[HPforGrownups] Aesthetics in the Potterverse (Was: Lily and Snape)

[manawydan]

No: HPFGUIDX 140465

Katherine F. aka puritybrown wrote:
>own broad sense of humour. Likewise with aesthetics. She's just not that
>interested in writing about beautiful things, or about people appreciating
>beauty, or about art. It has the odd effect of making the WW seem very
>uncultured and rather flat. Nobody reads novels! Nobody sings, except to
>cheer on or discourage a Quidditch team! Likewise with visual art -- Dean
is
>"good at drawing", but we only find out about this when he draws a banner
>for Gryffindor. Does he sketch portraits of his housemates in his spare
time?
>Maybe, but we'll never know because JKR doesn't care enough to tell us.

Perhaps not quite as uncultured as you might think, bearing in mind that the
story is set (mostly) in an establishment devoted to the practical side of
things - the college of witchcraft and wizardry. If it was set in a RW
technical college, I'd expect the background to be equally prosaic. But even
so, there are quite a wide range of things in the background. At least three
styles of music: chamber music (as enjoyed by Dumbledore), the Weird Systers
(who sound like they might be some sort of folk/rock/goth kind of band) and
Celestina Warbeck (sloppy lurve songs) - why should not there be others?
Portraiture is obviously well developed, a wide range of subjects are
described, not just head and shoulders talking ones, as is sculpture, which
is described at Hogwarts as well as at the Ministry. No descriptions of
literature, certainly (though are all those books at Flourish and Blotts on
technical subjects?) but as well as journalism there is satire (in the form
of the Quibbler) and autobiography (Lockhart)

hwyl

Ffred (who shares your thoughts about the school song and is horribly
reminded of his own)

Na thaereb neb fod Cymru
Yng Nghymru dlawd byth mwy
Ag ysgol ymhob cwmwd...