A Tribute to Alan Rickman

The author pays a tribute to legendary British actor Alan Rickman who passed away due to cancer.

The first words Professor Snape directed to Harry Potter were “Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” Being a potions master, that seems like a perfectly normal question a teacher would ask his students. However, JK Rowling revealed that according to Victorian Flower Language, asphodel is a type of lily that means ‘My regrets follow you to the grave’, and wormwood means ‘absence’ symbolizing bitter sorrow. In reality, Professor Snape meant to tell Potter, ‘I bitterly regret Lily’s death’. Lily was Harry Potter’s mother.

Alan Rickman, mostly known for his wonderful portrayal of Professor Snape in the Harry Potter movies, passed away at the age of 69 in a battle against cancer. The news struck all, whether we were diehard fans, or simply people who grew up watching the movies.

What’s upsetting me the most is that people keep on expressing their condolences and stating that Rickman has lost the battle. They seem to dismiss his powerfully patient attitude towards his disease. In my opinion, Rickman didn’t lose the battle, he won the war. He put up a fight, and is finally at peace.

Focusing on his career as an actor, he doesn’t get enough credit for how incredible he truly is. People often tend to confuse an actor, and the character he’s playing. What made Rickman an icon was his ability to make an audience hate him for years on end, only to fall in love with him in the final movie.

Rickman’s ability to portray such a tortured soul so realistically captivated our souls. He was viewed as everyone’s least favorite character for the first 7 movies of Harry Potter, only to become our favorite character due to a scene that took less than ten minutes in the 8^th movie. He was truly gifted with the talent of conveying the depths of a character.

He had the ability of making every line he delivered memorable; to the extent where he turned short phrases such as “Turn to page 394” and “Always” into important phrases in Harry Potter history.

Moreover, behind the scenes, Rickman was known to have a kind soul. He was a guiding force to any new actor and actress who got the privilege to work with him. He was very loving, and free spirited according to multiple of his co-stars.

His death weights heavily on my heart, because I grew up watching him on that big screen. It is insane to realize how little that screen was in his presence. He was a marvelous actor who dedicated his life to his craft.

So tonight, we raise our wands to the legendary Alan Rickman. You are our perfect Snape, “Always”.