The expressionfantastic literature is often used for this genre by Anglophone literary critics.[3][4][5][6] An archaic spelling for the term isphantasy.[7]
Fantasy is generally distinguished from the genres ofscience fiction andhorror by an absence of scientific or macabre themes, although these can occur in fantasy. Inpopular culture, the fantasy genre predominantly features settings that reflect the actual Earth, but with some sense of otherness.[8]
An identifying trait of fantasy is the author's use of narrative elements that do not have to rely on history or nature to be coherent.[10] This differs from realistic fiction in that realistic fiction has to attend to the history and natural laws of reality, where fantasy does not. In writing fantasy the author usesworldbuilding to create characters, situations, and settings that may not be possible in reality.
Many fantasy authors use real-world folklore and mythology as inspiration;[11] and although another defining characteristic of the fantasy genre is the inclusion of supernatural elements, such as magic,[12] this does not have to be the case.
Fantasy has often been compared toscience fiction andhorror because they are the major categories ofspeculative fiction. Fantasy is distinguished from science fiction by the plausibility of the narrative elements. A science fiction narrative is unlikely, though seemingly possible through logical scientific or technological extrapolation, where fantasy narratives do not need to be scientifically possible.[10] Authors have to rely on the readers'suspension of disbelief, an acceptance of the unbelievable or impossible for the sake of enjoyment, in order to write effective fantasies. Despite both genres' heavy reliance on the supernatural, fantasy and horror are distinguishable from one another. Horror primarily evokes fear through the protagonists' weaknesses or inability to deal with the antagonists.[13]
While elements of the supernatural and the fantastic were part of literature from its beginning, fantasy elements also occur throughout ancient religious texts such as theEpic of Gilgamesh.[14] The ancient Babylonian creation epic, theEnûma Eliš, in which the godMarduk slays the goddessTiamat,[15] reflects the theme of cosmic conflict between good and evil, which is characteristic of the modern fantasy genre.[15] Genres of romantic and fantasy literature also existed in ancient Egypt.[16]The Tales of the Court of King Khufu, which is preserved in theWestcar Papyrus and was probably written in the middle of the second half of the eighteenth century BC, preserves a mixture of stories with elements of historical fiction, fantasy, and satire.[17][18] Egyptian funerary texts preserve mythological tales,[16] the most significant of which are themyths of Osiris and his sonHorus.[16]
Myth with fantastic elements intended for adults were a major genre ofancient Greek literature.[19] The comedies ofAristophanes are filled with fantastic elements,[20] particularly his playThe Birds,[20] in which an Athenian man persuades the world's birds to builda city in the clouds and thereby challengesZeus's authority.[20]Ovid'sMetamorphoses andApuleius'sThe Golden Ass are both works that influenced the development of the fantasy genre[20] by taking mythic elements and weaving them into personal accounts.[20] Both works involve complex narratives in which humans beings are transformed into animals or inanimate objects.[20]Platonic teachings andearly Christian theology are major influences on the modern fantasy genre.[20]Plato usedallegories to convey many of his teachings,[20] and early Christian writers interpreted both theOld andNew Testaments as employingparables to convey spiritual truths.[20] This ability to find meaning in a story that is not literally true became the foundation for developing the modern fantasy genre.[20]
Islamic, Hindu, and Chinese sources contain fantasy elements as well. The best-known fiction from theIslamic world isOne Thousand and One Nights (The Arabian Nights), which is a compilation of ancient and medieval folk tales. Various characters from this epic have become cultural icons in Western culture, such asAladdin,Sinbad, andAli Baba.[21]Hindu mythology was an evolution of the earlierVedic mythology and had many more fantastical stories and characters, particularly in theIndian epics. ThePanchatantra (Fables of Bidpai), for example, used animalfables and magical tales to illustrate the central Indian principles ofpolitical science. Chinese traditions have been particularly influential in the vein of fantasy known asChinoiserie, which includes such writers asErnest Bramah andBarry Hughart.[21]
