Playing in the house
In the fourth stanza of the poem ‘’As the Dead Prey Upon Us’’, the narrator describes a rather domestic scene, in which the dead are sitting in the living room, looking at the TV or listening to music. The image contrasts with the description offered of the young man who talks about the horrors of hell in the next stanza. This image is important because it transmits the idea that the ones left behind, could recognize the presence of a dead one but ignore it, being too absorbed in their everyday life.
The true nature of Spring
In the poem "Variations Done for Gerald Van De Wiele’’ the narrator describes the time of spring and everything that happens then. The poem begins with a common image of spring, a time of happiness and abundance, when the animals began their activities, the birds return and the vegetation comes back to life. As the poem progresses, the image changes and spring is no longer presented as a happy time, but rather a time of chaos and uninterrupted work. Thus, the image of spring is no longer a positive one but rather a negative one.
Gloucester
In the poem ‘’The Librarian’’, the narrator uses the end of the poem to describe the city in which he lived in. The image created is not a positive one, as the narrator mentions how the sun almost never shone in the city, how there was danger everywhere you looked and how everyone lived a tortured existence. This image is also used to show how much living in that city affected the narrator.
Priests
In the third part of the poem ‘’The Kingfishers’’, the narrator talks about various priests in the past, trying to protect the Gods. The priests urge the people to fight and in this instance the narrator describes the priests’ appearance. They are described as having matted hair and dirty robes and as being covered in blood. The priests are portrayed here as savages, not as the holy and pure men envisioned in various religious writings. This image is important because it transmits the idea that at its core, religion is not pure but rather a tool used for violence and something that brings pain.
