What is the story of Blackadder? What war was Blackadder based on? How does Blackadder explain why the war started?

Blackadder is a tv series that follows the exploits of Richard IV’s unfavored second son, Edmund, the Duke of Edinburgh – who affectionately calls himself “The Black Adder”. He made several attempts to increase his standing with his father and his eventual quest to overthrow him.

What war was Blackadder based on?

Blackadder is based on an antagonist of William Shakespeare’s play, “King Lear”, which was a scheming illegitimate son of a king who plots to take the thrown for himself. It is based on the first World War. It also follows various attempts to escape from the trenches to avoid death under the misguided command of General Melchett.

How does Blackadder explain why the war started?

Blackadder’s private Baldrick, shared the causes of the first world war, stating that it started because a bloke shot and ostrich because he was hungry.

“I heard that it started when a bloke called Archie Duke shot an ostrich cause he was hungry. It started when the Archduke of Austro-Hungary got shot,” he said.