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Fantasy

December 27, 2022

This article is about the artistic genre. For the mental activity, see Fantasy (psychology). For other uses, see Fantasy (disambiguation).
"Fantasy fiction" redirects here. For the 1950 magazine, see Fantasy Fiction. For the 1953 magazine known as Fantasy Fiction for part of its run, see Fantasy Magazine (1953).

Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama. From the twentieth century, it has expanded further into various media, including film, television, graphic novels, manga, animations and video games.

Fantasy is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the respective absence of scientific or macabre themes, although these genres overlap. In popular culture, the fantasy genre predominantly features settings that emulate Earth, but with a sense of otherness.[1] In its broadest sense, however, fantasy consists of works by many writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians from ancient myths and legends to many recent and popular works.

Traits

 
Skeleton Fantasy Show (骷髏幻戲圖) by Li Song (1190–1264)

Most fantasy uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element, theme, or setting. Magic, magic practitioners (sorcerers, witches and so on) and magical creatures are common in many of these worlds.

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.[2] 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 uses worldbuilding to create characters, situations, and settings that may not be possible in reality.

Many fantasy authors use real-world folklore and mythology as inspiration;[3] and although another defining characteristic of the fantasy genre is the inclusion of supernatural elements, such as magic,[4] this does not have to be the case.

Fantasy has often been compared to science fiction and horror because they are the major categories of speculative 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.[2] 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.[5]

History

 
Another illustration from The Violet Fairy Book (1906)
Main article: History of fantasy

Early history

Main article: Early history of fantasy

Elements of the supernatural and the fantastic were a part of literature from its beginning. Fantasy elements occur throughout ancient religious texts such as the Epic of Gilgamesh.[6] The ancient Babylonian creation epic, the Enûma Eliš, in which the god Marduk slays the goddess Tiamat,[7] contains the theme of a cosmic battle between good and evil, which is characteristic of the modern fantasy genre.[7] Genres of romantic and fantasy literature existed in ancient Egypt.[8] The Tales of the Court of King Khufu, which is preserved in the Westcar 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.[9][10] Egyptian funerary texts preserve mythological tales,[8] the most significant of which are the myths of Osiris and his son Horus.[8]

Myth with fantastic elements intended for adults were a major genre of ancient Greek literature.[11] The comedies of Aristophanes are filled with fantastic elements,[12] particularly his play The Birds,[12] in which an Athenian man builds a city in the clouds with the birds and challenges Zeus's authority.[12] Ovid's Metamorphoses and Apuleius's The Golden Ass are both works that influenced the development of the fantasy genre[12] by taking mythic elements and weaving them into personal accounts.[12] Both works involve complex narratives in which humans beings are transformed into animals or inanimate objects.[12] Platonic teachings and early Christian theology are major influences on the modern fantasy genre.[12] Plato used allegories to convey many of his teachings,[12] and early Christian writers interpreted both the Old and New Testaments as employing parables to relay spiritual truths.[12] This ability to find meaning in a story that is not literally true became the foundation that allowed the modern fantasy genre to develop.[12]

The most well known fiction from the Islamic world is One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights), which is a compilation of many ancient and medieval folk tales. Various characters from this epic have become cultural icons in Western culture, such as Aladdin, Sinbad and Ali Baba.[13] Hindu mythology was an evolution of the earlier Vedic mythology and had many more fantastical stories and characters, particularly in the Indian epics. The Panchatantra (Fables of Bidpai), for example, used various animal fables and magical tales to illustrate the central Indian principles of political science. Chinese traditions have been particularly influential in the vein of fantasy known as Chinoiserie, including such writers as Ernest Bramah and Barry Hughart.[13]

Beowulf is among the best known of the Old English tales in the English speaking world, and has had deep influence on the fantasy genre; several fantasy works have retold the tale, such as John Gardner's Grendel.[14] Norse mythology, as found in the Elder Edda and the Younger Edda, includes such figures as Odin and his fellow Aesir, and dwarves, elves, dragons, and giants.[15] These elements have been directly imported into various fantasy works. The separate folklore of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland has sometimes been used indiscriminately for "Celtic" fantasy, sometimes with great effect; other writers have specified the use of a single source.[16] The Welsh tradition has been particularly influential, due to its connection to King Arthur and its collection in a single work, the epic Mabinogion.[16]

There are many works where the boundary between fantasy and other works is not clear; the question of whether the writers believed in the possibilities of the marvels in A Midsummer Night's Dream or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight makes it difficult to distinguish when fantasy, in its modern sense, first began.[17]

Modern fantasy

 
Illustration from 1920 edition of George MacDonald's novel The Princess and the Goblin

Although pre-dated by John Ruskin's The King of the Golden River (1841), the history of modern fantasy literature is usually said to begin with George MacDonald, the Scottish author of such novels as The Princess and the Goblin and Phantastes (1858), the latter of which is widely considered to be the first fantasy novel ever written for adults. MacDonald was a major influence on both J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. The other major fantasy author of this era was William Morris, an English poet who wrote several novels in the latter part of the century, including The Well at the World's End.

