10 Chanting became insistent. Protesters) were irritated by the company
ignoring their requests. Which of the following would NOT be an
acceptable replacement?

often a noun phrase is just a noun or a pronoun:

people like to have money.

i am tired.

it is getting late.

  this had halp

(you didn't attach a copy of the poem, but i'm answering as best as i can)

since a simile compares two unlike things using like or as, it kind of gives an item the ability to do something it can't.

example: "the player was like a tiger on the field"

in this sentence, the simile conveys the idea that the player was fast and strong, like a tiger.