Waking up the dead
One ironic element presented in the poem "As the Dead Prey Upon Us’’ is how the people who suffer because they are hunted are responsible for their own suffering. The narrator mentions how the dead are not exterior to the characters but are rather found inside of everyone and the dead are awoken by the screams of the people who they will eventually hunt.
Focus on the negatives
In most of the poems written by the narrator, the idea transmitted is that humans are interested the most in being happy. Humans will do anything to avoid boredom or pain. Despite this, the narrator points out that ironically, even though humans are only interested in happiness, the only thing they seem to study is misery and pain.
Return to the dangerous place
In the poem "The Librarian’’, the narrator decides to return and visit the city where he grew up. While for many this may seem something normal, the narrator then goes on to write about the negative experiences he had in the city, including having his wife cheat on him and experience violence. It is also implied that the narrator’s parents are dead and thus, the fact that the narrator decided to return to the city is ironic.
Disgusting birds
The subject of the poem "The Kingfishers’’ are the birds with the same name as the title of the poem. Many consider the birds as having mystical power, appearing in many legends and folk tales. The birds are appreciated because of their beauty and many see them as birds linked with God themselves. It is ironic thus that the narrator, after writing about these matters, mentions how the birds construct their nest, out of excrements and dead fish and how the nest disintegrates after the birds leave.
The Gods can't protect themselves
In the poem "The Kingfishers’’, in the third part of the poem, a group of priests from the past are presented. The priests stand covered in blood in front of the people and urge them to go and fight for the honor of their Gods. As a result, the whole world is at war and peace no longer exists. This idea is presented as being ironic because in general, religion is supposed to bring peace and unity. In reality, however, religion started wars or various people used religion as an excuse to start wars since the beginning of time.
