The kings at funeral
The kings begin the story by converging at the funeral of King Edward VII. The deathly tone of the history is set from the outset. There is a brilliant irony in the scene, because the kings represent power, but here they are united over the one thing they are powerless to defeat: human death. They are kings, and yet, they are men and shall die like men. The dilemma is a brilliant tone-setter for the history that the book details.
War as the chess of kings
The novel shows a discussion between nine kings before the outbreak of WWI where they are basically picking teams. This is ironic because it shows a callous and capricious oligarchy who decides the fate of the entire continent for their own personal interests. Although tensions were rising regardless, their approach can be seen as remarkably war-centric. The book does not depict them as peace-seeking folks.
New technology
Through dramatic irony, we see the horror of new technologies on the battlefield. Without ever having heard of a tank, suddenly, soldiers are asked to fight one, and without any context, there are planes above them with guns and bombs. There are chemical weapons that the soldiers attempt to survive with masks, but the new technology leaves them permanently paranoid, because who knows what other war machines the other side might have in store?
Battles without victory
The French front of WWI is riddled with irony. Young men are told to cross no-man's land where they are repeatedly mowed down by machine guns with astonishing firing rates and accuracy, such as the earth had never seen before. There is no victory to be had by either side, so instead the war becomes entrenched. They are only vulnerable enough for them to continue killing the other side, but not in a quick, decisive way. The horrors of the trenches were to no avail.
The poverty of war
One can see war as a way of moving the flow of economics from one nation to another, where nations align themselves with the countries who help them make money. Instead of earning a boon, though, these wars lead nowhere for both sides, and instead of strong, decisive victories, the wars simply drain the nations of their limited resources until one side loses. That obviously doesn't invite peace, and although the war ends, WWII is already in the works.
