Under Rowling’s Spell: The Power of Potter

Love it or hate it, there is no denying the massive worldwide phenomenon that is Harry Potter. It’s more than just a children’s book, it’s an international juggernaut that made J.K. Rowling the first author to earn a billion dollars; one of only five self-made female billionaires in the world. It’s a book series that reintroduced a generation to literature, a collective that shamelessly aligns itself under the “Generation Hex” banner; spawned a mountain of spinoff products, including films, toys, video games and an amusement park attraction at Universal Orlando Resort; and its guaranteed Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. a financial monster every year it released a new Potter film. But how did this first-time author living on government welfare mange to enchant a global audience with the tale of a simple orphan-turned-wizard?

“The reason why these stories work is because they hit us where we already live,” says John Granger, author of several books on Harry Potter, including The Hidden Key to Harry Potter: Understanding the Meaning, Genius, and Popularity of Joanne Rowling’s Harry Potter Novels (Zossima Press, 2002), and The Deathly Hallows Lectures: The Hogwarts Professor Explains the Final Harry Potter Adventure (Zossima Press, 2008). “They give us a message that is edifying, challenging and uplifting; it speaks to the spirit of the age, and it speaks to trues that transcend the age.”

At its core, the Potter series is simply a modern adaptation of several classic literary story arcs: orphaned boy who escapes a prison-like existence: check. Schoolboy adventures that follow a group of youths through the perils of maturity and adolescence: double-check. Detective-story plot lines that reveal truths behind mysteries at the tale’s conclusion: that’s three; and an epic quest that sees a simple individual evolve into a heroic leader who overcomes the most dastardly of evils: four for four. These themes are standards in many works from Dickens to Tolkien to Lewis, but for Granger, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Much like a Shakespearean classic, Granger notes how Rowling’s masterful hand utilizes specific writing techniques, such as “literary alchemy,” to add depth to both characters and story. Hermione Granger, for example, represents the element mercury. Not only are her initials H.G. (the periodic symbol for mercury), but her parents are dentists (mercury is used for teeth fillings) – no coincidence there.

Most importantly, Rowling adopts the use of ring composition – a circular writing style that sees the beginning and end of each book, and the series as a whole, meet at the conclusion. “It has a turning point that reflects the beginning and the ending. If you draw it as a circle, the chapters on either side of the mid-point are in direct parallel, so that the second chapter and the next-to-last chapter, for example, are echoes of each other.”

All these elements combine in a potent concoction that has clasped the hearts and minds of many around the world, resulting in book sales of well over 450 million. “She re-set our expectations of what literature can do, and what readers want from their books,” adds Granger, who also manages the website HogwartsProfessor.com.

As mentioned before, the popularity of this book series has also spawned an unbelievably popular film series that has become a flagship for Warner Bros. Each film individually creeps up on the billion-dollar mark at the box office, and when the fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, brought in just under $940 million, Harry Potter officially became the highest grossing film franchise of all time. That’s bigger than both Star Wars and James Bond. Yeah. Impressive.

The rapid, unprecedented success of the Potter series has opened the door for many Potter-clones – like Percy Jackson & the Olympians and Cirque du Freak: The Saga of Darren Shan – aiming to capture Rowling’s bewitching lighting-in-a-bottle, and the economic magic that follows. Many of these novels fall short of Rowling’s achievement, however.

But much like other classic literary works, such as the writings of Jane Austen, Granger sees Harry Potter as more than just a benchmark for future writings: it’s a “lens” to read what came before. He explains how many teachers attest to how easily their students grasp the idea of prophecy, for example, in Macbeth, because it is such an important aspect of Harry Potter. “It’s the filter through which [children] understand everything backwards and forwards,” adds Granger.

The power of Potter is clearly something that captured the young and old the world over. And while the July 15th release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 marks the end of the Potter film series – essentially concluding the canon of Potterdom – Granger feels this isn’t the beginning of the end, merely the end of the beginning. Warner Bros. will certainly want to continuously bank in on their prize pony, so don’t be surprised if a re-booted film series manifests in the not-too-distant future. And as of writing this article, Rowling has posted a mystery website (www.pottermore.com) that leads to a countdown for the next big chapter in the Potter universe, so fans can expect an owl-delivered prequel, sequel or whatever to land on their doorsteps some time soon. And for those who simply couldn’t care less about this narrative, one thing is certain: much to Rowling’s intent, you certainly recognize the name Harry Potter.