Despite MacDonald's future influence with At the Back of the North Wind (1871), Morris's popularity with his contemporaries, and H. G. Wells's The 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 form. H. Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling, and Edgar Rice Burroughs began to write fantasy at this time. These authors, along with Abraham Merritt, established what was known as the "lost world" subgenre, which was the most popular form of fantasy in the early decades of the 20th century, although several classic children's fantasies, such as Peter Pan and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, were also published around this time.

Juvenile fantasy was considered more acceptable than fantasy intended for adults, with the effect that writers who wished to write fantasy had to fit their work into forms aimed at children.[18] Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote fantasy in A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys, intended for children,[19] although works for adults only verged on fantasy. For many years, this and successes such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), created the circular effect that all fantasy works, even the later The Lord of the Rings, were therefore classified as children's literature.

Political and social trends can affect a society's reception towards fantasy. In the early 20th century, the New Culture Movement's enthusiasm for Westernization and science in China compelled them to condemn the fantastical shenmo genre of traditional Chinese literature. The spells and magical creatures of 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 the Cultural Revolution had ended.[20]

Fantasy became a genre of pulp magazines published in the West. In 1923, the first all-fantasy fiction magazine, Weird Tales, was published. Many other similar magazines eventually followed, including The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction; when it was founded in 1949, the pulp magazine format was at the height of its popularity, and the magazine was instrumental in bringing fantasy fiction to a wide audience in both the U.S. and Britain. Such magazines were also instrumental in the rise of science fiction, and it was at this time the two genres began to be associated with each other.

By 1950, "sword and sorcery" fiction had begun to find a wide audience, with the success of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian and Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories.[21] However, it was the advent of high fantasy, and most of all J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, which reached new heights of popularity in the late 1960s, that allowed fantasy to truly enter the mainstream.[22] Several other series, such as C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books, helped cement the genre's popularity.

The popularity of the fantasy genre has continued to increase in the 21st century, as evidenced by the best-selling status of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen sweeping epic, Brandon Sanderson's The Stormlight Archive series and Mistborn series, and A. Sapkowski's The Witcher saga.

Media

Further information: Fantasy art, Fantasy film, Fantasy television, and Role-playing game

Several fantasy film adaptations have achieved blockbuster status, most notably The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, and the Harry Potter films, two of the highest-grossing film series in cinematic history. Meanwhile, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss would go on to produce the television drama series Game of Thrones for HBO, based on the book series by George R. R. Martin, which has gone on to achieve unprecedented success for the fantasy genre on television.[citation needed]

Fantasy role-playing games cross several different media. Dungeons & Dragons was the first tabletop role-playing game and remains the most successful and influential. According to a 1999 survey in the United States, 6% of 12- to 35-year-olds have played role-playing games. Of those who play regularly, two thirds play D&D.[23] Products branded Dungeons & Dragons made up over fifty percent of the RPG products sold in 2005.[24]

The science fantasy role-playing game series Final Fantasy has been an icon of the role-playing video game genre (as of 2012 it was still among the top ten best-selling video game franchises). The first collectible card game, Magic: The Gathering, has a fantasy theme and is similarly dominant in the industry.[25]

Classification

By theme (subgenres)

See also: List of genres § Fantasy

Fantasy encompasses numerous subgenres characterized by particular themes or settings, or by an overlap with other literary genres or forms of speculative fiction. They include the following:

By the function of the fantastic in the narrative

In her 2008 book Rhetorics of Fantasy,[27] Farah Mendlesohn proposes the following taxonomy of fantasy, as "determined by the means by which the fantastic enters the narrated world",[28] while noting that there are fantasies that fit none of the patterns:

