| Magical Myths Lesson Ten |
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| Dementors, Ring Wraiths, and the Grim Reaper! |
| Dementors are considered deadly magical creatures, faceless, wearing shapeless cloaks that cover the �skin� that is grayish, slimy-looking and scabbed. Dementors �drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. They make you feel like you will never be happy again. They are free floating, and a chill is felt in the air around them as the suck the �soul� or life from anything around them. J.K. Rowlings confirms Dementors represent depression, a mental illness, �depression is the most unpleasant thing...it is the absence of being able to envisage that you will ever be cheerful, the absence of hope.� To lighten the effects of a Dementor, we learn chocolate is given, like Professor Lupin gave Harry Potter on the train and after tutoring Harry with the Patronus charm using a Boggart. Muggle doctors say chocolate can make depressed people feel better, so there is a basis for the chocolate in the HP world. |
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| It is said that the Nazgul were once powerful kings and sorcerers among Men and they were each given a Ring of Power by Sauron. Nazgul, which is �Ringwraiths, lived by the power of the Rings far beyond the span of ordinary mortals, their forms faded. They wore great cloaks, black and hooded with hauberbs of mail an silver helms, yet beneath were the grey robes of the dead and their bodies invisible. Any who looked into their faces fell back in horror for nothing seems to bear up helm and hood. Their weapons are swords of steel and of flame, black maces and daggers with magical poisons blades. They used spells of beckoning and spells of blasting sorcerers� fire, and the curse of their Black Breath was like a plague of despair and the curse of its terror froze the hearts of their foes. The Nazgul were untouchable to Mortal Men, for arms could not harm them unless blessed by Elvish spells and any blade that stuck them withered and perished. For �man� could not kill one, but we know a �woman� can... |
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| Nazg �ring� is Black Speech, it appears in the inscription on the One Ring and in a name of the Black Riders, �Nazgul (�ring wraith� or �ring ghoul�). The Gaelic word for �ring� is Nazg. |
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| The Grim Reaper is death personified is an anthropomorphist figure or fictional character which has existed in mythology and popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. Because the reality of death has had a substantial influence on the human psyche and the development of civilization as a whole, the personification of Death as a living, sentient entity is a concept that has existed in all known societies since the beginnings of recorded history. This personification is often referred to as The Grim Reaper. Anthropomorphism, a form of personification (applying human or animal qualities to inanimate objects) and similar to prosopopoeia (adopting the persona of another person), is the attribution of human characteristics and qualities to non-human beings, objects, or natural phenomena. Animals, forces of nature, and unseen or unknown authors of chance are frequent subjects of anthropomorphosis. "Anthropomorphism" comes from two Greek words, ???????? (anthr?pos), meaning "human", and ????? (morph?), meaning "shape" or "form". The suffix '-ism' originates from the morpheme '-isma' in the Greek language. |
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| The character of Death is typically depicted in the West as wearing a dark hooded cloak and wielding a scythe. Why a scythe? He is a �reaper�, a gatherer of the dead. Death is one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. In many icons of the resurrection of Jesus, death is portrayed as an almost naked man who is bound hand and foot lying amid the bones under the earth. In Eastern Orthodox theology, death is one of humanity's three enemies; the other two are sin and the devil. This figure of Death is also known as the Grim Reaper. Death, in this guise, appears also on one of the Tarot arcana. While in Germanic folklore, including English, Death is male (der Tod), in Latin folklore it is female (la muerte, la mort). In Mexico, death is sometimes referred upon as La Calaca, a skull like character that comes and takes people away when they die. The allegorical figure of Death appears many times in the works of Albrecht D�rer and Terry Pratchett, Pratchett's Death is substantially different in that he is, as mentioned in the Discworld Compendium, "on our side" against the ruthless Auditors, personifications of cosmic Law. To contrast with the normally dark and antagonistic classical depictions of Death, many comedies portray him as a somewhat sympathetic character, an average Joe who's simply doing a necessary and unpleasant job. |
| So, you see, Dementors, Ring Wraiths, and the Grim Reaper all seemingly appear in black hooded cloaks, bring despair, and are normally not someone in which you would want to be in the company of anytime soon. Do quiz below. 1. Describe a Dementor. 2. What is an encounter with a Dementor like? 3. What does J.K. Rowling say Dementors are? 4. What lightens a Dementor�s effects? 5. Describe a Ring Wraith. 6. Name three types of weapons a Nazgul uses. 7. What is one of the spells a Ring Wraith would use on someone? 8. Dementors could �suck� your happy thoughts, what does the Nazgul do with its breath? 9. What is the personification of Death called? 10. Describe what the Grim Reaper is often depicted wearing. 11. Unlike the Dementor and Ring Wraith, what does the Grim Reaper do? |
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| Professor Fairydust will take you back to the lessons page! Hemlock will bring your lesson to me. |
| This is the last lesson in Magical Mytths 103. We thank you for taking an interest in the class and your exam will be coming. |
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