SAT OwlQuestion bank / Command of Evidence
"Ode to a Kitchen Clock" is a 1926 poem by Helen Strickland. In the poem, the speaker addresses an old clock and expresses affection for it despite its flaws, as when she writes, ______
Which quotation from "Ode to a Kitchen Clock" most effectively illustrates the claim?
"You lose ten minutes every afternoon, / And still I would not trade you for the new."
"Your face is round and white, your hands are black, / Your numbers marching neatly in their track."
"The clockmaker who built you long ago / Has been forgotten by the town below."
"At midnight, when the house is dark and still, / I hear you ticking on the windowsill."
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
The claim requires both a flaw and affection in spite of it. Choice A names a flaw (the clock loses ten minutes daily) and then states the speaker's attachment ("I would not trade you for the new"). The other quotations describe the clock or its history without pairing a flaw with fondness.
Choice D has an affectionate tone, but it mentions no flaw, so it shows only half of the claim.
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