Character Choices/Actions: Poetry Practice Test

Read the following poem and answer the question.

"The Compliment"

A stranger in the elevator says,

I like your coat.

The words land soft, unexpected.

I look down at the buttons, as if

the coat could answer for me.

I say, Thanks, it was on sale,

and feel the compliment shrink.

She nods, polite.

Between floors, the silence thickens.

When the doors open, I step out quickly,

carrying my bargain like a shield,

wishing I’d simply said thank you

and let it be true.

The speaker’s choice to add “it was on sale” most strongly reveals

Read the following poem and answer the question.

"On Holding the Ladder"

My brother climbs, hammer in his teeth,

and I keep my hands on the rung below.

He says, Don’t move, like I’m a weather.

Above us, paint peels in polite curls.

I watch his ankle flex, the tendon bright,

and think of all the times I didn’t call.

The ladder shivers when the wind arrives.

I tighten my grip until my knuckles pale.

He laughs—Relax—and I laugh too,

though my throat is full of careful stones.

When he reaches the roof, he doesn’t look down.

I stay where I am, holding what I can.

The speaker’s choice to tighten my grip until my knuckles pale most strongly reveals