Channel Firing

Narrated by the dead, “Channel Firing” grapples with a sense of pointlessness concerning war and mankind’s desire to destroy itself. More specifically, however, the poem takes a nihilistic view on societal progress, and the cynical possibility that even after many centuries, society may not have improved at all.

Essentially a noise complaint from the dead to the living, the poem opens with an accusatory tone that creates a stark separation between the two and sets the tone for satire. The dead say specifically, “your great guns, unawares” (Line 1), assigning ownership of the guns and responsibility for the noise to all living people. This immediate blame highlights the helplessness of the dead in this situation. It also reminds readers that war is the business of the living. This is an ironic idea considering how much death is the result of war. The living are so busy with war, they don’t even notice that they have woken the dead.

The poem opens its first two stanzas with a barrage of powerful action-oriented verbs like “shook” (Line 2), “broke” (Line 3), “howl” (Line 6), and “fall” (Line 7). These high-intensity words convey the chaos of the guns, using the language to mirror the violence that is taking place outside. However, Hardy has not set this poem during a war; instead what the dead and other innocent animals are witnessing is simply practice for war, thus reinforcing the sense of dread that both God and the dead feel throughout the poem. If the gunnery practice is violent enough to wake the dead, one can only imagine what the coming war will be like.

The sheer power of the guns is enormous, so much so that the dead wonder if this is the end of the world, or Judgment Day—the day in Christianity that all people who are living or dead will be judged by God and go to Heaven or Hell in the afterlife. It is at this query that God speaks up to reassure the dead that it is not yet Judgment Day. Crucially though, God takes this moment to inform the dead that the world hasn’t changed at all since their respective deaths, “Just as before you went below; / The world is as it used to be” (Lines 11-12). God’s tone is one of frustration and disappointment, not unlike the defeated parent of an uncontrollable child. According to God, even after many centuries the world has not progressed.

God’s monologue is the centerpiece of the poem, and he is presented satirically. His skepticism and human-like behavior depict God as a rather untrustworthy figure. God discusses the ways in which humankind keeps upping the ante when it comes to war and violence with a sour tone: “All nations striving strong to make / Red war yet redder” (Lines 13-14). Even God’s mocking laugh leaves little to hope for in the future—“Ha ha. It will be warmer when / I blow the trumpet” (Lines 21-22) —and even goes on to wonder if he ever will blow the trumpet to end the world. God’s commentary reveals that the narrator does not present war with any patriotic pride, and that the narrator does not put much faith in God to get humankind out of the mess they’ve made. The narrator is calling attention to the senselessness and futility of war with this display of new and frightful war technology, and the possibility that there may be no one to answer their prayers.

The dead attempt to lie down again to rest. This begins a dialogue among them as they wonder aloud whether the world will ever get better: ‘“Will the world ever saner be,’ / Said one, ‘than when he sent us under / In our indifferent century!’” (Lines 26-28). Once again, there is an emphasis on the passage of time, the fact that humanity has had so much time to improve itself, but has failed to do so. This emphasis continues into the next stanza, when one of the dead begins to reevaluate his faith, as he was a clergyman when he lived: “I wish I had stuck to pipes and beer” (Line 32), hinting at the perceived pointlessness of earthly pursuits, particularly those that put faith in this lackluster version of God.

The last stanza describes the way the thunderous explosions continue to disturb the dead as they attempt to return to rest. The poem ends with the sense that the effects of war can be felt from every corner of England, even beyond time and space, “As far inland as Stourton Tower, / And Camelot, and starlit Stonehenge” (Lines 35-36). The three locations listed demonstrate the sheer reach of the noise, and war by extension. The guns are so incomprehensibly loud, not only can they be heard miles and miles from the sea at the Stourton Tower War Memorial—a subtle reference to wars past—they can also be heard all the way to the mythical land of Camelot. The inclusion of the location of Stonehenge is particularly interesting. On one hand, like Stourton Tower, it is demonstrating that the guns also reach so far inland as to be heard from the ruins of Stonehenge. But considering the poem’s emphasis on the passage of time and the way some things never change, the reference to Stonehenge also implies that the guns are so loud their thunderous booms can transcend time.