Function of Conflict: Poetry Practice Test
•15 QuestionsRead the poem below, in which a speaker sits in a car outside an apartment, debating whether to go inside.
"Key in the Ignition"
The engine ticks itself cooler,
each tick a small refusal.
Upstairs, your window is lit,
a square of ordinary yellow.
I practice your name aloud,
then stop—my voice sounds like someone
asking for directions.
In the cup holder, the apology I bought
sweats through its paper sleeve.
My thumb hovers over the text:
I’m outside.
I imagine your face reading it,
the way you used to read weather,
deciding whether to carry an umbrella.
A couple walks past, laughing,
and I feel suddenly exposed,
as if the car were glass
and my indecision a headline.
The key stays turned halfway,
between leaving and arriving.
Which choice best describes the function of the poem’s conflict/tension in developing its meaning?
Read the poem below, in which a speaker sits in a car outside an apartment, debating whether to go inside.
"Key in the Ignition"
The engine ticks itself cooler,
each tick a small refusal.
Upstairs, your window is lit,
a square of ordinary yellow.
I practice your name aloud,
then stop—my voice sounds like someone
asking for directions.
In the cup holder, the apology I bought
sweats through its paper sleeve.
My thumb hovers over the text:
I’m outside.
I imagine your face reading it,
the way you used to read weather,
deciding whether to carry an umbrella.
A couple walks past, laughing,
and I feel suddenly exposed,
as if the car were glass
and my indecision a headline.
The key stays turned halfway,
between leaving and arriving.
Which choice best describes the function of the poem’s conflict/tension in developing its meaning?