Channel Firing

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1914

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Background

Literary Context

The turn of the 20th century was defined by a new, fast-paced way of life and a constant state of flux. With massive innovations in technology during this period, life was becoming more convenient than ever. However, the growing pervasiveness of new technologies accompanied by increasing urban sprawl and multiple successive wars left many writers and artists during this period feeling isolated, disjointed, and out of place. The literary movement that emerged during this time is known as Modernism, which found its manifestation in the disjointed, confrontational, confused, and cynical attitudes of writers like Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, and T.S. Eliot. For many modernists, values and ideals that were previously concrete and that were lauded as worthy of preservation were now toothless in the face of death and destruction. Belief systems that included classical art, religion, and philosophy crumbled from postwar anxiety because they no longer offered compelling answers for humankind’s plight. The modernists’ anxious querying of moral and ethical pitfalls resembles the dead querying the fate of humankind in “Channel Firing.” From Eliot’s “The Waste Land” to Ezra Pound’s search for an earthly paradise, the modernists assessed the surrounding destruction and asked “why” and “what now” through the written word: Unlike the dead in “Channel Firing,” however, many didn’t even find a God, let alone a lackluster one, that was capable of providing answers.

While many of these writers utilize unconventional forms and play with language and grammar, Hardy’s poetry is not particularly known for its deviations from tradition. This may be in part because of his association with previous literary movements and styles, as well as having well established his career by the turn of the century. However, Hardy’s poetry does reflect elements of Modernism through its confrontational critique of modern society, a defiant attitude toward hierarchal structures, and a cynical yet musical transformation of language.

Historical Context

Hardy’s long career spans a period of time that saw monumental change. He began his career during the Victorian Era, writing poetry and novels in the Realist tradition of Charles Dickens and George Eliot. This period saw the rise in popularity of the bicycle, the sewing machine, and a bit later, the telephone and the automobile. While his earlier novels were much more concerned with rural life in often bleak or cynical circumstances, much of Hardy’s poetry tackles themes of history and warfare.

Less than 15 years before World War I, the British colony of South Africa fought and won its war for independence against British rule. Just before the outbreak of the First World War, the toll of warfare and the bitterness of defeat were still fresh in the minds of the English. Instability on the European continent at this time was no secret, and the rumblings of another possible conflict could be heard both in the news media and on the street. It left many feeling uneasy, terrified of yet another war. It is likely that “Channel Firing” was inspired by Hardy’s own firsthand experience witnessing the British Army’s gunnery practice in the English Channel during the months leading up to the war. The poem’s emphasis on dread and a deep desire for social change reflect the anxieties and attitudes of many during this tumultuous time in history.