What is the main sound device at work in the poem below, and what its effect on this poem’s meaning

The Correct Answer and Explanation is:

Based on the provided image, the correct answer is that the text on the right explains how the author constructed the passage to reflect the speaker’s state of mind.

Explanation

The passage presents two distinct but related styles of writing, separated by a vertical line, to explore a moment of crisis. The text on the left is a fragmented list of images, observations, and anxious questions. Items like “Emptiness,” “An ambulance, blue lights,” “A hospital bed,” and the question, “Are the children okay without their mother?” work together to create an immediate, visceral sense of shock, fear, and disorientation. The form itself, a disjointed list rather than a smooth narrative, mirrors a mind struggling to process a sudden, traumatic event. It effectively shows the speaker’s state without explicitly telling the reader they are in shock.

The prose on the right functions as a commentary on the list. It steps back from the raw emotion to analyze the technique and its effect. This section explains that the “uncoordinated jumble of images” is intentionally used to suggest the speaker’s internal chaos. It describes the list as a collection of “things” that, on their own, are just objects or facts. The author then reflects that this presentation is missing a central, unifying element to give it complete meaning.

Therefore, the most central idea added by the work on the right is this meta-narrative reflection. It does not advance the plot or introduce new characters. Instead, it illuminates the author’s conscious creative process. It reveals how the specific literary choice of a fragmented list was made to authentically represent a psychological state of shock. The reader first experiences the character’s turmoil through the list and then, through the prose on the right, understands the deliberate artistic construction behind that experience. This combination deepens the passage by exploring both the event itself and the way humans attempt to make sense of and narrate such events.

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