Introduction of the Poem:
The poem entitled “Channel Firing” is an eerie poem. It is related to the atrocities of war. It was published shortly before the beginning of World War I. This poem is a dialogue among the dead who wake up to hear the sound of roaring of gunnery practice in English Channel. In this poem, there are religious implications which are more difficult to analyse. Throughout the poem both God and the dead seem to be in agreement that men are guilty of perpetuating war. The poet, in the poem, points out that every nation is making its best efforts to invent destructive methods so that it may be able to suppress the weak nation. Every mighty nation is still in dispute with other. The powerful nations do nothing for the welfare of the humanity. This poem presents the fact that the people have lost all human qualities. They, instead of spreading the message of peace, love and humanity, are making preparations to bring bloodshed. No holy man can mend the ways of people. The sermons and the lessons of morality are meaningless for them.
Summary of the Poem:
The speaker who is one of the dead buried in a church depicts the state before the World War I. The First World War was about to take place. The great preparations were going on before waging the war. The soldiers with their guns and cannons were making firing practice in English Channel. They were busy in day - night practice. At one night, the soldiers started firing practice with their modern and heavy guns. When a large number of heavy guns growled fire at one time, a great sound of roaring was heard. This sound of roaring disturbed the eternal peace of the dead who were lying in their graves and sleeping soundly. The dead or the corpses were startled by the sound of roaring of the guns. Their coffins buried in the ground of the church were badly shaken by the loud sound. Indeed this sound was unbearable and confusing. This sound created a kind of terrific vibration. It shattered the structure of wooden strips which enclosed the space, around the altar of a church for the clergy and choir. It also shook the other articles inside the church. The dead who woke up by hearing the sound of roaring thought that the day of judgement had approached and it was God's loud call in the form of roaring. The dead were sleeping soundly in order to awake on this day and they were sure that it was day of judgement and God called them to present before Him. It was the day when God had to decide future destiny. The dead were ready to register their attendance before god. (It is believed that on the day of judgement all the dead or corpses wake up and present before God in order to get reward for their deeds. On this day God decides their fate).
When the army soldiers started their firing practice in English Channel at night, a sound of roaring was heard. This roaring sound produced a kind of terrific vibration. The coffins of the dead buried in the ground, were shaken by the loud sound of roaring. The dead who were lying in their coffins peacefully and comfortably, startled to hear this roaring. They considered this roaring the loud call of God for the day of judgement. They were assumed that the day of judgement had approached, so they at once sat up to show their eagerness for this day . With the waking up of the dead at mid - night, the whole atmosphere seemed to be frightening and gloomy. When something spooky happen, the wolves and the hunting dogs become active. They felt the presence of the dead in the atmosphere and they began to cry loudly. In the church there was a table on which bread and wine were kept for the participation in Lord's suffer. The mouse was sitting on the table and enjoying the pieces of bread , but as soon as it heard the roaring , it was badly frightened and due to utter fear it dropped the piece of bread . The small creeping creatures went back into their holes which they built in the mounds.
The cow which was reared in the ground of the church in order to keep the grass short was grazing the grass with great joy. The saliva falling of the mouth of the cow showed that she was enjoying grazing green grass. It seemed as if it was aware of the fact. It knew that the firing practice produced the sound of roaring. The atmosphere remained frightening awesome and gloomy until God presented the truth. The dead, who mistook the roaring of the firing practice as the call of God, woke up from their eternal sleep knowing the day of judgement. God consoled them by saying that it was not His call nor it was the day of judgement. He (God) added that the sound of roaring which they (the dead) heard, was coming from the English Channel where the soldiers were practising of firing. Further God told them that no change took place in this world. This world and the nature and tendency of its people were still in the same state as they used to be when the dead went below to their graves. God clearly declared that the day of judgement had not approached yet, hence they must go again into their grave and wait for His call.
Every nation is participating in the race of the competition of being strong and powerful. Every nation is making its best efforts to invent destructive methods so that it may be able or efficient to suppress the weak nation or country by using destructive weapons in the war. Every mighty nation is still in dispute with other. Mostly the developed countries always remain great eager to display their power. They always remain busy in war preparations. They like to see more and more blood in Thomas Hardy 205 the battlefield. Indeed the people of these nations have become much crazy after the power and war. They have grown completely mad. Indeed these powerful nations and its people do nothing for the welfare of the humanity. They do not follow the way of Christ or the preachings of Christ. They do nothing that may bring happiness for human beings. Their deeds do not fulfil the ways of God. They have lost their mission for which they have been created. The people of these nations have lost all human qualities. They, instead of spreading the message of peace, love and humanity, are making preparation to bring bloodshed. God tells the dead that the people of these nations are not better than they. The dead are helpless because they cannot practise the preachings of Christ.
God keeps on observing tendency and nature of the nations of the world. Some of the nations always remain busy making the preparations of the war. They are always trying to find out new destructive methods which can bring great bloodshed and slaughter. They are ever engaged to create war - like situations. The nations which are strong and powerful are always at dispute with other nation. They are curious to wage war against the weak nation. By waging war and suppressing the weak nation, they get opportunity to display their power. God tells the dead that it is the happiest thing in the favour of those who are responsible for gunnery practice that it is not the day of judgement. He adds that if it were the day of judgement they would become the victims of God's wrath and punishment and they instead of remaining busy in fire practice, would have been appointed on the work of cleaning the floor of Hell. In this way, they have to suffer a lot and their heinous deed would be punished.
When God Finds that the human beings of this world are completely engaged in shameful activities without knowing the consequences of their deeds, he feels pity for them and laughs at their ignorance. God tells the dead that the people do not know that they, by committing such heinous acts, are making their secured place in Hell. When God ends this sinful world, there would be more excitement on the day of judgement. There would be a huge crowd before God on the day of judgement. Under the impact of malicious feeling for the people, God says that he would not feel least sorrow after making an end of this world. For God, the end of this world seems to be very necessary. The people of this world have lost humanly virtues endowed by God. They are now full of hatred, anger and violence. They are fond of playing with human lives. They like to see more and more blood - shed and human killing. They have forgotten their missions with which they have been sent on the earth. In fact they deserve God's hard punishment. God thinks that eternal rest seems more suited to the human condition. In such circumstances when this world is plunged into bloodshed, anarchy and violence, it becomes essential for God to provide an eternal rest to the people of this world.
When the dead, on hearing the sound of roaring of the firing practice woke up with great surprise and thought this roaring the call of God on the day of judgement, God consoled them by saying that it was not his call, but it was the sound of roaring of the firing practice going on in English Channel at night. He also told them that it was the preparation before waging the war. He (God) made a long discussion about the people of the world. When God's discussion is over, the dead decide to lay down again in their dark graves. They wish again the sound and peaceful sleep until the day of judgement approaches. In meanwhile one of the dead feels great discomfort at the conflicting nature of the people of the world. He greatly wonders whether the people would achieve sensibility and would be able to appreciate humanly virtues. He thinks whether the people would carry out the message of God. He thinks whether the people would ever learn the lesson of peace, love, humanity, brotherhood and neighbourhood. In fact it would always be as confusing as when that dead person was alive.
One of the dead expresses his opinion about the nature and tendency of those who are always busy creating war - like situations. He thinks that these wars - makers perform a great role to bring destruction for mankind. These people are involved in merciless slaughter and blood - shed. In order to get the better consequences of war, they do not hesitate to sacrifice many innocent people. The dead wonders and thinks whether these war - makers would ever achieve sanity. Perhaps, in his opinion, it was impossible. All the dead listened him and one of them shook his head in the approval of his observation. There was another dead who had been serving in a church as a parson for forty years. He had seen delivering sermons for forty years. In this way, he spent a holy life for the welfare of mankind. He had been making his best efforts to bring the people on the path of morality. But it was regrettable that he could not success to bring the change in nature and tendency of the war - makers. His lesson of love and peace proved to be futile for them. Now he greatly regrets at the wastage of forty years of his life. The dead parson wishes that it would have been better had he spent his days on earth in merry - making. He wishes he would have just smoked and drank instead of preaching.
