The Brilliance of T.H. White's Magical Foreshadowing

            "Listen to your mentors, they've lived and learned the truth" .
            
             White's The Once and Future King which portrays the character of Merlyn as a mentor and a magician who has lived backwards through time. This allows the author to drop hints about the future of the book. Numerous times, the author uses foreshadowing through Merlyn and other characters to give clues to the readers about upcoming events. .
             T.H. White's use of Merlyn as well as random character's hints as a foreshadowing device shows the Warts future reign as King Arthur as well as his downfall.
             Throughout Book I the reader experiences the lessons of life taught to the Wart by Merlyn's use of animals. During this time, Merlyn as well as the animals drop hints on the future of the Wart as King Arthur. Take, for instance, in Book I Chapter 8 when Merlyn turns the Wart into a type of hunting bird called a Merlin. In this lesson the Wart is put into the mews with the other birds and put up to a challenge. As a way to prove himself the Wart must perch within reach of Cully, the goshawk until the other birds have rang their bells three times. The Wart barely escapes Cully and after the third bell rings, the birds all sing to the Wart: .
             "The mountain birds are sweeter.
             But the valley birds are fatter,.
             And so we deemed it meter.
             To carry of the latter.
             We met a cowering coney.
             And struck him through the vitals.
             The coney was like honey.
             And squealed are requitals.
             Some struck the lark in feathers.
             Whose puffing clouds were shed off.
             Some plucked the partridge's neathers,.
             While others pulled his head off.
             But the Wart the King of the Merlin's.
             Struck foot most far before us.
             His birds his beasts.
             Supply our feasts,.
             And his feats our glorious chorus!".
             "Mark my words, we shall have a regular king- said the beautiful Balan. (85; Ch. 8).
             With this quote, one can see White use of the bird's song as a clue to the future reign. Though White uses the animals as a small foreshadowing device this is easy to slide by the reader the use of Merlyn's knowledge drops obvious hints about the future.