Function of Allusion: Poetry Practice Test

Read the following poem excerpt:

My friend posts her engagement photos at sunset,

two silhouettes stitched together by filters.

I double-tap, then set my phone down

as if it’s hot.

In my sink, dishes wait like unsentences.

I rinse a fork, watch the water bead and run,

small clean endings.

The neighbor’s dog barks at nothing,

faithful to invisible threats.

I think of "Pandora"

not for the box itself,

but for the moment after the lid lifts—

when you can’t pretend you didn’t want to look.

In context, the allusion to "Pandora" chiefly emphasizes

Read the following poem excerpt:

In the hospital corridor, the vending machine

glows like a tiny altar of sugar.

A nurse tapes a note to the wall—

NO FLOWERS IN ICU—

as if beauty could infect.

My brother sleeps behind glass,

breathing with borrowed rhythm.

To keep from crying, I count tiles,

then remember "Ophelia"

and how water can look like mercy

until it isn’t.

The allusion to "Ophelia" primarily contributes to the poem’s