Kurt Schreyer, Associate Professor of English Literature at the University of Missouri, and author of Shakespeare’s Medieval Craft: Remnants of the Mysteries on the London Stage, tweeted a challenge to his ardent StrikeFans audience that they rank the six Strike novels from best to worst and share the reasoning of their list’s sequence. Our beloved Headmaster has challenged the faculty to respond with our own reasoned lists. Here to kick off our series is Prof Schreyer with his own series ranking. Please do comment down below your challenges and agreement. Which of the series is your favourite?
Kurt Schreyer – Verlaine’s Parsifal
February 18, 2023 by 3 Comments
Following from Prof Groves Valentine’s post, Kurt Schreyer, Associate Professor of English Literature at the University of Missouri, and author of Shakespeare’s Medieval Craft: Remnants of the Mysteries on the London Stage has written a Hogwarts Professor Guest Post – Parsifal, Strike, & “Le noir roc courroucé”. Join me after the jump to find out more about the enigmatic (and visually striking) Symbolist poet Paul Verlaine.
First ‘Running Grave’ Epigraphs Out: Dylan Thomas Poem and I Ching Note
February 17, 2023 by 7 Comments
Three Cheers for the sleuths at The Rowling Library!
DV, we’ll soon have the citation from the I Ching and the translation Rowling-Galbraith is using.
Until then, your thoughts? That I Ching piece is suggestive, beyond the Norfolk Commune.
Did Shanker kill Leda or promise, at least, that he wouldn’t say why she committed suicide?
Beatrice Groves – Valentine’s Alchemy
February 14, 2023 by 2 Comments
A very happy St Valentine’s Day from all at Hogwarts Professor to you dear close readers!
Robins are red,
Strike’s name is Blue,
Beatrice Groves –
Has written for you:
Beatrice Groves, Research Lecturer and tutor at Trinity College, Oxford, and author of Literary Allusion in Harry Potter, has written a Hogwarts Professor Guest Post: Valentine’s Alchemy. To find out more about love, both sacred and profane, in Ink Black Heart, join Prof Groves after the jump:
From Ryan Murphy, Secret Halvening to Unpacking Tannhäuser: Check out the Strike and Ellacott files blog
February 11, 2023 by 1 Comment
I am a loyal fan of the Strike and Ellacott Files podcast, and look forward to new episodes every couple of weeks. But, if you peruse their website, you’ll find they also have a blog: a hidden gem that is easily overlooked if you, like me, usually jump straight to Spotify to hear the broadcast. I want to give a shout-out to a couple of recent posts there, because I think they present ideas our Serious Striker readers would enjoy discussing.
The first, by “Amber” hypothesizes that Robin’s new suitor, Ryan Murphy, is secretly a member of the Halvening. I scoffed at the notion at first, but Amber points out evidence that is impossible to unsee. Like the pregnant Madeline hypothesis, I really *hope* this idea doesn’t come to pass— poor Robin deserves a few dates with a decent guy after the series of disasters that were Matthew “Flobberworm” Cunliffe, Saul “Dickhead DeMorris Umbridge” and Hugh Jacks (no nickname needed, as his given name is embarrassing enough), and I’d like her experience a fun, casual relationship before her and Strike’s inevitable coupling.
The second, is a series of three posts (Parts I, II and III) on the Tannhäuser opera, the one the “portly Russian” is talking about at Annabels. Opera is far from my area of expertise, but this Wagnerian work apparently starts with Leda and the Swan and “centres on the struggle between sacred and profane love, as well as redemption through love.” The plot of the opera? A young knight struggling to free himself of the sexual hold Venus has over him, and prove himself worthy of the love of a virtuous woman.” “Marty Ellacott” takes us through all three acts, connecting the opera’s plot to Strike’s spiritual journey in The Ink Black Heart and the entire series. Anyone with an interest in mythic, Christian and spiritual themes in the Cormoran Strike series should read these posts. I left the first post convinced Tannhäuser is the Rattenbury of The Ink Black Heart; a minor mention that unlocks a lot about the story.
Please check out these remarkable posts!
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