Beowulf is among the best known of the Old English tales in the English-speaking world, and it has deeply influenced the fantasy genre; several fantasy works have retold the story, for example,John Gardner's novelGrendel.[22]Norse mythology, as found in theElder Edda andYounger Edda collections, includes such figures as the godOdin and his fellowAesir, in addition todwarves,elves,dragons, andgiants.[23] These elements have been directly imported into various fantasy works. The distinct folklores of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland have sometimes been used indiscriminately for "Celtic" fantasy, sometimes with great success; other writers have specified the use of a single source.[24] TheWelsh tradition has been particularly influential, because of its connection to the legendaryKing Arthur and its collection into a single work, the epicMabinogion.[24]
There are many works where the boundary between fantasy and other genres is unclear: did the writers believe in the possibility of the marvels in the playA Midsummer Night's Dream or the romance inSir Gawain and the Green Knight? This question makes it difficult to distinguish when fantasy began, in its modern sense.[25]
Despite MacDonald's future influence with the novelAt the Back of the North Wind (1871), Morris's popularity with his contemporaries, andH. G. Wells's novelThe Wonderful Visit (1895), it was not until the 20th century that fantasy fiction began to reach a large audience.Lord Dunsany established the genre's popularity in both the novel and the short story forms.H. Rider Haggard,Rudyard Kipling, andEdgar Rice Burroughs began to write fantasy around this time. These authors, along withAbraham Merritt, established what was known as thelost world subgenre; this was the most popular form of fantasy in the early decades of the 20th century, although several classic children's fantasies, such asPeter Pan andThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz, were also published around this time.
Juvenile fantasy was considered more acceptable than fantasy intended for adults, with the consequence that writers who wished to write fantasy for adults needed to fit their work into forms aimed at children.[27]Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote fantasy inA Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys, intended for children,[28] although his works for adults only verged on fantasy. For many years, this book and successes such as the novelAlice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) created a circular effect: all fantasy works, even the later seriesThe Lord of the Rings, were therefore classified as children's literature.[citation needed]
Political and social trends can affect a society's reception of fantasy. In the early 20th century, theNew Culture Movement's enthusiasm for Westernization and science in China compelled them to condemn the fantasticalshenmo genre of traditional Chinese literature. The spells and magical creatures in these novels were viewed as superstitious and backward, products of a feudal society hindering the modernization of China. Stories of the supernatural continued to be denounced once the Communists rose to power, and mainland China experienced a revival in fantasy only after theCultural Revolution had ended.[29]
Fantasy became a genre ofpulp magazines published in the West. The first all-fantasy fiction magazine,Weird Tales, was published in 1923. Many similar magazines eventually followed, includingThe Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (F&SF). When this magazine was founded in 1949, the pulp format was at the height of its popularity;F&SF was instrumental in bringing fantasy fiction to a wide audience in both the US and the UK. Such magazines were also instrumental in the rise of science fiction, and the two genres were first associated with each other around this time.
A group playing a tabletop role-playing game (RPG). The Games Master is at left using a cardboardscreen to hide dice rolls from the players.
