Thursday 26 June 2014

On the 26th June 1997 (my birthday by the way), J K Rowling's first of many novels, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published and released to the public. She was an immediate success, with her well-constructed characters and storyline that stretches through to seven books, creating the Harry Potter trilogy. She outclassed Roald Dahl, whom widely ruled the world of children's books and was compared to Jane Austen as a genius.

Harry Potter was much loved by readers and eventually viewers worldwide, both as a book trilogy and as a character. But in the books and films, there is one particular character, whom could arguably be just as loved as a character; Professor Severus Snape.

(DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN'T COMPLETED THE TRILOGY, mind you, the last book is nearly 7 years old!)





Severus Snape was originally a character much disliked and negatively judged by readers all over, due to his sadistic, angry, dark personality, particularly towards Harry Potter. He was likely most hated by the end of the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, after he killed Albus Dumbledore, apparently revealing his true nature as a loyal follower of the central antagonist, Lord Voldemort.

However, during the climax of the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it is revealed that Snape killed Dumbledore out of mercy, loyalty and planned out between the pair. He was further revealed to be on the good side all along, though he was originally on Voldemort's side, but switched sides secretly for a reason that shook readers and created such an emotional storyline that it had created a condition in itself, as shown by internet users around the world, Severitis. I myself am a sufferer of this condition, among other things. Hay fever and grief are a bitch.

Snape was in love with Harry Potter's mother, Lily. But James Potter, Harry's father bullied him to the pressure point, so much so that he had unintentionally called Lily a name that left her so hurt and betrayed by her best friend that she terminated her friendship and severed all ties with him when he didn't deny that he planned to become a Death Eater, whereas she planned to oppose them and Voldemort.

So Snape became a Death Eater and to his despair, Lily went on to marry James and have a child, Harry. But then Snape did something that he could never forgive himself for. He eavesdropped on Dumbledore and the wannabe Seer, Sybil Trelawney under Voldemort's orders, and overheard some of the prophecy that determined Harry and Voldemort's destiny. Unaware that the prophecy would have any connection to Lily, Snape told Voldemort all he heard, but as soon as the latter chose to target Lily, Snape rushed to Dumbledore for help as he knew despite his requests, Voldemort wouldn't hesitate to kill her. Despite his only concern being for Lily, Snape eventually asked Dumbledore to hide not just her, but James and Harry too in exchange for "anything" which later showed to be a double agent under Dumbledore's ranks and work against Voldemort.

However, James and Lily were betrayed by one of their friends and Voldemort ultimately killed them, but Lily's sacrifice for her son protected him from Voldemort, bringing him to an end, for an extended period of time, but it left Harry with a scar, "marked as his equal." Snape was devastated by Lily's death and felt most of the blame. Dumbledore got him to remain faithful to her memory and devote his life to protect Harry. Snape agreed.

For those who do not realise how much of a challenge it would be to just look at Harry in itself for Snape, I implore them to understand. Harry was the very reminder and symbol of Snape's loss of Lily in every sense of the word. Harry looked almost exactly like the boy whom bullied Snape and the man who married his love. This explained Snape's severe hatred towards Harry, but this was also a conflict, albeit small, due to the only difference between Harry and his father, apart from his scar, was his eyes; they were the very eyes of his mother's, the eyes that Snape loved so much. Harry reminded Snape of his worst enemy and the love of his life. Imagine the mental stress that must of put him through, and he did all he could during Harry's years at Hogwarts to protect him just the same. Furthermore, Snape didn't protect Harry for Harry himself, but for the memory of Lily whom despite being long dead and buried, remained to be Snape's love until the day he died sixteen years later. His undying yet hopeless love was so strong, his Patronus took the form of Lily's, a doe which he anonymously used to aid Harry on his quest to destroy Voldemort.

Many agree that Snape should be considered a hero, maybe just as much as Harry. After all, his motives for working for the forces of good were for love, but there are also those who view him as an anti-hero. This is due to the way Snape treated Harry and his fellow students. He loved Lily but he couldn't bring himself to love her son, due to the identity of his father and the resemblance to said parent. There was only one instance where Snape viewed Harry as Lily's child and that was when Harry, despite hating him for seemingly betraying Dumbledore and killing him, tried to ease his blood flow after being attacked by Voldemort's snake, Nagini. Snape saw Lily's kind, gentle and loving nature over James' vain, bullying and prideful nature in Harry at last and his last actions were providing Harry with his memories revealing his true loyalties and Harry's destiny, as well as looking into Lily's eyes one last time. Harry later remembers Snape as "the bravest man I have ever known."

