Question

Read the excerpt from "Parsley” by Rita Dove.

pulls on his boots, he stomps to
her room in the palace, the one without
curtains, the one with a parrot
in a brass ring. As he paces he wonders
Who can I kill today. And for a moment
the little knot of screams
is still. The parrot, who has traveled

all the way from Australia in an ivory
cage, is, coy as a widow, practising
spring. Ever since the morning
his mother collapsed in the kitchen
while baking skull-shaped candies
for the Day of the Dead, the general
has hated sweets. He orders pastries
brought up for the bird; they arrive

What does the white space between these two stanzas emphasize?

the great distance the bird has come
the dangers of the bird’s journey
how long the bird practices its singing
how far away the parrot’s room is

Answer 1

→the great distance the bird has come

Step-by-step explanation:

The white space between the two stanzas emphasizes the great distance the bird has come. The bird has traveled a long way to reach the parrot's room, and the white space serves to emphasize the passage of time and the effort it took for the bird to make the journey.