Literary Devices in The Tale of Despereaux
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
The entirety of The Tale of Despereaux takes place in the Kingdom of Dor, which is ruled over by King Phillip. Dor means "golden" in French (d'or). It's a pretty classic fairy tale kingdom with lot...
Narrator Point of View
The Tale of Despereaux is told from the perspective of a narrator who isn't directly involved with the story. The narrator serves as a sort of omniscient storyteller and is revealing the story of a...
Genre
With its whimsical illustrations, adorable main characters (tiny mice with big ears!), and fairy tale qualities, The Tale of Despereaux is definitely geared towards young readers. The story gets da...
Tone
The Tale of Despereaux has a first-person narrator who isn't a part of the story but acts as a kind of omniscient storyteller. However, the storyteller's voice is awfully familiar, as though he or...
Writing Style
The writing style in The Tale of Despereaux stays true to its fairy tale and whimsical roots. The story is told as though it's a delightful tale filled with many twists and turns, and has some clev...
What's Up With the Title?
The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread has quite a descriptive and lengthy title. It tells readers that the main hero of the story is someon...
What's Up With the Epigraph?
The world is dark, and light is precious. Come closer, dear reader. You must trust me. I am telling you a story. The epigraph is told in the narrator's voice and has the same intimacy with the read...
What's Up With the Ending?
The author wraps things up pretty neatly. Princess Pea returns to her relieved father, Roscuro's allowed to go up to the castle, and Mig's reunited with her very sorry father, who makes sure that h...
Tough-o-Meter
The writing in The Tale of Despereaux is mostly simple, clear, and easy to follow. The language can occasionally become formal and stilted, not exactly like modern conversation. It is a chapter boo...
Plot Analysis
The book opens up by introducing readers to a tiny mouse named Despereaux, who doesn't act like all his mice relatives and neighbors. He lives in a castle that belongs to King Phillip. One day Desp...
Trivia
Kate DiCamillo obviously likes using quirky names in her books (Princess Pea and Miggery Sow aren't exactly common names), and says that thinking up names is the easiest part of writing for her. (S...
Steaminess Rating
Because The Tale of Despereaux is aimed at a younger audience, it's totally appropriate for children and involves no steamy romance whatsoever. Even though Despereaux falls desperately in love with...
Allusions
Princess Pea's name refers to the popular fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea."Botticelli has the name of Sandro Botticelli, a famous painter of the Italian Renaissance.Lyrics from "Stardust" (4.2...