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Five ways to understand the Harry Potter narrative

Harry Potter fans just know they love the record-breaking series of books. But everyone from academics to mythologists, classicists to historians, and literary critics to, well, geeks have a special “template” they perceive at the heart of the tale.

From positing Albus Dumbledore as the infamous Richard III to taking us aloft the scaly back of St. George’s dragon, here are five of our top takes on what’s going on behind the scenes in the Harry Potter narratives.

Like all artists, J.K. Rowling alludes to many earlier literary themes and tropes, says Elizabeth Gruner from the University of Richmond in Virginia. Clearly, she draws on the medieval quest narrative, not to mention the sacrificial victim themes that informed Christian iconography, she notes. These influenced other fantasy writers, among them Christian theologian C.S. Lewis (“The Chronicles of Narnia”) and “Lord of the Rings” author J.R.R. Tolkien.

Ms. Rowling’s genius is in drawing as well on several realistic literary traditions, says Ms. Gruner, such as the “school story, best known in England with 'Tom Brown’s School Days,' and the ever-popular orphan narrative.”

Charles Dickens is one of her great predecessors, she notes, but let’s not forget the “social realism in Jane Austen’s mode – the satire of the Dursleys, the awareness of the social class issues within Hogwarts,” she adds.

Rowling gives everyone something familiar to connect with, says Gruner. “Lots of kids (and adults) who thought they didn’t like the “swords and sorcerers” kind of fantasy (familiar, again, from Tolkien) were drawn in by her comedy, her social realism, and her characterization,” she adds.

In this scenario, Albus Dumbledore plays the role of none other than Richard III, the king so maligned by the Bard.

For those who need to brush up, not just on their Shakespeare, but on some basic British history, the Wars of the Roses were fought mostly between 1455 and 1485 between two houses of the Plantaganet dynasty, Lancaster and York, represented by red and white roses, respectively.

This scenario matches up characters from the books with members of the British royal family of the day, according to Miami University professor emerita, Nancy Nicholson. The Tudors are a parallel with the Black family, she says. Draco Malfoy is Henry VII who kills Richard III (Albus Dumbledore) and Voldemort is a “distant, starving cousin" named John Mowbray.

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Keep track of everything from attendance to test scores. This book features plenty of room for writing as well as perforated pages that allow one list of student names to be used across several pages of records. 8-1/2" x 11"

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