Portal fantasy
In "portal-quest fantasy" or "portal fantasy", a fantasy world is entered, behind which the fantastic elements remain contained. A portal-quest fantasy typically tends to be a quest-type narrative, whose main challenge is navigating the fantastical world.[29] Notable examples include L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), C. S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950),[30] and Stephen R. Donaldson's late-1970s series The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.[31] In Japan, the genre of portal fantasy is known as isekai (Japanese: 異世界, transl. "different world" or "otherworld").
Immersive fantasy
In "immersive fantasy", the fictional world is seen as complete, its fantastic elements are not questioned within the context of the story, and the reader perceives the world through the eyes and ears of viewpoint characters native to the setting. This narrative mode "consciously negates the sense of wonder" often associated with science 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 has led to disputes about how to classify novels such as Mary Gentle's Ash (2000) and China Miéville's Perdido Street Station (2000).[32]
Intrusion fantasy
In "intrusion fantasy", the fantastic intrudes on reality (unlike portal fantasies), and the protagonists' engagement with that intrusion drives the story. Usually realist in style, these works assume the default world as their base. Intrusion fantasies rely heavily on explanation and description.[33] Immersive and portal fantasies may themselves host intrusions. Classic intrusion fantasies include Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) and Mary Poppins (1934) by P. L. Travers.[34] In French-speaking countries, it is considered as a genre distinct from fantasy, the fantastique.
Liminal fantasy
In "liminal fantasy", the fantastic enters a world that appears to be our own. The marvelous is perceived as normal by the protagonists at the same time as it disconcerts and estranges the reader. This is a relatively rare mode. Such fantasies often adopt an ironic, blasé tone, as opposed to the straight-faced mimesis more common to fantasy.[35] Examples include Joan Aiken's stories about the Armitage family, who are amazed that unicorns appear on their lawn on a Tuesday, rather than on a Monday.[34]

Subculture

See also: Fantasy fandom

Professionals such as publishers, editors, authors, artists, and scholars within the fantasy genre get together yearly at the World Fantasy Convention. The World Fantasy Awards are presented at the convention. The first WFC was held in 1975 and it has occurred every year since. The convention is held at a different city each year.

Additionally, many science fiction conventions, such as Florida's FX Show and MegaCon, cater to fantasy and horror fans. Anime conventions, such as Ohayocon or Anime Expo frequently feature showings of fantasy, science fantasy, and dark fantasy series and films, such as Majutsushi Orphen (fantasy), Sailor Moon (urban fantasy), Berserk (dark fantasy), and Spirited Away (fantasy). Many science fiction/fantasy and anime conventions also strongly feature or cater to one or more of the several subcultures within the main subcultures, including the cosplay subculture (in which people make or wear costumes based on existing or self-created characters, sometimes also acting out skits or plays as well), the fan fiction subculture, and the fan video or AMV subculture, as well as the large internet subculture devoted to reading and writing prose fiction or doujinshi in or related to those genres.

According to 2013 statistics by the fantasy publisher Tor Books, men outnumber women by 67% to 33% among writers of historical, epic or high fantasy. But among writers of urban fantasy or paranormal romance, 57% are women and 43% are men.[36]

Analysis

Fantasy is studied in a number of disciplines including English and other language studies, cultural studies, comparative literature, history and medieval studies. For example, Tzvetan Todorov argues that the fantastic is a liminal space. Other work makes political, historical and literary connections between medievalism and popular culture.[37]

