Genre
Epic Fantasy
Setting and Context
The story takes place in the Land of Westeros and Essos and the story begins in 291 AC (Years after Aegon’s Conquest)
Narrator and Point of View
The narrator is omnipresent and presents the story from nine different point of views.
Tone and Mood
Frightening, violent, tragic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Because there are many conflicts in the book that develop at the same time, the antagonists and protagonists are not universal to the whole story but they are relevant to the conflict they take part in. For xample, Cersei Lannister is the Antagonist to several characters
Major Conflict
The war that started in the Seven Kingdoms after Robert died. Different characters claimed the Throne based on different reasons and thus a civil war started between the parties involved. The book focuses on the aftermath of the war and the struggle for power on Iron Throne.
Climax
The major point of tension is when all the characters are left in some sort of dilemma. For example, Brienne is forced to do Catelyn's bidding to save her life.
Foreshadowing
Brienne witnesses a very tall gravedigger petting the dog, it is considered that the gravedigger is Sandor Cleagane who was saved by the septons and now works as a gravedigger.
Understatement
The singer who seems to be lurking around Freys' siege of Riverrun is Tom'o Sevens. He had been supplying the Brotherhood without Banners information about the Freys' movements so the Brotherhood could kill them off one by one. He is considered as a harmless person and is never paid much attention.
Allusions
Maester Rigney in Oldtown believes Time is a Wheel. This is an allusion to Robert Jordan's popular epic fantasy novel, The Wheel of Time, Jordan's true name is James Rigney which quite fits the whole thing.
Imagery
The book is full of scenes from the carnage of the War of the Five Kings, described mostly through the POVs of Brienne and Jamie.
Paradox
Brienne's sentence is a paradox in itself. She is given the sword made from Eddard Stark's sword to protect his daughter. However, this sword is considered as a proof by Lady Stoneheart that Brienne has betrayed her and sided with the Lannisters.
Parallelism
Brienne, Asha and Cersei both face discrimination for choosing a position which are not considered ideal for a woman. While all deal with the situations in their own way, they are opposed for being a woman and not because of their skill.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The characters use the symbol of the Iron Throne as a representation for power. When Daenerys speaks to Drogo about wanting to see her unborn son on the Throne, she doesn’t necessarily mean that the throne in itself is an important thing but rather the thing that it signifies
Personification
Needle is described as a living thing by Arya, 'Needle was Robb and Bran and Rickon, her mother and her father, even Sansa.
