Critical Assessement of Oberfeldwebel Beckstadt by Craig Raine

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Critical Assessement of Oberfeldwebel Beckstadt by Craig Raine

Set in the 1940's after the war 'Oberfeldwebel Beckstadt' is a poem

about a Soldier returning home as the war has ended. I know this as

Craig Raine states 'It is the end of the war' He reflects on the

appearance of the war scene and the horrible events he has taken part

in. Craig Raine has used a third person view to narrate the scenes

which is an advantage as all events around him are identified and

clearly described . This poem explores aspects of war . The poem

reflects the negative issues throughout the poem.

Craig Raine uses various techniques to express different ideas. There

are a number of different scenes described in the poem. The change of

scenes such as 'slop petrol from two jerry cans' to ' how the Jews

were like sheep' gives us an idea of the wide range of incidents which

have been caused by the war and how one event leads to the other.

There is a link between the dead bodies and the treatment of the Jews

as the Dead bodies are assumed as the Jews - the victims of this war.

The first paragraphs are the first scene, they represent the images of

destruction. 'like an injured battleship' this simile creates an image

of a destroyed ship at sea, smoke and scattered debris. This is the

final outcome of war, nothing good has come of it, people have

suffered. 'camp is a crown of thorns' gives an image of the camp

surrounded by barb wire. This is where victims have suffered. This is

a good comparison made by Craig Raine as the 'crown of thorns' can

refer to the one Jesus wore when being crucified which also refers to

suffering. The weapons used for the killings are disarmed as they are

not needed anymore, 'Oberfeldwebel Beckstadt unscrews his silencer'.

The awful events of suffering are deliberately forgot about as the try

to discard any evidence, ' slop petrol from two jerry cans over the

bodies'.

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