Related genres

See also

References

  1. ^ G., Saricks, Joyce (2001). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction. American Library Association. pp. 36–60. ISBN 0-8389-0803-9. OCLC 46769544.
  2. ^ a b ed. Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn, Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature, ISBN 0-521-72873-8
  3. ^ John Grant and John Clute, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, "Fantasy", p 338 ISBN 0-312-19869-8
  4. ^ Diana Waggoner, The Hills of Faraway: A Guide to Fantasy, p 10, 0-689-10846-X
  5. ^ Charlie Jane Anders (24 December 2015). "The Key Difference Between Urban Fantasy and Horror". io9. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  6. ^ Grant, John; Clute, John (1997). "Gilgamesh". The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. London, England: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 410. ISBN 0-312-19869-8.
  7. ^ a b Keefer, Kyle (24 October 2008). The New Testament as Literature: A Very Short Introduction. Very Short Introductions. Vol. 168. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. pp. 109–113. ISBN 978-0195300208.
  8. ^ a b c Moscati, Sabatino (9 August 2001). The Face of the Ancient Orient: Near Eastern Civilization in Pre-Classical Times. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc. pp. 124–127. ISBN 978-0486419527.
  9. ^ Wilkinson, Toby (3 January 2017). Writings from Ancient Egypt. London, England: Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0141395951.
  10. ^ 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. ISBN 0-292-70204-3.
  11. ^ Hansen, William F. (1998). Anthology of Ancient Greek Popular Literature. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. p. 260. ISBN 0-253-21157-3.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mathews, Richard (2002) [1997]. Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination. New York City, New York and London, England: Routledge. pp. 11–14. ISBN 0-415-93890-2.
  13. ^ a b John Grant and John Clute, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, "Chinoiserie", p 189 ISBN 0-312-19869-8
  14. ^ John Grant and John Clute, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, "Beowulf", p 107 ISBN 0-312-19869-8
  15. ^ John Grant and John Clute, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, "Nordic fantasy", p 691 ISBN 0-312-19869-8
  16. ^ a b John Grant and John Clute, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, "Celtic fantasy", p 275 ISBN 0-312-19869-8
  17. ^ Brian Attebery, The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature, p 14, ISBN 0-253-35665-2
  18. ^ C. S. Lewis, "On Juvenile Tastes", p 41, Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories, ISBN 0-15-667897-7
  19. ^ Brian Attebery, The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature, p 62, ISBN 0-253-35665-2
  20. ^ Wang, David Dewei (2004). The Monster that is History: History, Violence, and Fictional Writing in Twentieth-century China. University of California Press. pp. 264–266. ISBN 978-0-520-93724-6.
  21. ^ L. Sprague de Camp, Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: The Makers of Heroic Fantasy, p 135 ISBN 0-87054-076-9
  22. ^ Jane Yolen, "Introduction" p vii–viii After the King: Stories in Honor of J.R.R. Tolkien, ed, Martin H. Greenberg, ISBN 0-312-85175-8
  23. ^ Dancey, Ryan S. (7 February 2000). "Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs)". V1.0. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 23 February 2007. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  24. ^ Hite, Kenneth (30 March 2006). . GamingReport.com. Archived from the original on 20 April 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2007.
  25. ^ ICv2 (9 November 2011). "'Magic' Doubled Since 2008". Retrieved 10 November 2011. For the more than 12 million players around the world [...] Note that 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.
  26. ^ Walton, Jo (29 August 2008). "My love-hate relationship with fantasy". Tor.com.
  27. ^ Mendlesohn, Farah (2008). Rhetorics of Fantasy. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 978-0819568687. Project MUSE book 21231.
  28. ^ Mendlesohn, "Introduction"
  29. ^ Mendlesohn, "Introduction: The Portal-Quest Fantasy"
  30. ^ Mendlesohn, "Chapter 1"
  31. ^ Senft, Michael (19 March 2020). "From Wonderland to Outlander, Your Guide to Portals to Other Worlds". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  32. ^ Mendlesohn, "Introduction: The Immersive Fantasy"
  33. ^ Mendlesohn, "Introduction: The Intrusion Fantasy"
  34. ^ a b Mendlesohn, "Chapter 3"
  35. ^ Mendlesohn, "Introduction: The Liminal Fantasy"
  36. ^ Crisp, Julie (10 July 2013). . Tor Books. Archived from the original on 30 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015. (See full statistics)
  37. ^ Jane Tolmie, "Medievalism and the Fantasy Heroine", Journal of Gender Studies, Vol. 15, No. 2 (July 2006), pp. 145–158. ISSN 0958-9236

External links

 
Look up fantasy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
 
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  • The Fantasy Genre Children's Literature Classics

