Fantasy: Difference between revisions

Heroic fantasies follow the hero's story within the secondary world. Most heroes are humble and reluctant to go on the journey. They learn, grow, and become self-aware along their trials and tribulations. Problems presented in the plot are those of the hero not of the secondary or primary world.<ref>"Heroic Fantasy." <i>Heroic Fantasy</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 July 2015. &lt;http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HeroicFantasy&gt;.</ref> Frodo Baggins from the Lord of the Rings battles with wizards, dwarfs, and other creatures along the quest to destroy the "ring" in the fire of Mount Doom.<ref>"Frodo Baggins." <i>The One Wiki to Rule Them All</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 July 2015. &lt;http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Frodo_Baggins&gt;.</ref> The Journey Frodo embarks on is a test of survival; he travels thousands of miles, on foot escaping the black riders, and fighting off Sauron's men holding the only ring that controls middle earth. Throughout his journey he struggles with keeping the ring for himself or having it destroyed.

'''Low Fantasies'''

Epic fantasy, often mistaken for high fantasy, takes its name from the tradition of epic poetry. Like epic poetry, epic fantasy novels have many characters and long, complex plots which help shape the nature of the world.<ref>Smith, Chloe. "What Makes 'Epic Fantasy' Epic." Fantasy Faction. 23 Nov. 2013. Web. 26 June 2015. http://fantasy-fiction.com/2013/what-makes-epic-fantasy-epic</ref> Epic fantasy tales have a high level of magic and violence. Although epic fantasy can be traced back to the epic of ''Beowulf'' and ''Gilgamesh'', epic fantasy is still the most popular sub-genre of fantasy. Modern versions of epic fantasy tend to be more complicated and realistic. The difference between right and wrong is not as easily separated. The most popular epic fantasy novels of today are J.R.R. Tolkien’s ''The Lord of the Rings'' and George R.R. Martin’s ''A Game of Thrones''.<ref>"Epic Fantasy." Best Fantasy Books. Web. 26 June 2015. http://bestfantasybooks.com/epic-fantasy.html</ref>

'''Sword and Sorcery'''

Sword and sorcery is characterized by heroes engaging in action and violence in fast paced stories. <ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_and_sorcery</ref> Tales of sword and sorcery are narrowly focused unlike [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_fantasy High Fantasy] stories which focus more on personal stakes and are self-contained.  

'''Magic Realism'''

Magical Realism is a subgenre of fantasy that fuses realistic fiction with magical elements that creates a mythical perception of the real world.  Alejo Carpentier refers to magical realism as “unexpected alteration of reality … and unaccustomed insight that is singularly favored by the unexpected richness or an amplification of the scales categories of reality”.<ref>"Magical Realism." Magical Realism. Web. 3 July 2015. <http://www3.dbu.edu/mitchell/magical.htm></ref> Unlike most science fiction or fantasy genres, magical realism is not speculative.<ref>"Magical Realism." Magical Realism. Web. 3 July 2015. <http://www3.dbu.edu/mitchell/magical.htm></ref>  Magical realists tell stories from a real world perspective, but the reader is to experience a different reality rather than the objective. <ref>

Holland Rogers, Bruce. "What Is Magical Realism, Really?" Writing-World.com. Web. 3 July 2015. <http://www.writing-world.com/sf/realism.shtml></ref>

==Fantasy in Media==

An important factor in the development of the fantasy genre was the arrival of magazines devoted to fantasy fiction. When Weird Tales, the first English language fantasy fiction magazine was created, the pulp magazine format was at the height of its popularity.<ref name="Fantasy">"Fantasy." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 3 July 2015.</ref> This magazine brought fantasy fiction in audiences in both the U.S. and Britain, and because of this magazine, science fiction and fantasy began to be associated with each other.<ref name="Fantasy">"Fantasy." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 3 July 2015.</ref> In 1950s, epic fantasy hit mainstream with J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy, The Lord of the Rings.