Case History

This poem is about how Abse was a doctor in Wales and the connection he has with some of his patients. The patient in this poem is a Nazi who continues to question and glorify the past, " he praised the architects of German-death camps, but did not know i was a Jew. " this shows the problems caused when you question things about someone you don't know. Abse uses a oxymoron "white blacks" to show both contrast and words that are completely different.
The second stanza is memories linked to the patient that affected Abse's background for example he uses many known German names "Goering" "Himmler" to reflect how he feels they treated him and his family during the war.
The third stanza he talks how he is in the clinics dispensary and how "red berry and black byrony" could easily kill him and harm him like they did to his family. The medicines could act as revenge yet he felt himself treating him "as if he were my brother" which adds a sense of respect. This could show what sort of person Abse is, as he didn't let him suffer because of what he did to them instead he moved on and prescribed the correct medicine to help the man get better.
The title 'Case History' could show both the patient being that certain 'case' and the 'history' being the past and what happened to everyone during the war.