The collective narrators of the poem, the dead are animated skeletons residing in their coffins. Awakened by violent noises out at sea, they initially mistake the sounds for the trumpets of Judgment Day. They function as relics of the past who converse with God and judge the living for their lack of moral improvement and their relentless pursuit of warfare.

Portrayed in a highly humanized and satirical light, God is a cynical, exasperated figure observing humanity's destructive tendencies. Rather than offering divine comfort, he characterizes the warmongering living as "mad as hatters" and chuckles ominously about the eventual apocalypse. His dialogue presents him as a lackluster deity who is highly critical of humanity's failure to improve since the dead were buried.

The living represent modern humanity and the nations preparing for war in the early 20th century. Oblivious to the disturbance they cause to the dead and the natural world, they focus entirely on manufacturing newer and deadlier military technology to make "red war yet redder." They serve as the unseen but deeply felt perpetrators of violence who continually fail to learn from history.

A former religious leader who is buried among the dead narrators. Upon hearing God's cynical assessment of the world and humanity's continued descent into warfare, he experiences a post-mortem crisis of faith. He explicitly states his wish that he had stuck to earthly pleasures like "pipes and beer" instead of dedicating himself to spiritual pursuits that now appear useless.

A collection of earthly creatures, including a mouse dropping its crumb, howling hounds, burrowing worms, and a drooling cow. They represent the innocent natural world caught in the crossfire of human conflict. Like the dead, they exist as helpless bystanders subjected to the terrifying consequences of mankind's technological advancements.