Fantasy Genre

“The imaginary world captures us; its underlying reality moves us.”
What is Fantasy Genre in Literature?

Fantasy is a genre of literature

that features magical and
supernatural elements that do not
exist in the real world.
 What is «fantasy» in literature?

Fantastic derives from Latin phantasticus meaning

visionary and unreal. With this definition all imaginary
activity is fantastic which follows all literary works are
fantasies (Jackson 14).

Fantasy in literature is an enormous and seductive

subject and with the utilization of magic, mythology
and other supernatural elements, it has always been
regarded as a peculiar genre.
 What is «fantasy» in literature?

Geoffrey Chaucer, the first writer known to us who

worked in a language recognizably akin to modern
English, uses the word fantasye to refer to strange and
bizarre notions that have no basis in every-day
experience, and this is the sense in which it is usually
used today when one speaks of “fantasy literature.”
(Stableford, XXXVII)
What are the Subgenres and Types of Fantasy?

1. High or epic fantasy. Set in a magical environment that

has its own rules and physical laws, this subgenre’s plots
and themes have a grand scale and typically center on a
single, well-developed hero or a band of heroes, such
as Frodo Baggins and his cohorts in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The
Lord of the Rings (1954).
2. Low fantasy. Set in the real world, low fantasy includes
unexpected magical elements that shock characters, like
the plastic figurines come to life in Lynne Reid Banks’s
The Indian in the Cupboard (1980).
What are the Subgenres and Types of Fantasy?

3. Magical realism. While similar to low fantasy, magical realism

characters accept fantastical elements like levitation and
telekinesis as a normal part of their otherwise realistic world, as
in Gabriel García Márquez’s classic One Hundred Years of
Solitude (1967).
4. Sword and sorcery. A subset of high fantasy, it focuses on
sword-wielding heroes, such as the titular barbarian in Robert E.
Howard’s Conan pulp fiction stories, as well as magic or
witchcraft.
5. Dark fantasy. Combining elements of fantasy and horror, its
aim is to unnerve and frighten readers, like the gargantuan,
otherworldly monsters in H. P. Lovecraft’s universe.
What are the Subgenres and Types of Fantasy?

6. Fables. Using personified animals and the supernatural, fables

impart moral lessons, like the stories in Aesop’s Fables and
Arabian Nights.
7. Fairy tales. Intended for children, these fairy tales and folk
tales are typically set in distant magical worlds (with beginnings
like “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”) where trolls,
dragons, witches, and other supernatural characters are an
accepted truth, as in the Brothers Grimm’s Grimm’s Fairy Tales
(1812).
8. Superhero fiction. Unlike stories in which a hero acquires
special abilities through scientific means, such as exposure to
radiation, these protagonists’ powers are supernatural.
How Did Fantasy Originate As a Genre?

Scottish author Englishman

Modern Fantasy:
19th Century George MacDonald William Morris
following a Phantastes The Well at the
period of (1858) features World’s End
chivalrous a young man (1896),
European drawn into a subsequently
romances and dream world broke ground in
tales whose where he has a the genre by
fantastical series of completely
elements were adventures inventing a
still considered fantasy world
somewhat that existed
believable beyond the
known world
How Did Fantasy Originate As a Genre?

J.R.R Tolkien’s Fantasy continued

J. R. R. Tolkien Contemporaries to evolve…

The Lord of C.S. Terry Brook’s

the Rings Lewis:The The Sword of
(1954-1955) Chronicles of Shannara
Tolkien Narnia series (1977): First
penned the (1950-1956) fantasy novel
first high Ursula K. Le to appear on
fantasy Guin: of The New York
Earthsea Times
Father of
Modern series (1968-
Fantasy 2001), J.K. Rowling’s
Harry
Potter(1997-
2007)
 Traditional Fantasy

Modern Fantasy starts in 18th century with George Mac

Donald whom Tolkien was mostly influenced by.
Outstanding works of early modern period: Alice’s
Adventure in Wonderland; Dracula; The Wonderful
Wizard of OZ and Peter Pan.

Before 1969, the description “fantasy,” with respect to

literary works, was usually only applied to a variety of
children’s fiction.
 Fantasy as a literary genre
J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, H.P. Lovecraft and T.H. White
popularized the genre and pushed literary critics to
acknowledge the genre.

Aftermath of World Wars brought attention on escapist

literature and fantasy genre was one of the first to reclaim
superiority. Hereafter, critics started to take the fantastic
works more seriously and Fantasy attained its status as a
literary genre.
What Are the Common Elements and Characteristics of the
Fantasy Genre?
1. Settings transcend the world of reality. Some stories
take place entirely in a fantasy world, and other stories
travel back and forth between the real world and the
world of make-believe. The fantasy world is vividly and
convincingly described, regardless of how fantastical it
may be.
2. Characters are well developed and behave in
believable ways. They may be fantastic creatures or
they can appear to be ordinary. The protagonist
possesses a clearly defined (and perhaps complex)
personality and exhibits growth during the course of
the story.
What Are the Common Elements and Characteristics of the
Fantasy Genre?
3. Plots are well structured and believable too. They have
logical actions. Magic is an essential element of the plot,
which keeps children involved, but all fantasies must have
their limits or else they devolve into nonsense. The
resolution makes sense within the realm of the fantasy
world or the rules of the fantasy.
4. Themes reflect the same universal ideas present in other
forms of children’s literature – the value of friendship,
loyalty, the overcoming of fear, respect for others, coming
of age.
What Are the Common Elements and Characteristics of the
Fantasy Genre?
5. The tone is often serious, though stories are
often light, airy, and humorous. Fantasy is perfectly
suited to the thoughtful exploration of
philosophical issues at a level that can be
understood and appreciated by the child reader.
Common Narrative Themes

• Good vs. evil

• The heroic (or villainous) quest for power or knowledge
• Tradition vs. change
• The individual vs. society
• Man vs. nature
• Man vs. himself
• Coming of age
• Love
• Betrayal
• Epic journey
• The unlikely and/or reluctant hero
What sets fantasy apart from other genres?

Fantastical Elements:
A. Magic (the existence or absence of which can
play a large role in stories)
B. Prophecies of a “chosen one” or an impending
doom
C. Ancient mythologies from around the globe
D. Reimagined Medievalism
E. Creation of entirely new worlds, races, and
creatures
What Are Some Great Examples of Fantasy Literature?
• Alice in Wonderland (1865) by Lewis Carroll
• The Hobbit (1937) by J. R. R. Tolkien
• The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955) by J. R. R. Tolkien
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) by C. S. Lewis
• One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) by Gabriel García Márquez
• The Princess Bride (1973) by William Goldman
• The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1982) by Stephen King
• The Golden Compass (1995) by Philip Pullman
• A Game of Thrones (1996) by George R. R. Martin
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997) by J. K. Rowling
• Dead Until Dark (2001) by Charlaine Harris
• American Gods (2001) by Neil Gaiman