Uncle Isidore - Abse

Uncle Isidore is a poem by Abse in the eyes of the persona who seems to look upon this Uncle Isidore. Within stanza one the persona seems to 'observe' Uncle Isidore'. This suggests that this persona maybe acting as an all seeing presence, he doesn't just look at him he observes him which suggests he is looking at him however in a thoughtful manner. The persona also comments that this person is 'sprawled like Karl Marx' suggesting he has some importance in this poem. Karl Marx is a memorable person. This could link to the poem by Larkin For Sidney Bechet, where Sidney Bechet is the memorable person being remembered. However he is 'slumped, dead or asleep', which represents the view that the character has an unproductive, repetitive lifestyle that he maybe poor or a tramp. This links to the poem by Larkin Mr Bleaney and the persona in Mr Bleaney where they both don't have a purpose in life. The persona seems rather harsh in the first stanza, he comments 'I think of Uncle Isidore - smelly schnorer'. This reinforces the view that a lesser human being reminds him of his Uncle Isidore. The persona may view his uncle as lesser than him in status. After all, 'schnorrer' refers to the aspect that he is a beggar. The mention of Karl Marx could suggest a historical context to this poem. The persona also comments 'my foreign distant relative, not always distant' suggesting that Uncle Isidore is the persona's relative. 'Not always distant' suggests that the two know each other fairly well.

In stanza two we begin to think that Uncle Isidore may be a character that is an illusion in the persona's mind. The persona comments 'Before Auschwitz, Treblinka, he seemed near, those days of local pogroms, five year programmes'. The persona comments that his Uncle was near to him until this happened, suggesting that like Abse, his uncle was also Jewish so may of experienced being in a German concentration camps. However his uncle may now just be an illusion as he is probably dead. However, the persona compares him to Karl Marx suggesting that he views his uncle as a memorable person in his own way. The last part of stanza two conveys the idea that Uncle Isidore looked to God for guidance in such a horrific time period of history.

Within the third stanza Uncle Isidore is commenting that men can take a stand and become memorable people through the quote 'what difference between the silence of God and the silence of men?' The persona also talks about a 'land of uz' reinforcing the idea of an equal world, where Jewish people are not persecuted.

In the last stanza Uncle Isidore plays 'to the master of the universe', the master of the universe is obviosuly God, so this reinforces Uncle Isidore's Jewish religion.

The main theme of this poem seems to be about our morals as human beings, we don't want a repeat of the persecution of the Jewish race. The persona is rather judgemental of Uncle Isidore at the beginning  and this could link to the poem Mr Bleaney where the persona is judgmental of the person who prevously stayed. We also have relgious imagery explored which could link to some of the smaller Larkin belief poems. However, this is also a contrast to Larkin, who is an atheist. Abse is Jewish and it seems as if Uncle Isidore is as well. It also links to For Sidney Bechet because both Abse and Larkin convey the ideas of being respectful and remembering memorable people.