Ooh, feels like a Wikia, doesn't it?!

If anyone reading this still dislikes or shows no pity, I urge them to leave the blog now, for I wish to share several of my favourite Snape related web links, most of these will contain spoilers, deleted scenes and even works from the imaginations of Snape fans. Again, if you've not read or watched the Harry Potter works, click out of this page!




VIDEO LINKS


The first link is the first scene where Snape speaks in the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It is my favourite scene with Snape in this film as it gives the first verbal interaction between him and Harry and his actor, Alan Rickman emits a strong scent of hatred, showing his skill as an actor. The link is below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs7FliqVPJo



The second link is from the second film, the Chamber of Secrets. Although it mainly focuses on Harry's discovered ability to speak Parseltongue, we are shown Snape's ability in duelling and the blatant obviousness that he is far more skilled than the exaggerated Lockhart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq89Msm-_MU



The third link is of course, from the third film, the Prisoner of Azkaban. This is my favourite scene with Snape in this production because although it is not a part of the original book by J K Rowling, Snape's role in this scene is a wise decision to create for the film as it further demonstrates, albeit unknowingly, how far he is willing to go to protect Lily's son.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-agTClDfpcQ



The fourth film's favourite Snape scene was deleted from the final cut, but it holds hints to viewers about Snape's past and also of his own reaction to Voldemort's impending power increase.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGJLjp9JpzA



The fifth link holds two scenes with Snape in one and it is my favourite as it gives his relationship with Harry more depth and we are shown another reason he dislikes Harry. Rickman's portrayal of Snape is full of emotion and presents a strong sense of control despite his minor reaction at the end. This scene also fuels my personal dislike for James Potter.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK7_7M6D-XE



The sixth film's link holds a very strong sense of character in Snape and a lot of hidden cryptic hints to his loyalty for Lily, therefore Dumbledore. For those who have read my above summary of Snape, try and imagine the mental strain these actions had on Snape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V2wYYknlbk



I had no favourite Snape scene in the seventh film, as he only had one appearance and it merely showed his continuing undercover role, although he had to watch a fellow professor die. I have two favourite scenes in the eighth and final film. The first is saddening to all Snape fans and it shows how Snape, for the first and last time, sees Harry as Lily's son, not James'.
But the first scene is nothing, to me, compared to the second which holds strong emotion, a great symbol of the strength of love and shows Snape's character clearly at last.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cL527bg0II

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMz8bpkLd4Y






FAN FICTIONS



There have been many fans of Severus Snape who have made their own Snape universes over the Internet. On the site of creative writing, there have been fanfiction writers showing their own ways of developing Snape's character.

The first of which is known by the username, bumblebee_5n4p3. She wrote several fanfictions on Snape depicting scenarios of Snape in scenes in-between the books, within them, and even if Snape had survived his overall fate. The descriptiveness and understanding of the character by this writer makes her my favourite Snape fanfiction writer.


http://www.wattpad.com/user/bumblebee_5n4p3?utm_expid=1529920-49.5nQiFBBnRdq2ue2YTuy4WQ.0&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wattpad.com%2Fstory%2F468913-it-is-our-choices-a-harry-severus-friendship-fic


The second writer is less experienced, I believe, but he/she is certainly my second favourite fanfiction writer in the world of Harry Potter. The writer uses the username, librarian38. He/she created the Afterlife Trilogy, a collection of three books focusing on the afterlives of characters in Harry Potter. The third book is still in progress, but I look forward to see its completion. The first book focuses on Snape's afterlife. Whether he has a happy ending or not, I will not give away. librarian38's trilogy was inspired by the aforementioned writer, giving the pair a bond and I love both of their works.



http://www.wattpad.com/user/librarian38?utm_expid=1529920-49.5nQiFBBnRdq2ue2YTuy4WQ.0







FAN BASED IMAGES

Here are, to finish off, several images on Snape made by fans across the world.

Severus Snape - severus-snape Fan Art






Tags: Anime, Harry Potter, Severus Snape, Lily Evans