The Speaker
To suggest that the speaker of the poem is disgruntled would be to engage in a bit of extreme understatement. The very first words out of the speaker’s mouth are an exhortation for bombs to rain down from the sky and destroy an entire. Of course, over the course of the poem, it becomes increasingly clear that this speaker believes that the tough of Slough is ready gone. There is no green left and everything is artificial, self-contained and without character. So, disgruntled the Speaker may be, but it is worth noting that his call for the rockets’ red glare to fall come crashing down onto Slough is more of a call for mercy killing than murder.
The Man with the Double Chin
The primary human target that the Speaker wants to rain sky death down upon is a very fat, profane, greedy misogynist. And, really, can anyone disagree with this incitement to instant annihilation? The rich man who makes moral mincemeat of women and his male clerks hardly seems worth shedding a tear over; at least from the portrait the Speaker paints.
The Clerks
The clerks who are in the employ of the man with the double chin represent the chosen few whom the Speaker would spare from the fall of bombs from the sky. After all, merely working for the fat, greedy cad has been hell enough.
The Wives of Slough
The wives are of Slough also seem to be deserving of at least some grace. While it is true that their physical appearance with permed hair and painted nails is every bit as artificial and inauthentic as the buildings and factories, the truth is that they simply don’t know any better. They are victims of the death of Slough even before the bombs arrive.
