Literary Allusion in Harry Potter by Beatrice Groves

Abstract

Reviewed by: Literary Allusion in Harry Potter by Beatrice Groves Michele Daniele Castleman (bio) Literary Allusion in Harry Potter. By Beatrice Groves. New York: Routledge, 2017. Beatrice Groves's Literary Allusion in Harry Potter ruminates upon the role of intertextuality in J. K. Rowling's series and how "allusion brings a momentary incursion of the 'real' world into the fictional" (x). Groves reveals how the Harry Potter series is in conversation with works by Homer, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and other writers and artists. In eight chapters, she draws attention to the significance and renderings of Harry Potter characters and their names, magical objects, the inclusion of religious themes as well as themes of death and loss, the use of tragedy and humor, and the cyclical structure of the seven books within the series. In chapter 1, "Harry Potter, Greek Myth and Epic Storytelling," Groves begins by examining the epigraph of the last novel, The Deathly Hallows, noting the parallels between Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and events within Rowling's series. Much as Homer's epic poems would have been performed aloud, Groves suggests that words within the series serve as aural puns; for instance, Knockturn Alley sounds like "nocturnally," which is "linked with the dark arts" (7). Groves also discusses the overarching structure of the seven books and how they have a ring composition. She reflects upon the use of the Pensieve within the later Harry Potter books to create sympathy for Snape and Voldemort, noting that Harry's sympathy for the latter, based on the parallels between their childhoods, resembles Achilles and Priam's sympathetic moment over the loss of Hector near the end of the Iliad. This moment also serves as a classical source for Harry's decision to bring Cedric Diggory's body back to his father near the end of The Goblet of Fire. Groves concludes the chapter with the argument that both oral and written stories have the power to create empathy, stating that both Homer's and Rowling's works "attempt to see things from someone else's perspective" (17). In chapter 2, "Naming in Harry Potter: Plato, Shakespeare and Ovid," Groves draws attention to the literary traditions that contributed to the names of Hermione Granger, Remus Lupin, and Narcissa Malfoy, among others. In contemplating Remus Lupin's name, Groves contrasts Ovid's and Plutarch's interpretations of the story of Romulus and Remus and the founding of Rome. Moving on to Shakespeare's works, she notes connections to Richard II (the use of the surname Gaunt) and The Winter's Tale (Hermione). The passage about Hermione is enhanced by the drawing of mythic connections to the Greek messenger god Hermes. Groves also explores the use of the wizarding world's underground aspects in terms of the mythic Underworld. In addition, [End Page 225] the chapter also notes similarities between Rowling's own life and that of her protagonist. Although this is the only chapter title focusing upon the names of characters, the origins of other characters' names are also explored throughout the rest of this volume. The next chapter, "Harry Potter's Medieval Hallows: Chaucer and the Gawain-Poet," first compares Harry's pursuit of the three Deathly Hallows to plot points within Gawain and the Green Knight. In addition to examining the motif of beheading within both narratives, Groves focuses upon Christian interpretations of aspects of Rowling's series. For example, she connects Judas's suicide under an elder tree to the inclusion of the elder wand as one of the Hallows and provides a Christian interpretation of the wizarding folk tale "The Story of the Three Brothers," featured in the final novel. According to Groves, Rowling's invented folk tale has parallels with the Pardoner's Tale from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Attention to Christian allusions is found again in chapter 4, "The Temptation in the Desert and the Harrowing of Hell: Harry Potter, Mystery Plays and Milton." Groves discusses Rowling's own baptism at the age of eleven (the age at which wizards fully enter the wizarding world within the series). Groves notes the parallels between Harry's characterization, choices, and self-sacrificial death and those of...