Fantasyrole-playing games (RPGs) span several media.Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) was the firsttabletop role-playing game, and it remains the most successful and influential. According to a 1999 survey in theUnited States, six percent of 12- to 35-year-olds have played role-playing games. Of those who play regularly, two thirds playD&D.[32] Products brandedDungeons & Dragons accounted for over fifty percent of the RPG products sold in 2005.[33]
Fantasy encompasses numeroussubgenres characterized by particular themes or settings, or by an overlap with other literary genres or forms of speculative fiction. These subgenres include the following:
Fantastique, a genre characterized by the intrusion of supernatural elements into the realistic framework of a story, accompanied by uncertainty about their existence
Science fantasy, fantasy incorporating elements fromscience fiction such as advanced technology, aliens and space travel, but also fantastical things
Steampunk, a genre which is sometimes a kind of fantasy, with elements from 19th century steam technology (historical fantasy and science fantasy both overlap with this genre)
Sword and sorcery, adventures of sword-wielding heroes, generally more limited in scope than epic fantasy
Weird fiction, macabre and unsettling stories from before the termsfantasy andhorror were widely used; see also the more modern forms ofslipstream fiction and theNew Weird
Xianxia, Chinese martial-arts fiction often incorporating fantasy elements, such as gods, fairies, demons, magical realms, and reincarnation
In her bookRhetorics of Fantasy (2008),[36]Farah Mendlesohn proposes ataxonomy of fantasy, as "determined by the means by which the fantastic enters the narrated world."[37] (She notes some fantasies fit none of the patterns in this taxonomy.) The taxonomy categories are as follows:
Inimmersive fantasy, thefictional world is seen as complete; its fantastic elements remain unquestioned within the context of the story; and the reader perceives the world through the eyes and ears of characters native to the setting. This narrative mode "consciously negates thesense of wonder" often associated withscience fiction, according to Mendlesohn. She adds that "a sufficiently effective immersive fantasy may be indistinguishable from science fiction" as the fantastic "acquires a scientific cohesion all of its own". This similarity has led to disputes about how to classify novels such asMary Gentle'sAsh (2000) andChina Miéville'sPerdido Street Station (2000).[41]
Intrusion fantasy
Inintrusion fantasy, the fantastic intrudes on reality (as portal fantasies do not), and the protagonists' engagement with that intrusion drives the story. Usuallyrealist in style, these works assume the default world as their basis. Intrusion fantasies rely heavily on explanation and description.[42] Immersive and portal fantasies may themselves host intrusions. Classic intrusion fantasies include the novelDracula (1897) byBram Stoker and the bookMary Poppins (1934) byP. L. Travers.[43] InFrench-speaking countries, this genre is calledfantastique and is considered to be distinct from fantasy.
Liminal fantasy
Inliminal fantasy, the fantastic enters a world that appears to be our own. The marvelous is perceived as normal by the protagonists, while it disconcerts andestranges the reader. This is a relatively rare mode. Such fantasies often adopt an ironic, blasé tone, as opposed to the straight-facedmimesis more common in fantasy.[44] Examples includeJoan Aiken's stories about the Armitage family, who are amazed that unicorns appear on their lawn on a Tuesday, rather than a Monday.[43]
Publishers, editors, authors, artists, and scholars who are interested in the fantasy genre meet annually at theWorld Fantasy Convention (WFC). TheWorld Fantasy Awards are presented at this convention. The first WFC was held in 1975, and it has been held annually since that time (in a different city each year).
In addition, many science fiction conventions, such as Florida'sFX Show andMegaCon, cater to fantasy and horror fans. Anime conventions, such asOhayocon andAnime Expo, often feature showings of fantasy, science fantasy, and dark fantasy series and films; examples includeMajutsushi Orphen (fantasy),Sailor Moon (urban fantasy),Berserk (dark fantasy), andSpirited Away (fantasy). Many science-fiction/fantasy and anime conventions also emphasize or cater to one or more of the subcultures within the main cultures:
thecosplay subculture, in which people make or wear costumes based on existing or self-created characters, sometimes acting out skits or plays as well
According to 2013 statistics from the fantasy publisherTor Books, men outnumber women by 67% to 33% among writers of historical, epic or high fantasy. By contrast, among writers of urban fantasy or paranormal romance, 57% are women and 43% are men.[45]
The French literary theoristTzvetan Todorov argues that the fantastic is aliminal space, characterized by the intrusion of supernatural elements into the realistic framework of a story, accompanied by uncertainty about their existence.[47] However, this precise definition is not predominant in English critical literature; the French termfantastique is used to differentiate the French concept from the broader English termfantastic, a synonym of fantasy. Todorov's restrictive definition and differences in national critical traditions have led to controversies such as the one initiated byStanislaw Lem.[48]
