Snape the poet (was: logic puzzles...)

[Pogonia the Harry Potter fan]

No: HPFGUIDX 2577

On  Fri, 29 Sep 2000 22:11:58  Peg Kerr <pkerr06 at attglobal.net> wrote:

>Blaise wrote:

>>I've always wondered about Snape's poetic side. I can't help
>>thinking of his very first entry, where he talks about brewing fame
>>and glory and stoppering death. Lovely lyrical stuff!
>>
>>Snape does have a way with words, which he uses more often than not
>>as weapons and as tools for manipulating people. But perhaps he's a 
>>frustrated poet too?
>
>This is intriguing, a new way of looking at Snape. Maybe . . . Snape has 
>always seemed to me to be a character who is terribly frustrated.
>And we're not quite what it is that he's frustrated about. What is it 
>about Harry that gets his knickers in such a twist?

LOL!  What an expression!  Snape with a wedgie!

IMHO it's clear that Snape wants two things: fame, and recognition of
his alliance to the Bright.  What does he rag on Harry about?  His
undeserved celebrity and his penchant for rule-breaking. The first
is because Snape wants some of that glory for himself (and perhaps
JKR will show us later that some of it truly does belong to him)
and the second is (a bit of a stretch perhaps) that Snape hates
the Dark side intensely and associates rule-breaking with the kind
of casual carelessness that can give the Dark an opening.

>Perhaps he does want the DADA job, perhaps not-- as several have pointed 
>out, it's just a rumor.

I think he doesn't, and that it's a red herring.

>But it makes me wonder--if life had turned out exactly the way Snape had 
>wanted it to, what kind of life would he have?If he wasn't so frustrated, 
>what would make him happy? Maybe he'd rather be a research chemist, with 
>no teaching duties (no dunderheads to deal with), writing poetry on the 
>side?

Good grief, he wants to be Roald Hoffman? or Carl Djerassi?

Actually, I agree with you but would add one thing: he also wants to
be head of a thriving research laboratory.  This would give him the
opportunity to supervise (control!) others as well as enjoying the
day to day rewards and challenges of his research.

>What would Snape see in the Mirror of Erised?

Himself accepting the Order of Merlin, first class, after speeches by
Dumbledore and Harry in which both acknowledge that Snape was
indirectly responsible for Voldemort's 1981 disappearance and directly
responsible for the Dark Lord's recent final defeat and the
surrender of all the Death Eaters.

Or maybe himself, refusing whatever decision in his past led to the
anger and bitterness that now consume him.

Best wishes,
Pogonia
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