literature assignments

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE II

MODULE TWO: LECTURE ONE

FANTASY

Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe usually with made-up locations, events, or

people. Magic, the supernatural, and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds.

Fantasy literature is popular with both children and adults. Fantasy is distinguished from science fiction

and horror by the absence of scientific or macabre things, but these genres may overlap. Fantasy fiction

is escapist in nature, allowing children to give free reign to their imagination. Often fantasy fiction

borrows from very old stories such as myths and legends and gives them a modern twist to create a new

and original tale that may be set in the present or in the past. According to Joseph Campbell, a famous

American mythologist, the heroes in these tales are often called to experience some form of quest where

they need to not only reach a difficult goal, but also develop and learn about themselves. Fantasy stories

may be highly satisfying to children on a psychological level, as children can imagine themselves as heroes

and heroines of their own quests

A Very Brief History

Stories involving magic and monsters existed long before there was any printed literature. Classical

mythology is filled with fantastical stories and characters. For example, we have Homer’s, ‘The Odyssey,”

which is required reading for almost every high school student in America. Young teens are excited to

follow along with Odysseus on his many adventures as he defeats monsters and beasts of various sorts,

tames witches, and achieves honor and glory for himself. The contribution of the Greco-Roman world to

fantasy is vast and it includes motifs such as: the hero’s journey, magic, rings of power, magic wands,

wondrous herbs, supernatural monsters and creatures – especially dragons, magicians, and witches. India

also boasts a long tradition of fantasy literature, dating back to the 3rd century B.C.

Medieval Times & The Renaissance

Chivalric Romance, such as the stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round table, were quite

popular in aristocratic circles of the Medieval period (1000 – 1500 AD). These were fantastic stories about

marvel-filled adventures, often populated with knights, damsels in distress, dragons and other romantic

tropes, where the heroes and heroines were considered the representation of the ideals of the age, while

the villains represented what was considered base. Many medieval romances recount the marvelous

adventures of a chivalrous, heroic knight, often of super-human ability, who, abiding by a strict code of

honor, fights and defeats monsters and wins the love of a lady.

During the Renaissance romance was very popular. “Le Morte d’Arthur” (1485) by Sir Thomas Malory was

written in prose. Giambattista Basille wrote and published “The Pentamerone,” (1634) a collection of

literary stories – the first collection known as “fairy-tales.” Giovanni Francesco Straparola published “The

Facetious Nights of Straparola” (1550 – 1555). The latter of these two works include the oldest recorded

form of many well-known European fairy tales. In a work of alchemy in the 16th century, Paracelsus (1493-

1541) identified four types of beings with the four elements of alchemy: gnomes – earth; undines – water;

sylphs – air; salamanders – fire.

Paracelsus’ Four Elements – Beings

The Age of Enlightenment

The Enlightenment period was generally hostile to fantasy, though important literary fairy tales by Charles

Perault (1628-1703) and Madame d’Aulnoy (150 – 1705) were published. Madame d’Aulnoy labed her

stories, “contes de fee” which is where we get our term, “fairy-tales” from.

Romanticism

Romanticism was a movement of the late 18th and early 19th century, a dramatic reaction to rationalism,

challenging the priority of reason and promoting the importance of imagination and spirituality. One of

the first literary results of this fascination was the gothic novel, a literary genre that began in Britain with

“The Castle of Otranto” (1764) by Horace Walpole. Another famous work was “Vathnek” (1786) by

William Thomas Beckford. The Brothers Grimm were inspired by German Romanticism. Once again there

was a strong interest in medievalism and in literary fairy tales.

The Victorian Era

Fantasy was quite popular during the Victorian Era (early 1800s to early 1900s). Some famous works such

as Mary Shelley’s” Frankenstein” (1823) and “Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” (1865) were published

during this time. Hans Christian Anderson also wrote many well-loved fairy tales during this period.

The history of modern fantasy literature begins with George MacDonald’s works, “The Princess & The

Goblin” (1868) and “Phantasies” (1868), widely considered to be the first fantasy novel ever written for

adults. Another major fantasy author, William Morris wrote “The Well at World’s End” (1896). Morris’

works were the first to be set in an entirely invented world – a fantasy world. Several children’s fantasies

such as “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (1900), and ‘Peter Pan” (1906) were also written during this time.

Modern Fantasy Literature

In 1923, the first English language fantasy fiction magazine “Weird Tales” was created. Many other

magazines followed. The pulp magazine format was at the height of its popularity at this time and was

instrumental in bringing fantasy fiction to a wide audience in both the U.S. and Britain. From the 1930s

to the 1950s, J.R.R. Tolkien played a large role in the popularization and accessibility of the fantasy genre

with his “Lord of the Rings” cycle of books. J.K. Rowling did the same for the dissemination of fantasy

literature in the 21st century with her “Harry Potter” novels.

Popular Children’s Fantasy Fiction Novels from the Last 150 Years

• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (1937)

• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (1950)

• The Lord of the Rings Cycle by J.R.R. Tolkien (1954-1955)

• Charlie & the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (1964)

• Harry Potter & the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (1997)

• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (1997)

• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2008)