The Judgement of Valhalla

In Short

Gilbert Frankau’s collection of war-time verse and satirical narrative explores the stark contrasts between the brutal realities of the Western Front and the insulated luxuries of wartime London. It opens with the execution of a deserter whose soul faces unsparing judgment in Valhalla, rejected by the brave dead who fought and died. Through poems detailing infantry assaults, aerial combat, and artillery labour, alongside the cynical pushback of frontline soldiers and the frivolous romances of high-society figures like Lady Jill, the work endures as a complex, unvarnished window into the psychic toll of the Great War.

The Story

The collection begins with the tragic execution of a deserter, bandaged and led out before dawn to die a death of disgrace as rifle shots end his life. His nameless soul ascends through the Seven Circles of Flame to the gates of Valhalla, where he is forced to confront the Nakéd Eye and Nakéd Truth. Denied entry to the warrior feasts, he hears the triumphant, brutal songs of the dead: the Red-Steel infantrymen who charged through barrage smoke and mud; the airmen of the Crashing Wing who swooped like hawks over cities and battlefields; and the Gunner-Dead who laboured blindly by swamp and flood. He learns that a black-coat priest's pulpit god offers no salvation, and his former comrade condemns him utterly from Valhalla's banquet table, sending him away to a lukewarm heaven of pulpit gods.

Shifting away from the mythical halls of Valhalla, the narrative grounds itself in the intimate, sorrowful emotional landscape of soldiers on leave and the women they leave behind. Verses dedicated to Aimée capture the haunting memories of English shores, maternal tenderness, and the poignant desperation of brief leaves in a city of fear. Soldiers dream of wine, music, and laughter amidst the mud, contrasting sharply with the cold gamble of life on the battlefield.

A sharp pivot arrives in "The Other Side," where frontline soldiers angrily critique romanticized war poetry. They dismiss conventional patriotic verse as "tripe" and "Boys'-Own-Paper balderdash," contrasting the comfortable civilian writers dining at the Carlton with the visceral horrors of Montauban, shattered villages, dead horses, and brains oozing in the muck. Yet even this critique acknowledges that soldiers fought so that future generations might secure a world worth living in.

Finally, the collection expands into "One of Them," a sprawling satirical verse narrative following Lady Jill, a quintessential aristo-plutocratic flapper of wartime London. Amidst rationing, air raids, and social shifts, Jill dances at Gunter's, flirts with subalterns, and navigates the delicate boundaries of high-society courtship. Her dance with a young officer culminates in an awkward, hasty kiss that she sharply rebukes, leading to his abrupt dismissal from her father's house. The narrative pauses on Jill as a sempiternal social type—carefree, beautiful, and untouched by the deeper miseries of the conflict—while the author reflects on the passing of an epoch, the weight of satire, and the enduring resilience of human vanity as the world stands poised between war and uneasy peace.

How It Unfolds

The execution of the deserter A blindfolded man is led out before dawn to face a firing squad after committing a cowardly act on the front lines. His execution is swift, clinical, and absolute, plunging his nameless soul into the spiritual aftermath of war.

The judgment at Valhalla The coward-spirit ascends through the Seven Circles of Flame to the gates of Valhalla, where it encounters the Nakéd Eye and Nakéd Truth. Rejected by the heroic dead and denied entry to the endless feasts, the spirit listens in anguish to the songs of infantrymen, airmen, and gunners.

The songs of the fallen The narrative echoes with the martial anthems of the Red-Steel infantry, the high-flying airmen of the Crashing Wing, and the mud-caked gunner-dead. Each group recounts the mechanical horror, relentless sacrifice, and grim camaraderie of their wartime service.

Intimate partings and memories A series of lyrical poems explores personal grief, love, and longing through the figure of Aimée and the quiet sorrow of mothers and wives. These verses contrast the brutal destruction of the trenches with tender recollections of English landscapes, wine, music, and quiet domesticity.