In fact there were many questions which were lingering in their minds but every question was unanswerable. They thought whether humanity would ever learn from its past mistakes and whether the war makers would ever attempt to make the life on earth better and happier. But all these questions drowned as the roaring of the guns started again. The roaring of the guns had already announced the approach of war. Those who were the war - makers and encouraged the wars were greatly curious to attack their enemy. They had great enthusiasm for the war. Hence, they insisted on much firing practice. They wanted to display their power in war. They were also determined to suppress their enemy. The sound of the roaring guns could be heard away from the sea or border as Stourton, Camelot and Stonehenge. These three places were geographically far apart. In poet's opinion they also symbolised the different ages that war had taken place. These places represented 19th century, the time of King Alfred the Great; to the legendary times of King Arthur of Camelot; and even further back, to the Neolithic times of druids.
Critical Appreciation of the Poem:
Introduction:
The poem “Channel Firing” is an eerie poem. It is a poem about the atrocities of war. It was published shortly before the beginning of World War I. It is a dialogue among the dead who are awakened by the naval ‘great guns’ firing artillery in the English Channel. It (the poem) seems almost prophetic. It not only decries the barbaric nature of war — an institution so vile and obnoxious that in this poem it awakens the dead - but also questions our inability to break our addiction to that institution. Less clear, however, is the answer to a question Hardy seems to be posing is it our plight to be perpetually engaged in quests for power and vengeance, rendering us unworthy of God's call to judgement, or it is our plight that a sneering, uncaring god for sakes us in our time of need? The religious implications of this poem are more difficult to analyse than the political and social implications because they are more subtle. Throughout the poem both God and the awakened skeletons seem to be in agreement that men are guilty of perpetuating war.
Thought - Content:
As the gunnery practice goes on, the roaring of the big guns wakens the dead from their graves , who think that the Day of Judgement has come . The voice of God is heard, telling them that it is not the Doom's Day: it is just a gunnery practice. The dead are surprised to find that the world has not grown a bit wiser; it is as cruel as it was, when they were alive. Hate still prompts nations to declare war. At this, one of the dead, who had preached presently when alive, wishes that it would have been better, had he spent his days on earth with cakes and ale. Will humanity ever learn from its past mistakes? Will they ever attempt to make life on earth better and happier? —These questions are drowned as the roaring of the guns starts again.
Comic - Serious Elements:
The poem is spoken in the first person by one of the dead buried in a church, in which the windows have been shattered by the noise and vibration of guns being fired for practice in the English Channel. So great is the disturbance that the skeletons believe Judgement Day (and, so, the resurrection of the dead) to have come. In a gruesomely comical picture, they are represented as suddenly sitting up in readiness for the great day. The humour takes an irreverent turn as Hardy introduces God to the proceedings, reassuring the corpses that it is not time for judgement Day but merely ‘gunnery practice’, adding that the world is as it was when the dead men went below to their graves. That is to say, every country is trying to make its methods of destruction more efficient, and shed more blood, making red war yet redder. God sees the living as insane as and no more ready to exercise Christian love than are the dead, who are obviously now helpless in such matters. In other words, the living, too, do nothing for ‘Christes sake’. Note how the archaic (old fashioned) spelling adds to the humour of the piece. The characterization of God is also comic. He continues observing that those responsible for the ‘gunnery practice’ are fortunate that it is not the day of judgement. If it were, their bellicose (warlike) threats would be punished by their having to scour the floor of Hell. While the suggested punishment is somewhat ridiculous, and so comic, it is almost a fitting one.
The malicious “Ha, ha. It will be warmer when I blow the trumpet” is a splendidly dramatic touch, but what he says in parenthesis is immensely serious. Suddenly angry vengeful God is seen in a new light, not scolding but pitying the human lot, recognizing that man, having put up with the pains of life needs the rest of death:
“I ever do; for you are men,
And rest eternal sorely need.”
Style and Language:
The form of the poem follows a regular structure of alternately end - rhymed quatrains in iambic tetrameter. It gives a jovial, conversational tone to the narrator's voice, although he had just had his sleep disturbed by the great guns shaking his and his companions’ coffins and breaking the church windows. The first delightful thing about this poem is Hardy's use of enjambment for comic effect e.g., “We thought it was the Judgement - day / And sat upright.” Then, comes the next part of the line, another enjambed line, “while drearisome / Arose the howl of wakened hounds.” The three places Stourton Tower, Camelot and Stonehenge which are geographically far apart, symbolise the different ages.
.webp)