December 27, 2022
fantasy, this, article, about, artistic, genre, mental, activity, psychology, other, uses, disambiguation, fiction, redirects, here, 1950, magazine, fiction, 1953, magazine, known, fiction, part, magazine, 1953, this, article, needs, additional, citations, ver. This article is about the artistic genre For the mental activity see Fantasy psychology For other uses see Fantasy disambiguation Fantasy fiction redirects here For the 1950 magazine see Fantasy Fiction For the 1953 magazine known as Fantasy Fiction for part of its run see Fantasy Magazine 1953 This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Fantasy news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore Its roots are in oral traditions which then became fantasy literature and drama From the twentieth century it has expanded further into various media including film television graphic novels manga animations and video games The Fairy of the Dawn in The Violet Fairy Book 1906 Fantasy is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the respective absence of scientific or macabre themes although these genres overlap In popular culture the fantasy genre predominantly features settings that emulate Earth but with a sense of otherness 1 In its broadest sense however fantasy consists of works by many writers artists filmmakers and musicians from ancient myths and legends to many recent and popular works Contents 1 Traits 2 History 2 1 Early history 2 2 Modern fantasy 3 Media 4 Classification 4 1 By theme subgenres 4 2 By the function of the fantastic in the narrative 5 Subculture 6 Analysis 7 Related genres 8 See also 9 References 10 External linksTraits Edit Skeleton Fantasy Show 骷髏幻戲圖 by Li Song 1190 1264 Most fantasy uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element theme or setting Magic magic practitioners sorcerers witches and so on and magical creatures are common in many of these worlds 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 2 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 uses worldbuilding to create characters situations and settings that may not be possible in reality Many fantasy authors use real world folklore and mythology as inspiration 3 and although another defining characteristic of the fantasy genre is the inclusion of supernatural elements such as magic 4 this does not have to be the case Fantasy has often been compared to science fiction and horror because they are the major categories of speculative 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 2 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 5 History Edit Another illustration from The Violet Fairy Book 1906 Main article History of fantasy Early history Edit Main article Early history of fantasy Elements of the supernatural and the fantastic were a part of literature from its beginning Fantasy elements occur throughout ancient religious texts such as the Epic of Gilgamesh 6 The ancient Babylonian creation epic the Enuma Elis in which the god Marduk slays the goddess Tiamat 7 contains the theme of a cosmic battle between good and evil which is characteristic of the modern fantasy genre 7 Genres of romantic and fantasy literature existed in ancient Egypt 8 The Tales of the Court of King Khufu which is preserved in the Westcar 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 9 10 Egyptian funerary texts preserve mythological tales 8 the most significant of which are the myths of Osiris and his son Horus 8 Myth with fantastic elements intended for adults were a major genre of ancient Greek literature 11 The comedies of Aristophanes are filled with fantastic elements 12 particularly his play The Birds 12 in which an Athenian man builds a city in the clouds with the birds and challenges Zeus s authority 12 Ovid s Metamorphoses and Apuleius s The Golden Ass are both works that influenced the development of the fantasy genre 12 by taking mythic elements and weaving them into personal accounts 12 Both works involve complex narratives in which humans beings are transformed into animals or inanimate objects 12 Platonic teachings and early Christian theology are major influences on the modern fantasy genre 12 Plato used allegories to convey many of his teachings 12 and early Christian writers interpreted both the Old and New Testaments as employing parables to relay spiritual truths 12 This ability to find meaning in a story that is not literally true became the foundation that allowed the modern fantasy genre to develop 12 The most well known fiction from the Islamic world is One Thousand and One Nights Arabian Nights which is a compilation of many ancient and medieval folk tales Various characters from this epic have become cultural icons in Western culture such as Aladdin Sinbad and Ali Baba 13 Hindu mythology was an evolution of the earlier Vedic mythology and had many more fantastical stories and characters particularly in the Indian epics The Panchatantra Fables of Bidpai for example used various animal fables and magical tales to illustrate the central Indian principles of political science Chinese traditions have been particularly influential in the vein of fantasy known as Chinoiserie including such writers as Ernest Bramah and Barry Hughart 13 Beowulf is among the best known of the Old English tales in the English speaking world and has had deep influence on the fantasy genre several fantasy works have retold the tale such as John Gardner s Grendel 14 Norse mythology as found in the Elder Edda and the Younger Edda includes such figures as Odin and his fellow Aesir and dwarves elves dragons and giants 15 These elements have been directly imported into various fantasy works The separate folklore of Ireland Wales and Scotland has sometimes been used indiscriminately for Celtic fantasy sometimes with great effect other writers have specified the use of a single source 16 The Welsh tradition has been particularly influential due to its connection to King Arthur and its collection in