Ovid, Dante, Milton, Shelley, Kafka, Dostoevsky…

A lit professor looks at the ‘epic stew’ that is Harry Potter:
“Looting” these great authors, Rowling enters their company and takes with her all the 9- to 90-year-olds who devour her books. Older readers enjoy in them a glimpse of the scaffolding beneath her mind, while younger readers can look forward to the moment when they read Dante or Homer or Dostoevsky and say, “I remember that from `Harry Potter!’ “

Thanks to Rhanda for the link!