Snodgrass, W. D.: A Flat One

Literature Annotations

Genre	Poem
Keywords	Aging, Caregivers, Death and Dying, Disability, Hospitalization, Human Worth, Medical Ethics, Physician Experience, Suffering
Summary	Snodgrass writes about an old veteran who took seven months to die. The voice in the poem is that of a hospital attendant who provided some of the tedious, technical care that kept Old Fritz alive all that time. Though Old Fritz's "animal" may have "grown / sick of the world," his "mind ground on its separate / way, merciless and blind." He endured, he kept on living. Old Fritz raged against death, although he also "whimpered" and cried "like a whipped child . . . . "
Commentary	Despite the light, casual tone of the poem, the narrator seems to berate Old Fritz for being "nailed to your own rapacious, stiff self-will." The seven months of care were a waste, it didn't help anyone "to throw our good lives after bad," and meanwhile "strong / men starve." Yet, in the final two lines there is an astonishing change of tone: "No. We'd still have to help you try. We would / have killed for you today." It's not just the duty to do his job. The narrator shifts the entire focus so that the whole dying process can also be seen as a matter of loyalty, respect, and care.
Source	After Experience
Publisher	Harper & Row
Edition	1967
Place Published	New York
Annotated by	Coulehan, Jack
Date of Entry	02/22/94