Here, But Unable to Answer (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Richard Hogan
- First Published: 1982
- Type of Work: Elegy
- Genres: Poetry, Elegy
- Subjects: Parents and children, World War II, War, Fathers, Death or dying
The Poem
Richard Hugo’s “Here, But Unable to Answer” consists of four symmetrically arranged stanzas of seven, ten, ten, and seven lines (a total of thirty-four lines), written in unrhymed, accented lines that approximate iambic pentameter. As its dedication implies, the poem is an elegy mourning the death of Herbert Hugo, the poet’s father (actually his stepfather). The title echoes a response that is sometimes given during roll call in the military when an individual, ill or indisposed in some way, is for all other purposes present and accounted for. Its use here is...
[The entire page is 1517 words long]
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