Beedle the Bard Approaches

The minstrel of the dawn is here, to make you laugh and bend your ear.  ~ Gordon Lightfoot

In not many hours, we’ll begin reading the fairy tales of the Wizarding World.  Both the tales themselves and Dumbledore’s commentary should be fascinating reads, and I’m looking forward to a new experience of Rowling’s artistry.  A few bullet-point thoughts, hopes and expectations:

• I’m as interested in Dumbledore’s commentary as I am about the content of the Tales themselves.  Will we learn more about Dumbledore?  Will/should what we read here shape our experience of Dumbledore in the 7-novel canon?
• What will we learn from Dumbledore about the power of story and of imagination?  After all, Dumbledore believed that Voldemort’s lack of knowledge of the power of children’s stories was part of his downfall!
• I expect many people to miss the deeper/anagogical meaning of the stories and stick to the “morality tale” meaning.  But I do expect deeper levels of meaning that just fairy-tales-as-moral-lessons.  I think the role of “The Tale of the Three Brothers” demonstrates this well enough.
• Interesting question: If Muggles imagine magical worlds in their fairy tales, what do magical people imagine?  We might get some insight into the creative process here.
• I also expect the moral lessons to be along the lines of the social justice themes in her book, with gradualism married to the themes of love’s victory over death and the importance of free will choices.

What are your hopes and expectations?

Related: HP Progs Episode #94: Why Fairy Tales Matter;   Hogwarts Professor: Twelve Questions About Beedle the Bard

Tagged as: Tales of Beedle the Bard