In ‘‘Goodbyeee’’ it seemed that there was only one character that is aware of the bad side of war, and that it’s not all-just glory. The rest of the men didn’t seem to realise that when they go over the top they will die instead of advancing forwards!
When there was a gas attack people panicked.
‘‘Gas! Gas! Quick boys! An ecstasy of fumbling’’
The exclamation marks emphasize that the person is panicking in a realisation that there is a gas attack and the word ‘‘fumbling’’ suggest confusion.
The soldiers were dazed, confused and tired due to lack of sleep.
‘‘All went lame, all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots of gas-shells dropping softly behind’’.
The soldiers were extremely tired in the beginning of the poem, they were portrayed as ‘‘Drunk with fatigue’’ you can almost imagine a platon of soldiers dragging there feet along the swampy ground as they ‘‘marched asleep’’.
Black adder
General Melchett thinks that they are fighting the French.
‘‘I can’t wait to lick those Franchisee’’
The general said that he couldn’t wait to star killing the French, so the general didn’t even know whom he was fighting against.
The food supplies in the trenches were very short.
‘‘We ran out of coffee 13 months ago, I’ve being using coffee substitute…’’
They had run out of coffee 13 months ago, Ben Elton and Richard Curtis made this funny by saying that Private Balderick used mud instead of coffee. They had run out of sugar New Year’s Eve 1915, they also made this funny by saying Balderick used dandruff.
The general is very confident that the men are going to make it over the top.
‘‘We’ll be sucking sausage in Belgium by noon tomorrow’’
He says how they will be eating sausages in Belgium by tomorrow.
Captain Blackadder
Blackadder is a captain, a captain is one rank above a Private and one rank below a lieutenant.
Captain Blackadder shows a few very desperate attempts to get out of going over the top. In one attempt he tries to pretend that he is mad, by sticking two pencils up his nose, and putting a pear of pants on his head, but that attempt failed, when the general said that he shot a whole platoon for trying that old trick, and so when the general came in he pretended that, but he was just mad with excitement.
The next attempt he remembers when he was fighting in the Sudan, and he saved the field marshals life, and he said that if he ever needed a favour he should just give him a call, but the field Marcel said for him to ‘‘stick two pencils up you’r nose and put a pear of under pants on you’r head, favour returned”. Then he put down the phone.
Private Balderick
Balderick is a private. A private is the lowest ranking officer. When he was at home he lived with his mother, when he signed up to the services he was kissed by a girl. He loves animals, unfortunately all four of his animals died during the First World War. He thought that war would be fun, but he found that it was not all fighting beanbags, because after the training he was fighting humans. He also said that the German bombs kept going on and on, because he wrote a poem about the German bombs that went “Boom, boom, boom…” Balderick was not very smart because of the way he acted.
Captain Darling
Darling is a captain. A captain is one rank above a private, one rank below a lieutenant. Darling and Blackadder did not get along very well. When Blackadder found out that the coffee was made out of mud, saliva and dandruff, he gave a cup of coffee to Captain Darling. When Darling found out he was being sent to the front line, he was very scared and pleaded to the General not to let him go. The General didn’t listen. When Darling got to the front line he confessed he was scared.
When Wilfred Owen said “The old lie” he means that dying for your country is foolish and wrong, and that it is wrong to tell the younger generation that war is glorious.
Visual images
When Captain Darling was told he was going to the front line, he heard drum beats in the background. This is like when a man is being marched out to be shot. When the General said that the driver is already here you see a shadow of a driver. When they are just about to go over the front line in the background you see flashing light effects representing bombs. When they are going over the front line you see the picture going into black and white and bright flashes representing the bombs blowing up.
Over all Wilfred Owen said how it is wrong to influence the younger generation about war being glorious.
The whole meaning of the poem is explained very simpley in the last few lines of the poem, he used the phrase "Dulce et decorum est pro partria mori" how sweet and fitting it is to die for your country, along with the extremely graphical imagery portrayed through the language, this poem is a very effective anti-war poem.
Over all Ben Elton and Richard Curtis wanted to say how the conditions in side were very bad.
I find that the chances of dyeing when they go over the top in Goodbyeee are very great.
I find that the gas attacks are very deadly if you don’t get you’r gas mask on in time.