A Study of Metaphors in the First Four Harry Potter Novels

A Study of Metaphors in the First Four Harry Potter Novels

This dissertation concentrates on the study of metaphors in the first four Harry Potter novels. Written by J K Rowling, the novels with the powerful tool of ??magic turn common, ??real themes and things into something delightful and engaging. The dissertation aims to analyze this merging and argues that it is through the metaphors present in these four novels that such a blend is possible. Through a textual analysis of the first four Harry Potter novels, Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the dissertation first shows that these novels contain characteristics of magic realism fiction. The considerations of these characteristics or features verify the presence of magic and reality in the novels. Following which, the dissertation corroborates that the presence of magic and reality, the fusion of these two elements are possible through an extensive use of metaphors. The arguments are primarily developed with the support of vivid examples from all the four texts. The metaphors explored are divided into two major categories; human and non-human. Both the categories, established in different chapters, demonstrate that they are functional is merging the elements of magic and reality. The magic in reality and the real in the magical can be comprehended, analyzing the use of metaphors. Evidencing which had been the purpose of this dissertation through a study of the first four Harry Potter novels.

Biswas Pritha

Department of English