summary of Bertolt Brecht's General, Your Tank

General, Your Tank

Bertolt Brecht

The poem “General, Your Tank” is an extract from Bertolt Brecht’s anti-war poem A German War Primer. This poem presents his concern for humanity. It is also an anti war poem where the poet ironically presents the horror of war. His works in general project his concern towards soldiers in war. He states that in general the soldiers fight and get killed in a war but it brings glory to the General. The General is celebrated as a hero whereas the soldier is forgotten.

The poem is addressed to the Generals and each stanza begins with the word General. The poet is the speaker and the addressee is the General. It is in second person narration and it looks as if the speaker is talking to the general in the present. The poet states to the General that his tank is a powerful vehicle which can smash down forests and can crush hundreds of men. Though it is a powerful tank, it needs a human to drive. The General’s bomber is also a powerful one as it flies faster than a storm and carries more weight than an elephant. It too has a defect that it needs a mechanic. Both powerful machines need a human to operate it or to make it powerful. The General has humans who are useful. They can fly and kill in the war and they too have a defect that is they can think. The machines’ defect is they need a man to operate but they are powerful. Where as humans’ defect is their ability to think may be about the consequences of the war. Here thinking becomes a defect as it may enable humans to avoid war by understanding its destructive nature. The poem is an ironic one as it celebrates the two machines as powerful in the beginning and later claims that it needs human to be operated. Unless a human operates they are just objects without any use.

Through the repetition of certain terms the writer is trying to create an impression upon the readers. He believes that if the humans know about their power they can stop the horror caused by war. Through this poem the poet tries to activate the defect of humans in the positive way to create a peaceful world.