Function of Event Sequence: Poetry Practice Test

Read the following poem, then answer the question.

Title: “At the End of the Shift”

1. The diner smells of bleach and burnt sugar.
2. I wipe the counter until it shines like a warning.
3. First, I stack the chairs—four legs up,
4. a herd of metal animals learning to sleep.
5. I count tips, then recount, as if numbers could confess.
6. Outside, a bus exhales and keeps going.
7. Only when the lights are off do I remember
8. my own name, said by no one all day.
9. I lock the door and feel the key turn in my wrist.
10. The street is wide enough to lose a person in.

What is the primary function of the poem’s sequence that moves from closing tasks in lines 3–6 to the self-focused realization in lines 7–8?

Read the following poem, then answer the question.

Title: “Museum Audio Guide”

1. Press play, the voice says, and I obey.
2. It tells me the painter loved ultramarine,
3. and that the model’s hands were arranged for modesty.
4. In Gallery One, the guide speaks in dates.
5. In Gallery Two, it speaks in prices.
6. I nod as if numbers were a form of reverence.
7. In Gallery Three, it falls silent,
8. and I hear my own shoes accusing the floor.
9. The portrait’s eyes keep their weathered patience.
10. I remove the headphones, finally unescorted.

How does the progression from the guide’s factual commentary in lines 4–6 to the silence in lines 7–8 function in the poem?