Terrible Angels

Themes
War, religion, death, spirituality, emotional scarring

Content
In this poem, Abse is recounting a story likely told to him by his father about the first battle of WW1 involving the BEF (British Expeditionary Force)- The Battle of Mons in Belgium. During this battle, the British forces used guerrilla tactics to stay hidden and pick the enemy off one by one alongside the French but were eventually forced to retreat under the sheer size of the German Army. It is my personal opinion that the "angels" referred to in this poem are the soldiers of the BEF themselves and the father goes on to say how these angels became involved in the battle and acted as portents of death.

Analysis

• The juxtaposition of the typically holy and the seemingly cruel and heartless in the title of "Terrible Angels" suggests an aspect of confusion surrounding the battle and the different perspectives of the soldiers.
• The poem starts with the father displaying his "war medals" and "pretty coloured ribbons" to his child at "bedtime". His child is clearly young and does not understand the significance of the items but the father appears proud in displaying them or perhaps wants to deliver a message to his son concerning war. Soldiers are given medals for doing horrible deeds in the midst of the battlefield and some question the moral appropriateness of such awards. What is ever achieved in war?
• The father provides the "other story about the angels of Mons" as the typically held belief is that angels were watching over the British troops at the Battle of Mons but the father was there and wishes to voice his own perspective. The BEF were believed to be the "elite and puissant (powerful) expedition from God", suggesting that there was an element of religion linked to the battle as soldiers found comfort in faith and their mission was thought to be one to help mankind-divine. The angels were first an "invisible presence" which likely links to the fact that the BEF employed the guerrilla tactic of shooting at the enemy while concealed and their arrival caused "horses to bolt and flocks of meat-snatching birds to rise". This would seem to imply that these angels (metaphors for British soldiers) were both fearsome but desired as they helped to keep the death of their allied soldiers at bay- the meat-snatching birds are representative of death. However, other interpretations include that the angels represent the nature of war or even religion which soldiers believe is aiding them. Ultimately though this is ironic in that soldiers wish to avoid death by wishing death upon their enemies- this then is why the angels are terrible as death will come to someone and is always circling "around and around" like the birds. The juxtaposition of the children's ride (the "carousel") and the brutality of war highlights how the soldiers are still innocent at heart and do not want to kill but war creates a vicious cycle whereby a person must kill or be killed.
• The first line of the second stanza reinforces my previous point that men of kind hearts ("genteel soldiers") are forced by war to become killers and adapt to the grim situation. This line could also be hinting at how people's morals and grasp on religion are warped through the experience of war. Instead of using words, men communicate on the battlefield through weapons such as "gas" and "shrapnel striking helmets". The alliteration of this phrase creates an onomatopoeic sound which haunts the reader with the sounds of war and bullets flying past. The father tries to maintain a hold on his religion and his manners through the use of "amen" but this is clearly an afterthought and shows the effect war has on him even some time later.
• Both religion and fear had equal effect on the soldiers ("soldiers' prayers and soldiers' screams") and it is on this signal that it appears divine authorisation was given by the angels to fully attack- men need a justification for their horrific behaviour. However, unlike the expected reaction of pity and empathy, the prayers and screams "thrilled the cold angels" into action as though they become excited by the sounds of war. A sense of madness is created as men were inextricably changed by their experience and had to use something to fuel their efforts or give up. In war, the horrible truth is that soldiers must hope for their enemy's destruction and sink to the lowest depths- things such as the "dead" bodies of comrades are common spectacles and become adapted to. No longer staying concealed, the angels became "stealthily visible", showing their "bold and bloodthirsty" true selves, with alliteration showing that the words are spit out in disgust as the father is horrified at what he did. The angels become "true facsimiles (copies) of men", suggesting that they look like human beings but do not act like humans should or that they were not men before and could be symbolic of inner nature. Humans are innately evil at heart and it is only really in certain situations that this facet of nature reveals itself.
• The last two lines, though placed in brackets( thus presenting them as an afterthought) carry the significant message of this poem in my opinion. Men are scarred for life by war and the experience will always haunt them. The idea that the father is "invalided home" is most likely because he was suffering from shellshock and knows so much about the angels and their horrific nature as he was one of them. It is not "healthy" for him to dwell on what he did but he feels he must do it anyway and tells this particularly gruesome story to his young child- to release the burden or tell others of the cruelty of humans and the truth of the battle and war? War has a aftershock throughout the decades due to being such a powerfully destructive event and a lesson needs to be learnt from it.
• Abse appears to be critical of the view that the government spread at the time to help conscription that the war was 'divine' and men are viewed only as heroes and angels if they kill other men and this accounts for the title being an oxymoron. How are you holy when you only gain this title through killing?
• The lack of a rhyme scheme and irregular stanza lengths shows this poem to be conversation-like as the father recounts his story. It also makes the poem more serious and shows it to be a genuine memory.

Links to Larkin
Themes- 'MCMXIV'- Men left to go fight in WW1 as the picture of "innocence" with their manners and morals intact. Their "crowns of hats" make them seem noble and regal in Larkin's poem which is some ways relates to the idea that these men were viewed as "angels" by society, however, they return deeply changed from the experience and are no longer their previous self. "Never such innocence" can grace them again as the memories are haunting and long-lasting- they became "bloodthirsty" as a method of survival.
'Naturally the Foundation will Bear Your Expenses'- The cynical tone employed in this poem is correct in many ways as such trite things as memorial days can never make up for the loss of life and sheer destruction of war. How correct is it to celebrate death and brutality? And were these men really heroes deserving of such a commemoration?
'Water'- As Larkin suggests, religion needs to be purified as it has become an allowance for so many horrible deeds. Going back to the basics is necessary to start afresh.
'Ambulances'- The sounds of the "soldiers' screams" as they lie dying on the battlefield echoes the statement that people "whisper at their own distress". Ultimately, everyone meets their end and often fear it but some deaths are more horrible than others and nothing can be done.
'Faith Healing'- Religion may be a source of comfort but it cannot solve anything or resolve problems, just as it cannot justify war.
'Take One Home for the Kiddies'- At heart, people are merciless and cold and lack empathy for the death of other living things. Children lack the ability to disguise their true selves but adults improve their ways of concealment as they age unless there comes a time when there is no other solution but to become the beast within.

Tone-
Distressed and desolate: 'Mr Bleaney',' Faith Healing', 'Home is so Sad', 'Reference Back', 'MCMXIV'

Technique: The juxtaposition of angels being terrible links to 'Ambulances' in that the "wild white face" is juxtaposed with the red of the blanket, thus showing the cruelty of death and how purity and brutality can often come to be linked in life or death situations.
Alliteration to present the idea that words are spat out in disgust and to mimic the sounds of warfare links to 'Naturally the Foundation...' , in which the ceremony of Remembrance Day is described as "solemn-sinister". The alliteration of "Crowds, colourless and careworn" in this poem also shows how people can become disconnected from their humanity and other human beings-"bold and bloodthirsty".
Moreover the metaphor of angels as men links to the metaphor of "dark-clothed children at play" for war in 'MCMXIV'. Innocence is inevitably tainted by war and though the men and children alike are seen to be pure and divine, they are actually symbolic of something much darker.