Essay Questions

McGough’s poem, “Q,” begins and ends with the exact same two-line stanza. What is the purpose of this?

This poem begins and ends with the following stanza: I join the queue We move up nicely. In between, the narrator describes how he has reached the beginning of one line, only to be told that the purpose of this line was to be moved to another line upon reaching the front. The narrator finds this to be somewhat preposterous and yet, he does as he is told and relocates to the proper line. After, he re-states the aforementioned stanza. This decision is purposeful on behalf of McGough and used to indicate both our sense of complacency and our inability to remain in one line for two long. As the lines are representative of the different stages of one’s life, it would be very difficult (and boring) to remain in one line for all time. As such, McGough utilizes these repeating stanzas to indicate that we willingly switch from line to line because this is the only way to move forward in life and achieve new experiences and beginnings.

Why are most of McGough’s poems very vague in terms of setting, location, and context?

Nearly all of McGough’s poems are both short and non-specific. This is a purposeful choice, as it transfers some of the poetic power to readers and allows them to establish their own context for the poems. In “Beguiling,” for example, the narrator describes a woman that inspires and motivates him. However, the only description that is provided for this woman is the titular word “beguiling.” All other aspects of the woman—her age, ethnicity, height, hair color, eye color, attitude, etc.—are all supplied by each reader. As such, this woman and her attributes will vary from reader to reader. This same process is true for nearly all of McGough’s poems. He is intentionally vague, so as to allow each reader to design their own context for the poem, which creates an interesting dynamic of power, where McGough only sets the foundation of the poem, while the readers provide the details they want to see.

After all the narrator goes through in “The Leader” to become the leader of the group, why does the poem end with him giving the role away?

In this poem, the narrator practically begs to be bestowed the coveted role and title of leader. His childlike persistence is then reflected once he is actually afforded the role. Though it is never stated what the narrator is made leader of, it soon becomes clear that he cannot handle the numerous responsibilities that are associated with leadership. The narrator, though he has received the coveted title he sought so greatly and childishly, now that he has attained, he realizes his expectations did not match the reality. As such, he chooses to pass his leadership to someone else. As such, the narrator of this poem chooses to abdicate his leadership position because he does not wish to bear the responsibilities that come with being the leader of a group.