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A Remarkable Bit of Snapely Research
Nov. 12th, 2015 09:45 amThis morning Lord S called my attention to this website.
I don't know whether it's Rowling we have to admire for putting this in the text, or people like tomhiddles for coming up with the idea.
I know that sometimes people have seen things in my stories that I didn't even realize were there. My readers' clever comments did make the story look better than it actually was, and full of interesting metaphors and allusions, so I'm not going to point out when this happened. I just smirked.
I wonder, is Rowling now smirking and nodding, "Yes, I didn't know it myself, but I'm actually that clever"? Or would she rather say, "Finally some of those dunderheads noticed!"
Here's this morning's Potterfind.
The story of Harry Potter might be over and done with (for now, we see you Cursed Child), but like any good story it will live on forever in our hearts. And, also all those times we re-read the books, because you can never re-read them too many times. Besides, reading them now gives us a brand new perspective because we can search for tiny little nuggets hidden in the text. Like, the fact that the first time Professor Snape and Harry meet, they talk about Lily Potter.
Pull out your copy or Sorcerer’s Stone, you’ll see. When Harry first sits down in Potions Class, Snape calls him out and asks, “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” Harry has no idea, of course, because this is Potions Day One. The first time you read this, the passage probably didn’t stick in your mind, because why would it? All it really establishes is that Snape is going to be hard on Harry during his years at Hogwarts, for reasons still unknown.
Here’s where it gets crazy. As Tumblr user tomhiddles notes, the potion Snape asks Harry is actually very telling. As they write, “According to Victorian Flower Language, asphodel is a type of lily meaning ‘My regrets follow you to the grave’ and wormwood means ‘absence’ and also typically symbolized bitter sorrow. If you combined that, it meant ‘I bitterly regret Lily’s death’.”
I don't know whether it's Rowling we have to admire for putting this in the text, or people like tomhiddles for coming up with the idea.
I know that sometimes people have seen things in my stories that I didn't even realize were there. My readers' clever comments did make the story look better than it actually was, and full of interesting metaphors and allusions, so I'm not going to point out when this happened. I just smirked.
I wonder, is Rowling now smirking and nodding, "Yes, I didn't know it myself, but I'm actually that clever"? Or would she rather say, "Finally some of those dunderheads noticed!"
Here's this morning's Potterfind.
The story of Harry Potter might be over and done with (for now, we see you Cursed Child), but like any good story it will live on forever in our hearts. And, also all those times we re-read the books, because you can never re-read them too many times. Besides, reading them now gives us a brand new perspective because we can search for tiny little nuggets hidden in the text. Like, the fact that the first time Professor Snape and Harry meet, they talk about Lily Potter.
Pull out your copy or Sorcerer’s Stone, you’ll see. When Harry first sits down in Potions Class, Snape calls him out and asks, “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” Harry has no idea, of course, because this is Potions Day One. The first time you read this, the passage probably didn’t stick in your mind, because why would it? All it really establishes is that Snape is going to be hard on Harry during his years at Hogwarts, for reasons still unknown.
Here’s where it gets crazy. As Tumblr user tomhiddles notes, the potion Snape asks Harry is actually very telling. As they write, “According to Victorian Flower Language, asphodel is a type of lily meaning ‘My regrets follow you to the grave’ and wormwood means ‘absence’ and also typically symbolized bitter sorrow. If you combined that, it meant ‘I bitterly regret Lily’s death’.”