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Year 9 English |
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Fantasy
Genres |
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What is
Fantasy?
‘Fantasy is the stuff of
myth, of flights of fancy, folklore, fairy tales, magic, and heroes. Born of
the imagination, it always tells a story.’ – Diana Tixier
Herald, author of Fluent in Fantasy: A Guide to Reading Interests’.
Fantasy generally belongs to the ‘umbrella’ category of speculative fiction which has been
broadly defined as including ‘all stories that take place in a setting contrary
to known reality’ i.e. worlds that have never existed or are not (yet) known.
These stories primarily deal with the question ‘What if …?’ They incorporate
all the forms of ‘fantastic’ fiction: Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror.
Science fiction often involves a story set in a far distant future of earth,
and Horror broadly intends to scare, unsettle or horrify the reader, usually
via the supernatural. (Note that many supernatural stories are not horror).
Major
Sub-Genres and Themes of Fantasy
Type Description Examples
|
High/epic fantasy |
Most ‘expected’ view of
fantasy. Set in invented or parallel worlds. Often serious in tone, epic or
grand in scope (cast of thousands), telling of a young ‘nobody’ thrown into
massive struggle against supernatural evil forces (good vs
evil) where he must learn to uncover his own latent heroism to save the day.
Often also includes a ‘grail-finding’ quest – where grail can be an icon, a
person, a magic talisman or other symbolic token. Typically includes
fantastical races (eg dwarves/elves), magic,
wizards/ witches/ sorcerers/ enchantresses, invented languages. Also
typically includes lords/ ladies/ medieval style settings/ kingdoms/ castles/dragons/
knights. Origins generally from classical mythology & medieval European
legends. Often plotted to encompass 3+ books. |
·
Lord of the
Rings ·
Harry Potter ·
Deltora Quest ·
Northern
Lights ·
The Lion, The
Witch and the Wardrobe ·
The Sword of Shannara |
|
Heroic fantasy |
Similar to High/Epic
fantasy. The protagonist is often a youth - such as a commoner, a prince, or
a sorcerer—who must fulfill his/her duty to save the world (middle ages feel).
The commoner could be an heir to the throne & must go on a journey to
gain what is rightfully theirs. The prince must defend his kingdom. The
sorcerer must choose whether or not to use his power for good or evil. Magic
is an accepted part of life, although the workings of such are usually left
unexplained. |
·
A Wizard of Earthsea ·
Sabriel |
|
Sword and sorcery |
Also related to High/Epic
fantasy. Good, old-fashioned adventure featuring muscular heroes roaming an
ancient, barbaric land, using a sword to rescue damsels in distress, and in
violent conflict with a variety of villains, chiefly wizards, witches, evil
spirits and other evil creatures whose powers are, unlike the hero’s,
supernatural in nature. Medieval-like settings. |
·
Conan the
Barbarian (Robert E. Howard) ·
Tamora Pierce books? |
|
Saga, Myth and Legend |
Includes Arthurian Legend
(stories about King Arthur, Knights of the Round Table, Merline etc), Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest,
Ancient Civilisations, Celtic, The Americas, Asian,
European, Africa and the Middle East, |
·
Arthur: The
Seeing Stone (Arthurian) ·
Shalott (Arthurian) ·
Circles of
Stone (Celtic) ·
City of the
Beasts (Amazonian) |
|
Bestiary (animal fantasy) |
Unicorns, Dragons,
Uncommon common animals eg mice, realm of Faerie. |
·
Redwall ·
Watership Down ·
Wind in the
Willows ·
·
The Tale of Despereaux |
|
Fairy tales |
The original versions of
many fairy tales and myths were often violent stories set in mystical lands,
sometimes with strange creatures and sometimes even stranger heroes. |
·
Ella Enchanted ·
Clementine ·
Firebird ·
Rose Daughter ·
Beauty |
|
Humorous fantasy |
Tales designed
specifically as spoofs of other serious fantasies, or containing humorous
elements to a light-hearted tale. |
·
Artemis Fowl ·
Discworld novels |
|
Contemporary/urban
fantasy/ |
Features a modern society
in which magical elements are normal. Elves may coexist with humans in an
urban setting. Dragons may wander freely in the alleys of a city. The
contemporary time period may slowly be reverting to magical ways. |
·
The Gathering ·
The Tomorrow
series ·
I Was A
Teenage Fairy |
|
Magic realism |
Stories (originally from |
·
City of the
Beasts |
|
Science fantasy |
Elements of both science
fiction and fantasy blur together in these books. |
·
A Wrinkle in
time ·
Dragonflight ·
Northern
Lights |
|
Dark fantasy |
These are similar to horror
stories, full of vampires and demons, weird tales, sometimes featuring
detection. Often gothic, and adult. |
·
Interview With
a Vampire ·
The Mummy ·
Kim Wilkins
books |
|
Historical fantasy |
A historical setting with
magical elements or mythical creatures dominating the backdrop. Sometimes the
setting is an alternate timeline in which magic has changed events in
history. |
·
Across the
Nightingale Floor ·
Birth of Venus ·
Earthsea Trilogy ·
Traci Harding
books ·
Caiseal Mor books |
|
Paranormal powers (often
regarded as sci fi) |
Includes psionic powers or ESP (i.e. 6th sense: 3rd
eye; 7th sense: telepathy; 8th & 9th
senses: out-of-body
experiences); Shapeshifters;
Immortality; Supernatural beings eg ghosts. |
·
Obernewtyn (telepathy) ·
Taronga (telepathy) ·
Animorphs (shape
shifters) ·
The Chrysalids (telepathy) ·
Lovely bones
(ghosts) ·
Starry Nights
(ghosts) ·
Kim Wilkins
books (psychic detective) |
|
Time travel (often
regarded as sci fi) |
Any tale featuring time
machines or travel to the past or the future. |
·
Sterkarm Handshake ·
Doctor Illuminatus ·
Shalott ·
Mum, Me, the
19th Century |
|
Alternate and parallel
worlds (often regarded as sci fi) |
Looks at events occurring
in our world being run on a parallel with an alternate, parallel
dimension/world/ universe. |
·
Everworld series ·
Dragonfire ·
Summerland ·
Lost Between
Worlds ·
Faerie Wars |
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J.King June 2004 |
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