Question

read the excerpt below from \the iraqi nights\ by dunya mikhail and then answer questions 8-10.
excerpt:
\in the first year of war
they played bride and groom
and counted everything on their fingers:
their faces reflected in the river;
the waves that swept away their faces
before disappearing;
and the names of newborns.
then the war grew up
and invented a new game for them:
the winner is the one
who returns from the journey
alone\
what might the authors purpose be in placing the word \alone\ on a separate line?
it continues the rhyme and rhythm throughout the stanza.
there is likely no reason.
it makes the word stand out more.
there was not enough room on the previous line.

Explanation:

Placing "alone" on its own line in poetry is a deliberate structural choice. This formatting isolates the word, drawing the reader's full attention to it, emphasizing the loneliness and loss tied to the war's "new game" where returning alone is framed as a "win." The other options are incorrect: the poem has no consistent rhyme/rhythm to continue, there is a clear literary purpose, and it is not a matter of space.

Answer:

It makes the word stand out more.