Genre
Fantasy
Setting and Context
Set in the 1960s in the fictional city of Lankhmar
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
The tone is emphatic, and the mood is tense.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central characters are Fafhrd and Gray Mouser.
Major Conflict
There is a major conflict between the forces of the Temple of Hate and the city’s people in “The Cloud of hate.”
Climax
The climax comes when Fafhrd and Mouser successfully reach the King's palace in “When the Sea-King Away." There are challenges on their way, but they manage to maneuver to the end of their journey.
Foreshadowing
The economic slowdown in Lankhmar City foreshadows Fafhrd and Mouser's newfound ventures in religion and the collection of protection fees.
Understatement
The four dangerous armed criminals in the city streets understated the power of the fog that rose from the underground temple. The fog takes their minds and kills them.
Allusions
N/A
Imagery
The King's palace in “When the Sea-King's Away” is described using sight imagery. The author says the palace is full of beautiful scaled women who offer free sex. The passage to the palace is full of dead fish and the corpses of sailors. The imagery shows the power of the King's palace because reaching there is a mystery, and whoever makes it is rewarded with free sex.
Paradox
The primary paradox is that instead of Mouser joining Fafhrd in religious devotion, he becomes racketeer's lieutenant to collect protection fees from cults that have sprung up in the city.
Parallelism
There is a parallelism between Fafhrd's decision to quit their partnership with his friend during the economic slowdown and his religious devotion.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The slender fishes in the sea are personified as beautiful girls.
