The birth of a li’ pup(AGOT Prologue Analysis)

[Nadden]

During my analysis of the trees specifically mentioned in the Prologue of A Game of Thrones it occurred to me that if a tree can be leafy… can an ironwood tree be irony? I checked and indeed irony can be used as an adjective to describe something with iron in it.

To me this was interesting. Because while analyzing Martin’s writing I’ve noticed a pattern. He likes to subverts the literal meaning of the text by using an alternate meaning of the same word to develop his figurative ideas. For example, the ironwood tree can be considered irony because it, in fact, does have iron in it. A more common use of the word, irony, among authors is as a literary technique. In literature, irony conveys a meaning which is opposite of its literal meaning, a sort of inverse reflection. The ideas and skills on display here with this writing is wonderful. It becomes more glorious when the idea is set to juxtapose the sentinel tree!

I’ll try to explain. I believe that figuratively the trees are set up in a way to be mirror reflections of each other. I say figuratively because in the narrative the trees seem to have very little in common. So this comparison only makes sense in a figurative way.

I have long theorized that the sentinel tree in the Prologue of AGOT was part of a larger allegory and is symbolic of a Myrrh tree. A myrrh tree takes its’ name from the mother of Adonis, Myrrha. Adonis will be discussed later. The idea of a Myrrh tree and an irony tree in juxtaposition becomes self evident of a more grand theory, a magical door!

A door into another reality. Imagine two mirrors facing one another. This will give the impression of an infinite series of the same image being reflected over and over again. The word-play here seems so clever and goes on to typify Martin’s sense of humor and style. Using an irony tree and a tree, who’s name is a homophone for mirror, as inversely reflective just seems so ingenious and delightfully artful to me.

Then he reinforces the sci-fi genre when we understand the science behind his fiction. Science says, “if you observe the reflections from two opposing mirrors, you will realize that the image will become greener with each reflection. This is because mirrors usually reflect light from the green spectrum more than other colors. So when a mirror is reflecting color, that color contains reflections from the green spectrum more than other color spectrums. As such, as other colors fade away gradually, the only visible color remaining will be green.

This topic could easily continue on into greensight and green seers but that’s not what I want to discuss. I want to discuss the birth of the direwolf pups. I just wanted to plant the seed of a figurative cosmic world tree.

Sticking with the Prologue of the first book, Martin has covertly hidden the fact that lightning strikes the ironwood tree and leaves Gared shell shocked and Waymar’s destrier electrocuted. Taking a moment with the scene of Waymar’s duel. Pay attention to way Martin describes the action of the swords. Several blows and a flurry of other blows pushes Waymar’s back, like the winds of a storm perhaps. He uses words like rain and lighting. He tells us that when the swords meet that we get a rain of needles, as if struck by lightning. Then as a result of the swords meeting we get a loud echoing in the dark. It’s certainly no coincidence that the third book of the series is titled, “A Storm of Swords”. This is the second part of an essay trying to show the birth of a direwolf pup. Here I begin to establishing the relationship between the dueling swords and the two trees specifically mentioned in the Prologue. Earlier in the chapter when the blowing starts “the trees rustle like living things”. But first let’s present the quotes that support the claims I’ve made so far,

 

Quote

 

“A cold wind was blowing out of the north, and it made the trees rustle like living things.”(AGOT, Prologue)

 

“The wind had stopped. It was very cold.”(AGOT, Prologue)

 

“…the strange anguished keening of their clash.”

 

“…the Other’s danced with pale blue light.”(AGOT, Prologue)

 

“When the blades touched, the steel shattered. A scream echoed through the forest night, and the longsword shivered into a hundred brittle pieces, the shards scattering like a rain of needles. Royce went to his knees, shrieking, and covered his eyes. Blood welled between his fingers.”(AGOT, Prologue)

 

“He found what was left of the sword a few feet away, the end splintered and twisted like a tree struck by lightning.”(AGOT, Prologue)

 

 

“When the blades touched,…” we get a loud jarring, “echoing”, piercing sound made by two metal objects being struck together that Martin describes as a “scream”, like a clash of cymbals, I mean symbols. Then we get “a rain of needles” from one blade. And the Other blade is said to have, “danced with pale blue light.”, like lightning perhaps. The same “lightning” that “struck” and left “the end” of Waymar’s sword “splintered and twisted”. The Other’s word and sword (notice the word-play) is a perfect comparison for the voice that “was like the cracking of ice on a winter lake” and how Ser Waymar Royce’s voice cracked when the breath went out of him when he said, “come no further”. His voice cracked like a boy’s. Later, I’ll explain how the swords crack when we compare the swords and the ones holding them. A comparison like that is called a chremamorphism and compares a person to an object. This means they can share certain symbolic traits.

 

-wind (Several blows and a flurry of other blows pushes Waymar’s back)

 

-Thunder (loud, echoing, piercing sound)

 

-rain (of needles)

 

-lightning (pale blue light dancing)

 

-the sound of cracking (the voices of both Waymar and the Other crack)

 

The most obvious indication of the storm comes literally following “the end” when we read,

 

“…the end splintered and twisted like a tree struck by lightning.” (Prologue, AGOT)