a single work the epic Mabinogion 16 There are many works where the boundary between fantasy and other works is not clear the question of whether the writers believed in the possibilities of the marvels in A Midsummer Night s Dream or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight makes it difficult to distinguish when fantasy in its modern sense first began 17 Modern fantasy Edit Illustration from 1920 edition of George MacDonald s novel The Princess and the Goblin Although pre dated by John Ruskin s The King of the Golden River 1841 the history of modern fantasy literature is usually said to begin with George MacDonald the Scottish author of such novels as The Princess and the Goblin and Phantastes 1858 the latter of which is widely considered to be the first fantasy novel ever written for adults MacDonald was a major influence on both J R R Tolkien and C S Lewis The other major fantasy author of this era was William Morris an English poet who wrote several novels in the latter part of the century including The Well at the World s End Despite MacDonald s future influence with At the Back of the North Wind 1871 Morris s popularity with his contemporaries and H G Wells s The 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 form H Rider Haggard Rudyard Kipling and Edgar Rice Burroughs began to write fantasy at this time These authors along with Abraham Merritt established what was known as the lost world subgenre which was the most popular form of fantasy in the early decades of the 20th century although several classic children s fantasies such as Peter Pan and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz were also published around this time Juvenile fantasy was considered more acceptable than fantasy intended for adults with the effect that writers who wished to write fantasy had to fit their work into forms aimed at children 18 Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote fantasy in A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys intended for children 19 although works for adults only verged on fantasy For many years this and successes such as Alice s Adventures in Wonderland 1865 created the circular effect that all fantasy works even the later The Lord of the Rings were therefore classified as children s literature Political and social trends can affect a society s reception towards fantasy In the early 20th century the New Culture Movement s enthusiasm for Westernization and science in China compelled them to condemn the fantastical shenmo genre of traditional Chinese literature The spells and magical creatures of 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 the Cultural Revolution had ended 20 Fantasy became a genre of pulp magazines published in the West In 1923 the first all fantasy fiction magazine Weird Tales was published Many other similar magazines eventually followed including The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction when it was founded in 1949 the pulp magazine format was at the height of its popularity and the magazine was instrumental in bringing fantasy fiction to a wide audience in both the U S and Britain Such magazines were also instrumental in the rise of science fiction and it was at this time the two genres began to be associated with each other By 1950 sword and sorcery fiction had begun to find a wide audience with the success of Robert E Howard s Conan the Barbarian and Fritz Leiber s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories 21 However it was the advent of high fantasy and most of all J R R Tolkien s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings which reached new heights of popularity in the late 1960s that allowed fantasy to truly enter the mainstream 22 Several other series such as C S Lewis s Chronicles of Narnia and Ursula K Le Guin s Earthsea books helped cement the genre s popularity The popularity of the fantasy genre has continued to increase in the 21st century as evidenced by the best selling status of J K Rowling s Harry Potter series Robert Jordan s The Wheel of Time series George R R Martin s Song of Ice and Fire series Steven Erikson s Malazan Book of the Fallen sweeping epic Brandon Sanderson s The Stormlight Archive series and Mistborn series and A Sapkowski s The Witcher saga Media EditFurther information Fantasy art Fantasy film Fantasy television and Role playing game Several fantasy film adaptations have achieved blockbuster status most notably The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson and the Harry Potter films two of the highest grossing film series in cinematic history Meanwhile David Benioff and D B Weiss would go on to produce the television drama series Game of Thrones for HBO based on the book series by George R R Martin which has gone on to achieve unprecedented success for the fantasy genre on television citation needed Fantasy role playing games cross several different media Dungeons amp Dragons was the first tabletop role playing game and remains the most successful and influential According to a 1999 survey in the United States 6 of 12 to 35 year olds have played role playing games Of those who play regularly two thirds play D amp D 23 Products branded Dungeons amp Dragons made up over fifty percent of the RPG products sold in 2005 24 The science fantasy role playing game series Final Fantasy has been an icon of the role playing video game genre as of 2012 update it was still among the top ten best selling video game franchises The first collectible card game Magic The Gathering has a fantasy theme and is similarly dominant in the industry 25 Classification EditBy theme subgenres Edit See also List of genres Fantasy Fantasy encompasses numerous subgenres characterized by particular themes or settings or by an overlap with other literary genres or forms of speculative fiction They include the following Bangsian fantasy interactions with famous historical figures in the afterlife named for John Kendrick Bangs Comic