Concetti Chiave
- The poem portrays a critical view of a General whose cheerful demeanor contrasts with the grim fate of his soldiers.
- Despite the General's friendly greeting, most of the soldiers he addressed are now dead, highlighting the harsh realities of war.
- The poem uses irony to emphasize the incompetence of military leadership, as seen in the failed attack plan.
- The structure consists of two stanzas with varied line lengths and utilizes run-on lines for narrative flow.
- The speaker expresses dissatisfaction with the poem, particularly due to the perceived superficiality of the General.
THE GENERAL
"Good-morning; good-morning!" the General saidWhen we met him last week on our way to the line.
Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of ’em dead,
And we’re cursing his staff for incompetent swine.
"He’s a cheery old card," grunted Harry to Jack
As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.
But he did for them both by his plan of attack.
The poem is made up of seven lines, that are split into two stanzas. Lines have a different length and each line begins with a capital letter.
There is a regular punctuation and there are two run-on-lines “the General said // When we met him last week on our way to the line” (lines 1-2) and grunted Harry to Jack // As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack. “ (lines 5-6). All in all, I don’t like it very much because the superficiality of the general makes me angry.
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