Rosemary Jackson builds on and also challenges Todorov's definition of the fantastic in her bookFantasy: The Literature of Subversion (1981). Jackson rejects the notion of the genre as a vessel for wish fulfillment that transcends human reality in worlds presented as superior to our own; instead she posits that the genre is inseparable from real life, particularly the social and cultural contexts in which each work of the genre is produced. She writes that the "unreal" elements of fantastic literature are created only in direct contrast to the boundaries set by its time period's "cultural order"; these elements act to illuminate the unseen limitations of these boundaries, by undoing and recompiling the structures that define society into something "strange" and "apparently new". In subverting these societal norms, Jackson claims, the fantastic represents an unspoken desire for greater societal change. Jackson criticizes Todorov's theory as being too limited in scope, examining only the literary function of the fantastic; she expands his structuralist theory to fit a more cultural study of the genre—which she proposes is not actually a genre, but a mode that draws upon literary elements of both realistic and supernatural fiction, to create an air of uncertainty in fantastic narratives as described by Todorov. Jackson also introduces the idea of reading the fantastic through a psychoanalytical lens, referring primarily to Freud's theory of the unconscious, which she believes is integral to understanding the fantastic's connection to the human psyche.[49]
There are other ways to view the fantastic, and often these different perspectives come from different social climates. In their introduction toThe Female Fantastic: Gender and the Supernatural in the 1890s and 1920s, Lizzie Harris McCormick, Jennifer Mitchell, and Rebecca Soares describe how the social climate in the 1890s and 1920s allowed for a new era of fantastic literature to develop. Women were exploring new freedoms and becoming more equal in society. Public fears about such women in society, together with women's expanded roles, allowed them to create a new style offuzzy supernatural texts. The fantastic sits on the boundary between the supernatural and the mundane; this is analogous to how many women no longer respected a boundary of inequality that had been created for them. At the time, women's roles in society were uncertain; this is similar to how the rules of the fantastic genre are rarely straightforward. This climate allowed for a genre resembling the social structure to emerge, in which the fantastic is never purely supernatural, nor can the supernatural be entirely ruled out. (Similarly, women were not fully equal yet, nor were they completely oppressed.) Thefemale fantastic seeks to reinforce the idea that nothing is certain in the fantastic genre nor in the gender roles of the 1920s. Many women began to blur the lines between genders, removing the binary aspect of gender and allowing for multiple interpretations. In a new way, women began to possess more masculine orqueer qualities without encountering as much resistance. The fantastic genre reflects these new ideas by breaking analogous boundaries in the supernatural realm, so that readers never fully know whether the story is supernatural.[50]
^Hart, George (2003)."Tales of fantasy". In Warner, Marina (ed.).Egyptian Myths. World of Myths. Vol. 1. London, England and Austin, Texas: British Museum Press and University of Texas Press, Austin. pp. 301–309.ISBN0-292-70204-3.
^abJohn Grant and John Clute, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, "Chinoiserie", p 189ISBN0-312-19869-8
^John Grant and John Clute,The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, "Beowulf", p 107ISBN0-312-19869-8
^John Grant and John Clute,The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, "Nordic fantasy", p 691ISBN0-312-19869-8
^abJohn Grant and John Clute,The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, "Celtic fantasy", p 275ISBN0-312-19869-8
^Brian Attebery,The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature, p 14,ISBN0-253-35665-2
^Attebery, Brian (2014). "Chapter 1: Fantasy as a Route to Myth".Stories about Stories: Fantasy and the Remaking of Myth. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 27–29.ISBN978-0-19-931607-6.
^ICv2 (9 November 2011)."'Magic' Doubled Since 2008". Retrieved10 November 2011.For the more than 12 million players around the world [...]{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) The "twelve million" figure given here is used by Hasbro; while through their subsidiary Wizards of the Coast they would be in the best position to know through tournament registrations and card sales, they also have an interest in presenting an optimistic estimate to the public.
^Jackson, Rosemary, "Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion", Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1981, introduction (pp. 2–10)
^McCormick, Lizzie Harris, Jennifer Mitchell, and Rebecca Soares,The Female Fantastic: Gender and the Supernatural in the 1890s and 1920s (Routledge, 2019)ISBN978-0-8153-6402-3
Apter, T. E. (1982).Fantasy Literature: An Approach to Reality. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Brooke-Rose, Christine (1981).A Rhetoric of the Unreal: Studies in Narrative and Structure, Especially of the Fantastic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Capoferro, Riccardo (2010).Empirical Wonder: Historicizing the Fantastic, 1660–1760. Bern: Peter Lang.
Cornwell, Neil (1990).The Literary Fantastic: From Gothic to Postmodernism. New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
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