The soldier's backlash Frontline troops harshly reject idealized war poetry in a blistering critique, accusing civilian writers of ignorance and false glorification. They contrast patriotic platitudes with the actual stench of decomposing horses, endless mud, and psychological terror.

The world of Lady Jill The concluding narrative turns to the glittering, superficial society of wartime London through the escapades of Lady Jill. Amidst dances at Gunter's, high-stakes flirting, and social posturing, Jill exemplifies the unshakeable vanity of high society while the world transforms around her.

The People

The Deserter seeks escape from the unimaginable terror of the trenches but wants forgiveness and sanctuary upon death. His own cowardice, the unforgiving judgment of the Nakéd Eye, and the stern rejection of his former comrades stand in his way, leaving him permanently barred from Valhalla and cast out into a pulpit heaven.

The Red-Steel Infantrymen, Airmen, and Gunner-Dead want victory, survival, and the preservation of their lines against the enemy. The brutal machinery of war, poison gas, mud, and overwhelming enemy fire stand in their way, yet they meet their fate with grim resilience, ultimately perishing on the field or finding eternal rest in Valhalla's halls.

Aimée and the unnamed mothers and wives want connection, reassurance, and the safe return of their men across the sea. The vast distances of war, separation, and the constant shadow of death stand in their way, leaving them to cherish fleeting memories, dream of reunion, and bear quiet, unselfish grief.

The Frontline Critics, including Macfaddyen and his companions, want honesty and truth in literature rather than patriotic falsehoods. The comfort of civilian readers, newspaper censorship, and romanticized war poetry stand in their way, driving them to angrily expose the grim, unglamorous realities of the firing line.

Lady Jill wants pleasure, social distraction, and the thrill of courtship within London's elite circles. Social propriety, strict parental rules, and clumsy suitors stand in her way, yet she remains remarkably unchanged, embodying sempiternal feminine caprice as the world changes.

In Its Own Voice

Reflecting the clinical finality of military punishment, the collection opens with the stark aftermath of a soldier's execution in the cold dawn.

And the shameless soul of a nameless man Went up in the cordite-smoke.

Describing the terrifying, mechanized rush of aerial combat high above the battlefields, the airmen evoke the ancient and pitiless deities of slaughter.

We heard their cruel laughter, Shrill round us, as we flew:

Critiquing the comforting lies of civilian war literature, a frontline soldier expresses bitter disdain for romanticized accounts of combat.

But all the rest, excuse the word, are tripe-- The same old tripe we’ve read a thousand times.

What It's Really About

The work investigates the profound moral and psychological chasm between the brutalized experience of frontline soldiers and the insulated existence of civilians at home. It interrogates the concepts of honour, cowardice, and sacrifice, contrasting the mythical, warrior-code justice of Valhalla with the unglamorous, mud-soaked reality of industrialized slaughter. Furthermore, it questions the validity of poetry itself during wartime, weighing whether art should comfort the public with patriotic glory or expose the grim, unvarnished truth of human suffering. Beneath its satirical verse and lyrical lamentations, the book examines how societies remember conflict, how class and privilege persist amidst national crisis, and how ordinary human desires endure against the backdrop of total annihilation.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in the complex psychological legacy of the First World War will find this collection a fascinating, multifaceted artifact. Reading it feels like moving between two entirely different worlds: the mythic, thunderous fury of Valhalla and the cynical, smoke-filled dugouts where soldiers drink whisky and curse civilian ignorance. Modern readers must navigate its period-specific references, formal doggerel meter, and occasional biting satire of 1918 social politics, which can sometimes feel dense or abrasive. However, its uncompromising honesty—particularly the blistering critique of war propaganda voiced by frontline troops—prevents the collection from devolving into mere jingoistic sentimentality. What stays with you long after closing the book is the stark contrast between the roaring machinery of modern battle and the quiet, haunting memory of loved ones waiting across the sea.