to Golden Gate" is being exaggerated, also "That it finally touched the sky". Not any of the garbage piles will cross more than a thousand miles and touch the sky, but he does it on purpose. He uses it to make us laugh and enjoy the poem.
2. Alliteration is a repetition of the consonant in a series of words. Before you even go to the poem, the title already is alliteration,
Sarah
Cynthia
Sylvia
Stout. Those words all begin with the sound "s". In addition, in line 19, there is also alliteration, Crust of
black
burned
buttered toast, which start with sound "b". Finally, "Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel" the sound that repeats is "p".
3. Every poems or novels have a theme. Despite that the poem is humorous, the poet is using that humorous to transfer that theme to us. Obviously, the message of this poem is being responsible toward the enviroment. The poet uses hyperbole to create humor, also to mention if we keep livinng wastingly, then the earth would soon fill with trash piles.