In the late 19th century, significant efficiency improvements in steam engines emerged around 1880, driven by advancements in materials and design. These enhancements boosted the thermal efficiency of stationary steam engines, which were crucial for powering factories and transportation. The improvements contributed to the Industrial Revolution, facilitating increased production and economic growth.

Efficiency improvements in late 19th-century steam engines sustained industrial output, serving as a backdrop for literature that critiqued relentless machine progress. Poets like Tennyson reflected on the human cost of industrialization in their verses. This era saw a growing awareness of the alienation caused by mechanization, prompting poets to question the value of progress at the expense of human experience.