Channel Firing

There are many examples of death imagery and symbols related to death throughout the text, including “coffins” (Line 2), “Judgment-day” (4), “mounds” (Line 8), and “red war yet redder” (14). The dead, who lie in their coffins unable to rest in peace, narrate the poem. The idea of Judgment Day, Hell, and the blowing of the trumpets all act as reminders of the inevitable fate of the living. The not-so-subtle imagery of death sets a bleak and dire tone for the poem, and emphasizes the gravity of war and the situation these nations face. Hardy’s inclusion of so many references to death underscores the terrifying reality of death and acts as a reminder to the living about how precious life is; however, the poem is under no illusion that such an idea will ever matter to nations at war.

The references and inclusion of the allusions to literature and history makes a very strong statement about the insidiousness of war. The final stanza demonstrates the ways in which the effects of war can be felt throughout all of history, fictional or real, ancient or modern: “And Camelot, and starlit Stonehenge” (Line 36).