Magyk

“The Castle had started life as a small village. Being so near to the Forest the villagers had put up some tall stone walls for protection against the wolverines, witches and warlocks who thought nothing of stealing their sheep, chickens and occasionally their children. As more houses were built, the walls were extended and a deep moat was dug so that all could feel safe.”

The alliteration in “wolverines, witches, and warlocks” adds a touch of playfulness to Sage’s worldbuilding as she introduces readers to the fantasy setting. Through words like “protection” and “safe,” the author uses diction to give the Castle a sense of calm and control that contrasts with the dangers of the Forest.

“As he reached the door it flew open, and a large red-faced woman wearing the dark blue robes of a Matron Midwife ran out, almost knocking Silas over as she fled. She too was carrying a bundle, but the bundle was wrapped from head to toe in bandages, and she was carrying him under her arm as if he were a parcel and she was late for the post. ‘Dead!’ cried the Matron Midwife.”

The midwife’s perfunctory bedside manner to the bereaved couple and her hasty exit foreshadow the revelation that Septimus Heap is alive and that she’s kidnapping him on DomDaniel’s orders. The simile comparing the bundled infant to “a parcel” adds a little humor to this vital and somber scene.

“Jenna loved her cupboard bed. Sarah had made some bright patchwork curtains that Jenna could draw around the bed to keep out both the cold and her noisy brothers. Best of all, she had a small window in the wall above her pillow that looked out onto the river. If Jenna couldn’t sleep, she would gaze out of her window for hours on end, watching the endless variety of boats that made their way to and from the Castle, and sometimes on clear dark nights she loved to count the stars until she fell fast asleep.”

Sage uses imagery to help readers imagine the Heaps’ home. For example, “the cold” appeals to the sense of touch, the “noisy brothers” provide auditory imagery, and the “bright patchwork curtains” and “clear dark nights” offer visual imagery. These detailed sensory descriptions foster a relaxed mood of comfort and familiarity. This moment of calm in which Jenna feels certain that she is a Heap is soon disrupted when she learns that she is the Princess and must leave her cozy home behind.