fantasy humorous in tone Contemporary fantasy set in the modern world or a world based on a contemporary era but involving magic or other supernatural elements Dark fantasy including elements of horror fiction Extruded fantasy product derogatory term for derivative works 26 Fables stories with non human characters leading to morals or lessons Fairy tales themselves as well as fairytale fantasy which draws on fairy tale themes Fantastic poetry poetry with a fantastic theme Fantastique French literary genre involving supernatural elements Fantasy of manners or mannerpunk focusing on matters of social standing in the way of a comedy of manners Gaslamp fantasy using a Victorian or Edwardian setting influenced by gothic fiction Gods and demons fiction shenmo involving the gods and monsters of Chinese mythology Grimdark fiction a somewhat tongue in cheek label for fiction with an especially violent tone or dystopian themes Hard fantasy whose supernatural aspects are intended to be internally consistent and explainable named in analogy to hard science fiction Heroic fantasy concerned with the tales of heroes in imaginary lands High fantasy or epic fantasy characterized by a plot and themes of epic scale Historical fantasy historical fiction with fantasy elements Isekai people transported from the real world to a different one mainly in Japanese fiction anime light novels and manga Juvenile fantasy children s literature with fantasy elements LitRPG set in a table top or computer role playing game and depicting the progression and mechanics of the game Low fantasy characterized by few or non intrusive supernatural elements often in contrast to high fantasy Magic realism a genre of literary fiction incorporating minor supernatural elements Magical girl fantasy involving young girls with magical powers mainly in Japanese fiction Paranormal romance romantic fiction with supernatural or fantastic creatures Romantic fantasy focusing on romantic relationships Science fantasy fantasy incorporating elements from science fiction such as advanced technology aliens and space travel but also fantastic things Steampunk a genre which is sometimes a kind of fantasy with elements from the 19th century steam technology historical fantasy and science fantasy both overlap with it Sword and sorcery adventures of sword wielding heroes generally more limited in scope than epic fantasy Urban fantasy set in a city Weird fiction macabre and unsettling stories from before the terms fantasy and horror were widely used see also the more modern forms of slipstream fiction and the New Weird Xianxia genre Chinese martial arts fiction often incorporating fantasy elements such as gods fairies demons magical realms and reincarnation By the function of the fantastic in the narrative Edit In her 2008 book Rhetorics of Fantasy 27 Farah Mendlesohn proposes the following taxonomy of fantasy as determined by the means by which the fantastic enters the narrated world 28 while noting that there are fantasies that fit none of the patterns Portal fantasy In portal quest fantasy or portal fantasy a fantasy world is entered behind which the fantastic elements remain contained A portal quest fantasy typically tends to be a quest type narrative whose main challenge is navigating the fantastical world 29 Notable examples include L Frank Baum s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 1900 C S Lewis The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe 1950 30 and Stephen R Donaldson s late 1970s series The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant 31 In Japan the genre of portal fantasy is known as isekai Japanese 異世界 transl different world or otherworld Immersive fantasy In immersive fantasy the fictional world is seen as complete its fantastic elements are not questioned within the context of the story and the reader perceives the world through the eyes and ears of viewpoint characters native to the setting This narrative mode consciously negates the sense of wonder often associated with science 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 has led to disputes about how to classify novels such as Mary Gentle s Ash 2000 and China Mieville s Perdido Street Station 2000 32 Intrusion fantasy In intrusion fantasy the fantastic intrudes on reality unlike portal fantasies and the protagonists engagement with that intrusion drives the story Usually realist in style these works assume the default world as their base Intrusion fantasies rely heavily on explanation and description 33 Immersive and portal fantasies may themselves host intrusions Classic intrusion fantasies include Dracula by Bram Stoker 1897 and Mary Poppins 1934 by P L Travers 34 In French speaking countries it is considered as a genre distinct from fantasy the fantastique Liminal fantasy In liminal fantasy the fantastic enters a world that appears to be our own The marvelous is perceived as normal by the protagonists at the same time as it disconcerts and estranges the reader This is a relatively rare mode Such fantasies often adopt an ironic blase tone as opposed to the straight faced mimesis more common to fantasy 35 Examples include Joan Aiken s stories about the Armitage family who are amazed that unicorns appear on their lawn on a Tuesday rather than on a Monday 34 Subculture Edit Avon Fantasy Reader 18 See also Fantasy fandom Professionals such as publishers editors authors artists and scholars within the fantasy genre get together yearly at the World Fantasy Convention The World Fantasy Awards are presented at the convention The first WFC was held in 1975 and it has occurred every year since The convention is held at a different city each year Additionally many science fiction conventions such as Florida s FX Show and MegaCon cater to fantasy and horror fans Anime conventions such as Ohayocon or Anime Expo frequently feature showings of fantasy science fantasy and dark fantasy series and films such as Majutsushi Orphen fantasy Sailor Moon urban