Watership Down

Key Facts

full title · Watership Down

author ·  Richard Adams

type of work ·  Novel

genre ·  Fantasy; allegory

language ·  English

time and place written ·  Early 1970s; England

date of first publication ·  1972

publisher ·  Rex Collings, Ltd.

narrator ·  Omniscient narrator

point of view ·  Primarily Hazel's point of view, but shifts among several of the major characters

tone ·  Sorrowfully optimistic, always suggesting that something can be done about the world's evils

tense ·  Immediate past

setting (time) ·  The events of the novel take place from May to October in no specific year, but likely around the time the novel was written; the epilogue takes place several years later

setting (place) ·  Between Berkshire and Hampshire, England

protagonist ·  Hazel

antagonist ·  Woundwort

climax ·  The battle between Bigwig and Woundwort

falling action ·  The dog chases away the Efrafan rabbits

themes ·  Home; leadership; nature

motifs ·  Adapting; trickery; humanity

symbols ·  The rabbit warren

foreshadowing ·  At the beginning of each chapter Adams quotes a passage from a famous text that vaguely indicates what will happen in the chapter