Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Literary Elements

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Literary Elements

Genre

Fantasy, Adventure

Setting and Context

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hogsmade, England (1996-1997)

Narrator and Point of View

Third-person narrator, following Harry's thoughts

Tone and Mood

Suspenseful, dark, threatening

Protagonist and Antagonist

Harry Potter is the protagonist with Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape as the antagonist.

Major Conflict

Harry and Dumbledore must collect six Horcruxes in order to defeat Lord Voldemort.

Climax

Severus Snape, kills headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore.

Foreshadowing

Harry overhears a suspicious conversation between Snape and Draco Malfoy. Unknown to him, they were plotting to kill Albus Dumbledore.

Understatement

The thought that wizards name Dumbledore as "one of the greatest wizards of all time." Usually, Dumbledore never reveals how powerful he truly is until he saves Harry casting a powerful ring of fire in the cave.

Allusions

Character names and some situations in the Harry Potter books are clear allusions to Greek Mythology.

Imagery

Horcruxes, Advanced Potion-Making Textbook with annotations by the Half-Blood Prince.

Paradox

The entire prophecy is a paradox, since Voldemort made his decision to kill the Potters in hope to reign before Harry could become a powerful wizard. The only thing it did was to make him more determined to thrive in his mission.

Parallelism

The diary of Tom Riddle, first introduced in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is revealed to be a Horcrux in this story.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

N/A

Personification

In Chapter 20, "The drowsing creature in Harry's chest suddenly raised its head, sniffing the air hopefully."

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