fantasy Berserk dark fantasy and Spirited Away fantasy Many science fiction fantasy and anime conventions also strongly feature or cater to one or more of the several subcultures within the main subcultures including the cosplay subculture in which people make or wear costumes based on existing or self created characters sometimes also acting out skits or plays as well the fan fiction subculture and the fan video or AMV subculture as well as the large internet subculture devoted to reading and writing prose fiction or doujinshi in or related to those genres According to 2013 statistics by the fantasy publisher Tor Books men outnumber women by 67 to 33 among writers of historical epic or high fantasy But among writers of urban fantasy or paranormal romance 57 are women and 43 are men 36 Analysis EditFantasy is studied in a number of disciplines including English and other language studies cultural studies comparative literature history and medieval studies For example Tzvetan Todorov argues that the fantastic is a liminal space Other work makes political historical and literary connections between medievalism and popular culture 37 Related genres EditHorror Science fantasy Science fiction Superhero fiction Supernatural fiction Utopian and dystopian fictionSee also Edit Fantasy portal Fantasy literature Outline of fantasy List of fantasy authors List of fantasy novels List of fantasy worlds List of genres List of high fantasy fiction List of literary genres Fantastique Theosophical fiction WorldbuildingReferences Edit G Saricks Joyce 2001 The readers advisory guide to genre fiction American Library Association pp 36 60 ISBN 0 8389 0803 9 OCLC 46769544 a b ed Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature ISBN 0 521 72873 8 John Grant and John Clute The Encyclopedia of Fantasy Fantasy p 338 ISBN 0 312 19869 8 Diana Waggoner The Hills of Faraway A Guide to Fantasy p 10 0 689 10846 X Charlie Jane Anders 24 December 2015 The Key Difference Between Urban Fantasy and Horror io9 Retrieved 11 February 2017 Grant John Clute John 1997 Gilgamesh The Encyclopedia of Fantasy London England Palgrave Macmillan p 410 ISBN 0 312 19869 8 a b Keefer Kyle 24 October 2008 The New Testament as Literature A Very Short Introduction Very Short Introductions Vol 168 Oxford England Oxford University Press pp 109 113 ISBN 978 0195300208 a b c Moscati Sabatino 9 August 2001 The Face of the Ancient Orient Near Eastern Civilization in Pre Classical Times Mineola New York Dover Publications Inc pp 124 127 ISBN 978 0486419527 Wilkinson Toby 3 January 2017 Writings from Ancient Egypt London England Penguin Classics ISBN 978 0141395951 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 ISBN 0 292 70204 3 Hansen William F 1998 Anthology of Ancient Greek Popular Literature Bloomington Indiana Indiana University Press p 260 ISBN 0 253 21157 3 a b c d e f g h i j Mathews Richard 2002 1997 Fantasy The Liberation of Imagination New York City New York and London England Routledge pp 11 14 ISBN 0 415 93890 2 a b John Grant and John Clute The Encyclopedia of Fantasy Chinoiserie p 189 ISBN 0 312 19869 8 John Grant and John Clute The Encyclopedia of Fantasy Beowulf p 107 ISBN 0 312 19869 8 John Grant and John Clute The Encyclopedia of Fantasy Nordic fantasy p 691 ISBN 0 312 19869 8 a b John Grant and John Clute The Encyclopedia of Fantasy Celtic fantasy p 275 ISBN 0 312 19869 8 Brian Attebery The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature p 14 ISBN 0 253 35665 2 C S Lewis On Juvenile Tastes p 41 Of Other Worlds Essays and Stories ISBN 0 15 667897 7 Brian Attebery The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature p 62 ISBN 0 253 35665 2 Wang David Dewei 2004 The Monster that is History History Violence and Fictional Writing in Twentieth century China University of California Press pp 264 266 ISBN 978 0 520 93724 6 L Sprague de Camp Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers The Makers of Heroic Fantasy p 135 ISBN 0 87054 076 9 Jane Yolen Introduction p vii viii After the King Stories in Honor of J R R Tolkien ed Martin H Greenberg ISBN 0 312 85175 8 Dancey Ryan S 7 February 2000 Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary RPGs V1 0 Wizards of the Coast Retrieved 23 February 2007 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Hite Kenneth 30 March 2006 State of the Industry 2005 Another Such Victory Will Destroy Us GamingReport com Archived from the original on 20 April 2007 Retrieved 21 February 2007 ICv2 9 November 2011 Magic Doubled Since 2008 Retrieved 10 November 2011 For the more than 12 million players around the world Note that 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 Walton Jo 29 August 2008 My love hate relationship with fantasy Tor com Mendlesohn Farah 2008 Rhetorics of Fantasy Middletown Conn Wesleyan University Press ISBN 978 0819568687 Project MUSE book 21231 Mendlesohn Introduction Mendlesohn Introduction The Portal Quest Fantasy Mendlesohn Chapter 1 Senft Michael 19 March 2020 From Wonderland to Outlander Your Guide to Portals to Other Worlds Phoenix New Times Retrieved 20 August 2022 Mendlesohn Introduction The Immersive Fantasy Mendlesohn Introduction The Intrusion Fantasy a b Mendlesohn Chapter 3 Mendlesohn Introduction The Liminal Fantasy Crisp Julie 10 July 2013 SEXISM IN GENRE PUBLISHING A PUBLISHER S PERSPECTIVE Tor Books Archived from the original on 30 April 2015 Retrieved 29 April 2015 See full statistics Jane Tolmie Medievalism and the Fantasy Heroine Journal of Gender Studies Vol 15 No 2 July 2006 pp 145 158 ISSN 0958 9236External links Edit Look up fantasy in Wiktionary the free dictionary Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fantasy Art Wikiquote has quotations related to Fantasy The Fantasy Genre Children s Literature Classics Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fantasy amp oldid 1129727654, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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