J.K. Rowling drew inhalation from legion germ when writingHarry Potter , fromHomertoShakespeare . One generator in special to a great extent influenced the characters , coiffure , and concept of the book serial publication : T.H. White .
Even if you do n’t spot the writer ’s name immediately , you ’ve likely heard of his most famous story , The Sword in the Stone . AsMyLondonreports , without White ’s take on Merlin and youngKing Arthur , we may have never gotten Dumbledore and Harry .
Rowling acknowledged the connexion between Harry Potter andThe Sword in the Stone , calling the son Arthur ( who go by the nameWartbefore he becomes king ) Harry ’s " spiritual ascendant . " The two lineament share many similarity . Like Harry , Wart is predestined for great thing , as he proves when he pulls out a magic blade stick on top of a stone and claims his title as king . But both boy total from lowly screen background , Harry being an orphan and Wart being a squire of low status . Wart even live in a castling not unlike Hogwarts .
One of the most obvious elements Rowling take up from White is the figure of the wise , white-hot - bewhiskered wizard . Merlin andAlbus Dumbledoreare both mentor to their story ’s untested supporter , and they ’re both powerful ace with a impulsive nature . They also have pet bird in common , thoughMerlin have an owlinstead of a phoenix .
T.H. White did n’t invent the tarradiddle of King Arthur . The source was a fan of the fifteenth - century apprisal of the legend , Le Morte D’Arthur , and was inspired to compose the characters into a children ’s story in 1938.The Sword in the Stonekicked off his seriesThe Once and Future Kingand was adapted into an exalt Disney film of the same name in 1963 .
Though White did n’t come up with King Arthur on his own , he did save the schoolboy version of the fictitious character that urge Harry Potter . fan of both level may have noticed a nod to the Arthur fable inHarry Potter and the Philosopher ’s Stone . In the first book in the serial , Harry finds a coffee batrachian carte du jour ofMerlin , confirming that the thaumaturge exists in his world .
[ h / tMyLondon ]
