Theme/Content:
This poem is about war, and the effects on war. The poem reminisces on when they were younger and how their father used to fight in the war, collecting all these medals, has returned to show his son.
Analysis:
Terrible Angels is an oxymoron, a paradox that angels are meant to sent from heaven, the place of complete bliss and peace, a paradise to be, yet they are terrible, which suggests destruction and corruption. Angels are flawless, graceful and innocence, the opposite to terrible. The angels are prayed to by soldiers to save themselves from the enemy however this is ironic because to live, others must die, and this becomes a tragedy.
This poem is about war, and the effects on war. The poem reminisces on when they were younger and how their father used to fight in the war, collecting all these medals, has returned to show his son.
Analysis:
Terrible Angels is an oxymoron, a paradox that angels are meant to sent from heaven, the place of complete bliss and peace, a paradise to be, yet they are terrible, which suggests destruction and corruption. Angels are flawless, graceful and innocence, the opposite to terrible. The angels are prayed to by soldiers to save themselves from the enemy however this is ironic because to live, others must die, and this becomes a tragedy.
'One bedtime' suggests the persona is a child, yet this is written in past tense which could mean that Abse is reflecting on his childhood and his father. The medals had 'pretty coloured ribbons', like toys and play things, his father displays this as a prize, a proud possession. They are a symbol of achievement, and are there still as a memory of the war, something that is very much still in his life, represented by the metals.
'Elite and puissant expedition from God' is having great power/influence in higher class, the expedition given from God suggests that going to war was righteous, and this was seen as courageous and moral for men back then. Religion has a large influence on the soldiers that fought.
The 'angels of Mons', the Battle of Mons which was the first major battle in WW1, are described to make 'horses bolt and flocks of meat-snatching birds to rise'. The 'invisible presence' of the angels can symbolise the war itself, the nature of war or religion, how angels are seen as a comfort to protect the soldiers in difficult times and help them defeat the enemy however this is ironic because the angels scare the 'horses'. They symbolise death, from heaven themselves, the soldiers are looking for protection against death by wanting others to die. The 'meat-snatching birds' are vultures, watching over the soldiers waiting for them, 'circle around and around like a carousel'. Death is eternal, forever and part of the cycle of life meaning that the soldiers will never escape it. They might escape death in the war but will be haunted by others deaths.
The 'angels of Mons', the Battle of Mons which was the first major battle in WW1, are described to make 'horses bolt and flocks of meat-snatching birds to rise'. The 'invisible presence' of the angels can symbolise the war itself, the nature of war or religion, how angels are seen as a comfort to protect the soldiers in difficult times and help them defeat the enemy however this is ironic because the angels scare the 'horses'. They symbolise death, from heaven themselves, the soldiers are looking for protection against death by wanting others to die. The 'meat-snatching birds' are vultures, watching over the soldiers waiting for them, 'circle around and around like a carousel'. Death is eternal, forever and part of the cycle of life meaning that the soldiers will never escape it. They might escape death in the war but will be haunted by others deaths.
'But war coarsens (he said) even genteel angels', suggests that war will make things vulgar and unpleasant because even the most kindest, gentle angels are corrupted by war, that fighting can scar them. 'When they spoke it was the silence of gas, amen; when they sang it was the shrapnel striking helmets', is a metaphor, that the soldiers would wish upon destructive deaths for the enemy to die and for them to live. Gas is a silent killer, that death can creep up slowly upon some unlike shrapnel striking helmets which is quite loud, metal clashing and sounds more painful. The protection of the soldiers relied on the death of the enemy to survive. 'Stealthily visible' is an oxymoron, that if you are stealthy you shouldn't be seen because you're quick and agile. The angels are stealthy because they can kill easily and unexpectedly, yet this is visible to everyone because a death man will just lay there, the remains of a life.
The angels are described as 'cold', 'bold and bloodthirsty' and 'thrilled' by the haunting 'screams' coming from the soldiers on the battlefield. This suggests that the angels are corrupt, they have evil elements about them but are still described as angels which is the complete opposite. The destruction and death of the enemy was comforting throughout the war because it meant survival for another, yet in any other case this would be shocking and terrible. The father says that these show 'true facsimiles of men', that satisfaction from death and selfishness of survival was what men were really about. Men were like this before civilisation, that their true madness was uncovered.
The final stanza is only two lines, an after thought because of the brackets used, which makes these lines stand out. (My father, invalided home, was told he know more about angels than was healthy.) The father seemed to be too aware of the angels, knowing too much of the war so that the haunting nature of war has scarred him. Though the war was behind them, the memory still remains, an obsession that he couldn't let go off. This is the real, horrific affect of war. War has taken a toll on him and left him weak and scarred.
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