25
votes
Why is it called Watership Down?
Watership Down is a real place in Hampshire that just happens to sound as if there is some connection to water.
(image by Loganberry of Wikipedia; public domain)
It's not a fictitious name invented ...
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24
votes
What does "skimmish" mean, in this eye dialect?
The context is that Lucy is “’ollerin’ and carryin’ on” (that is, crying) because she is unhappy at the prospect of killing the rabbit:
Lucy began to cry. She had not lived all her life on a farm for ...
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23
votes
Accepted
What is the foundation of the religion in Watership Down?
In-universe
El-ahrairah is much more legendary than mythical, more like a hero than a god. Here's how the text describes him the very first time his name appears:
What Robin Hood is to the English ...
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20
votes
Accepted
Is Doctor Adams a self-insertion in Watership Down?
Doctor Adams is the author's father.
Richard Adams is the son of Evelyn Adams, who worked as a country doctor.
I can find no definitive quote from the author to confirm this was his intention: ...
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18
votes
Accepted
What did the men use to destroy Sandleford Warren?
Is this some established rabbit-hunting technique?
Yes: it's called rabbit warren fumigation.
I found this by searching the internet for gas canisters rabbit warren, since I'd always assumed the "...
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18
votes
Accepted
How long does the story of Watership Down take?
Making some reasonable assumptions, ~95 days
Note that 95 days is for what I consider the "main story" - from when Fiver has his first vision to when the Efrafan attackers are defeated. ...
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17
votes
Accepted
Why is it called Watership Down?
As Aurorar0001 says, Watership Down is a real place name in Hampshire, England. The following comments are meant to shed some light on the origin of this place name.
The second part, Down, is a noun ...
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12
votes
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What is King Darzin?
Some fan sites, such as the Watership Down Wikia, have speculated or even presumed that King Darzin and his followers are hares, but without providing much evidence to support this conclusion, and in ...
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9
votes
What is King Darzin?
In the story we read:
The next night Rabscuttle, who had been told by El-ahrairah what he had to do, went to the garden and dug a scrape. He hid in the scrape all night; and the next morning, when ...
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9
votes
Accepted
Why do some Lapine words have pronunciation guidelines as footnotes?
The book originated as stories that the author told to his daughters to while away long travelling hours. Being an oral tale, Adams would know the pronunciations he used and it is likely that he ...
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9
votes
Accepted
Identification of Kehaar's accent
Kehaar's accent is based on a Norwegian one, and is consistent in itself.
In fact, Kehaar's accent and entire character are based on a real Norwegian man that Richard Adams knew. As he wrote himself (...
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8
votes
What is the significance of referring to Hazel as "the lame rabbit" in "Watership Down"?
It emphasises that Woundwort views authority as linked to physical strength.
We see this more clearly later, when Woundwort learns that Bigwig is not the Chief Rabbit at Watership Down and assumes ...
- 76.7k
8
votes
What is the significance of Blackberry's name in Watership Down?
Blackberry had black tips to his ears. It is possible that, especially when he was a kit those tips reminded people of two blackberries.
There may also be an aspect of being tenacious and difficult to ...
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6
votes
Accepted
What does this simile about Fiver rounding up Efrafan prisoners mean?
I think you're overthinking this quote a bit. Bluebell's joke and simile are just based on the fact that the runty Fiver is the last rabbit anyone would expect a bunch of burly Efrafans to surrender ...
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6
votes
Accepted
Why are primroses emphasized at the start and end of Watership Down?
Primroses symbolise springtime.
Primroses are among the first flowers to start blooming in the springtime, sometimes called the heralds of spring. Even their name in English comes from "prima ...
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5
votes
Accepted
What does Silverweed's poem signify?
(tl; dr answer at the bottom)
The plight of the rabbits in Cowslip's warren is one of the things that really hit home with me in the book and the adaptations, and the poem helps especially much. I ...
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4
votes
Accepted
Was Lapine ever developed beyond the small glossary in Watership Down?
Yes, but not by Adams
... as far as I can tell, anyhow. Unless you count the sequel.
As the Wikipedia page for the language says:
Linguists, academics, and fans of the original novel have further ...
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3
votes
Why the Alice epigraph in the epilogue of Watership Down?
I'm just guessing here, but I think it may have something to do with that the myths of El-Ahrairah become intertwined with Hazel’s reality and his death.
I'm not sure of its exact meaning but I love ...
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3
votes
What is the main point, moral, or lesson of "Watership Down"?
When you say, "my teacher's grade and comment still pop into my head", I think it is time to let go of that, because (I think) it was your teacher who missed the "point", whatever ...
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3
votes
What is the significance of General Woundwort injuring his leg?
Woundwort receiving a leg injury serves to emphasize and contrast General Woundwort as a foil to Hazel, who also previously recieved a leg injury. Hazel and Woundwort are paralleled in many ways ...
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3
votes
How can "Salamandastron" be considered "In the Tradition of 'Watership Down'"?
Sometimes odd lines like that on covers are quotes, even if they aren't attributed. A possible source for this would be the brief review paragraph, by Tynan Laurie, for the 8 cassette recorded book, ...
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2
votes
What does "skimmish" mean, in this eye dialect?
According to Cassell's Dictionary of Slang, skimmish is a variant of skimish, which means beer or alcohol.
skimish n. (also skimmish) [1900s-70s] (mainly tramp) beer, alcohol; thus skimisher/...
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2
votes
Accepted
Why is Dandelion named so?
Let me preface this answer by mentioning that I'm not convinced Richard Adams intended any particular significance or symbolism in the character names of Watership Down. As I've written about before, ...
- 76.7k
2
votes
Why do some Lapine words have pronunciation guidelines as footnotes?
English is one of the languages where stress is very important to pronunciation. This is in contrast to many other languages where stress is either not an important feature of the language at all (e.g....
- 76.7k
1
vote
Accepted
Why is the encounter with the rats not covered in detail?
Here's my interpretation of how the story is changed by not covering that segment of the rabbits' journey in detail.
Off-stage character development enables the plot to proceed more swiftly.
At the ...
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Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible