Answer:
The climax in 'Nicholas was' is when the speaker says that Nicholas wanted to die
Step-by-step explanation:
'Nicholas was' is a poem written by Neil Gaiman. The poem is about St. Nicholas who is considered the Santa Claus, or on whom the story of Santa Claus is based.
In the poem, the speaker brings a different view of Nicholas and Santa Claus story. The speaker is suggesting that dwarves were in Santa Claus' prison, working day and night in his factories. Santa Claus is forced to deliver gifts every year to children and he does not do on his own accord.
The climax of the poem is when the speaker says that Nicholas wanted to die. When readers read this line, it makes them curious as to what happened that the main character desires such a fate for himself, which gets clear in the denouement that because his punishment was more harsher than Prometheus and Loki, Sisyphus and Judas, he desired death.
Climax is that part of the plot which keeps the readers keep reading the text, and bringing such a twist in the poem makes readers completely read the poem to know the reason behind such decision.