Harry Potter and Shakespeare Compete

Can Harry Potter be compared to the likes of Shakespeare and other famous authors and playwrights?



We all remember, I would assume, quite clearly the pre-release atmosphere the world took on in the weeks leading up to 21 July 2007. Of course, how could we forget. Many of us stood there with a burning anticipation, outside our local bookshop, waiting for midnight to come, and with it the final instalment of the world famous, bestselling series Harry Potter.

So, my dear Muggles, the question is, is this series- once which has ignited an extreme bout of Pottermania (Potterfever) in billions of people worldwide- comparable with the greats of the past centuries? Are the works of the worshiped Joanna Rowling as great as those of Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and fairly recently, Robert Ludlam perhaps?

At risk of biting myself in the foot, I would have to say yes. Whilst future generations will never know or understand the anticipation, the apprehension, that we have felt approaching the release date of the Harry Potter books, however I, and many others, have felt it, and it is truly something amazing to see how Rowling has influenced the world with her works of art.

It is with much sadness that we realise that this is the end of this series, just as it is sad to see the end of a great play by Shakespeare, or any of the classic books that everyone has read and very few fully appreciate anymore. However, as this series ends, it gives rise to a generation of fan fiction writers, inspiring authors of the future much like our classics have.

One day in future, as people write the history books of the year 2007, people will remember the end of the Harry Potter series as the remember Shakespeare. It is already famous, and that fame will only continue to grow with every generation of readers that it passes through and impresses on.