While it has already been over 4 years since the last book in the series was released only now are many marking the end of the Harry Potter saga with the release of the last film. With this symbolic closing comes an increased pressure and focus on a dialogue literary critics and book lovers the world over have been engaged in since the release of the first book in 1997.

This dialogue center on the question of whether J.K. Rowling’s beloved book series deserves a place alongside literary works such as The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings to name just a few.

The answer is no, at least not yet.

It is a series that has made an unprecedented impact in contemporary literature, one that seemingly sets it apart from any other series released in the last two decades.

In that time it has faced its share of criticism from social, religious and literary circles, coming away from each of these fights with a renewed vigor and focus that has propelled the series into a financial position that few properties currently can lay claim to.

For all its victories the Harry Potter books face the single harshest critic that every piece of literature must eventually face.

Time.

The problem for the series lies in the fact that it has only been 14 years since the world was introduced to a young boy named Harry Potter.

While the series has drawn from a range of fans across class, race, age, gender and ethnicity, these individuals have either been present from the beginning of the series or have come of age alongside the hysteria that the series has created.

In comparison, more than 50 years have passed since the world was first introduced to The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. After that passage of time both series remain among the most influential and beloved series of books released in the past two centuries, with generation after generation finding themselves relishing these tales.

J.K. Rowling herself has pointed to The Chronicles of Narnia as a major influence on her own literary style, while The Lord of the Rings is largely credited with creating the framework upon which much of contemporary fantasy literature still operates.

Will the Harry Potter series have the same impact upon future generations? Will those already exposed to it carry its legacy forward as Rowling did for the Chronicles of Narnia?

Or will the series be marked a financial success whose merits lay more in its widespread dissemination and unprecedented financial success than in a meaningful literary impact?

For now the answers to these and many more questions are nothing more than speculation. Proponents and critics of both sides are quick to label the series a classic or incapable of reaching such heights.

These two sides are both wrong and do a disservice not only to the Harry Potter series but also literature as a whole with the nature of their arguments. Only time will tell where the Harry Potter series and J.K. Rowling stand in the annals of literary history.

Until then, all we can do is wait. I hear reading is a great way to pass the time.