fantasy genre analysis essay

Literary Theory and Criticism

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Fantasy Novels and Novelists

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on March 23, 2019 • ( 1 )

The term “fantasy” refers to all works of fiction that attempt neither the realism of the realistic novel nor the “conditional realism” of science fiction . Among modern critics, the primacy of the realistic novel is taken for granted. Realistic novels not only describe normality but also constitute the normal kind of fiction; fantasy, in dealing with the supernatural, seems to be almost perverse. Prior to the rise of the novel in the eighteenth century, however, this was far from being the case. Prose forms such as the imaginary voyage, the dialogue, and satire blurred even the basic distinction between fiction and nonfiction, let alone that between “realistic” and “fantastic” subject matter. The separation of realistic and fantastic began not with the casting out of fantastic genres from the literary mainstream, but rather with the withdrawal of a realistic genre—the novel—from a mainstream that had easily accommodated fantastic motifs.

Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

To speak of the “fantasy novel” in the context of the eighteenth century comes close to committing a contradiction in terms: Novels were about life as it was lived and had left behind the conventions of allegory and fable along with the decorations of the marvelous and the magical. It is arguable, though, that the withdrawal left behind a connecting spectrum of ambiguous works, and—more important—that it soon led to some important reconnections. Jonathan Swift’s use of the techniques of narrative realism in his chronicling of the imaginary voyages of Lemuel Gulliver gave to his work a crucial modernity that is responsible for its still being widely read and enjoyed today.

The rise of the gothic novel in the last decades of the eighteenth century, in connection with the emergence of the Romantic movement that spread from Germany to France, England, and the United States, represents a definite reaction against the advancement of literary realism. The gothic novel , indeed, is almost an “antinovel” of its day, substituting a fascination with the ancient for a preoccupation with the modern, an interest in the bizarre for an obsession with the everyday, an exaltation of the mysterious for a concern with the intelligible, a celebration of the barbaric for a smug appreciation of the civilized. From the standpoint of today, the gothic can be seen to have been subversive in several different ways. It was subversive in a literary context because it opposed the dominant trend toward the development of the modern realistic novel. It was subversive in a sociological context because it reflected the fact that the values of the ancien régime were under stress and that the decadence of that regime was symptomatic of its imminent dissolution. It was subversive in a psychological context because it provided a parable of the impotence of the conscious mind to complete its oppressive victory over the forces of the unconscious, whose imprisonment could never be total.

Gothic novels dealt with strange events in strange environments, organized around the passions of the protagonists. The passions were frequently illicit in a perfectly straightforward sense, often involving incest and the breaking of sacred vows, but the more careful and controlled gothics—the archetypal example is The Mysteries of Udolpho ( 1794), by Ann Radcliffe— emphasized the extent to which the trend toward a less permissive morality would eventually rule, especially in England.

With the exception of the gothic novels , few of the products of the Romantic rebellion were cast in the form of long prose narratives. Short stories were produced in much greater quantity, and the evolution of the short story in Europe and America is closely intertwined with the Romantic reaction against realism and classicism. Poetry, too, was affected dramatically. Even the gothic novel underwent a rapid decline—not into nonexistence but into inconsequential crudeness. After the appearance, in 1824, of James Hogg’s The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner —a masterpiece of psychological terro r involving paranoid delusions— there followed a long period in which gothic romance was primarily associated with the lowest stratum of the literary marketplace: with the partworks and “penny dreadfuls” marketed for the newly literate inhabitants of the industrial towns. Such interminable narratives as Varney the Vampyre (1847), by James Malcolm Rymer, and Wagner the Wehr-Wolf (1846-1847), by G. M. W. Reynolds, achieved considerable success in their own time but have little to offer modern readers.

Although the gothic novel was primarily a species of horror story, its supernatural trappings did overflow into moralistic fantasies that might be comic extravaganzas, such as James Dalton’s The Gentleman in Black ( 1831) and The Invisible Gentleman (1833), or earnest parables, such as John Sterling’s The Onyx Ring (1839). The themes of these novels—tricky deals with the devil, invisibility, wish-granting rings, and personality exchange— were to become the staples of what Nathan Drake had called “sportive gothic,” while curses, ghosts, vampires, and madness remained the characteristic motifs of “gloomy gothic.”

The writers who produced the most notable works of fantasy in the middle of the nineteenth century—including Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne in the United States, George MacDonald and William Gilbert in England, and Théophile Gautier and Charles Nodier in France—primarily worked in the short-story medium. The novels written by these authors often have fantastic embellishments, but for the most part they pay far more heed to the restraints of conventional realism than do these authors’ short stories.

Victorian Era

The revival of the fantasy novel in the last two decades of the nineteenth century was associated with several trends that can be traced through the fiction of the twentieth century. The partial eclipse of substantial work in fantastic fiction in the mid-nineteenth century is clearly related to the repressive morality of that period— it is notable that in France, where the repression was less effective than in Great Britain, the United States, and Germany, the Romantic heritage was more effectively conserved. It is possible, in consequence, to see the various threads of the revival in terms of reactions against and attempts to escape from that repression.

During this repressive period, indulgence in fantasy came to be seen as a kind of laxity: It was in the Victorian era that the notion of escapism was born. An exception was made in the case of children’s literature (though even here there was a period when fantasy was frowned upon), and there eventually arose in Britain a curious convention whereby fantasies were considered suitable reading for Christmas, when a little token indulgence might be overlooked, an idea that led to the emphasis on fantasy in the Christmas annuals to which Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray contributed. Such writers as Thackeray, MacDonald, and Lewis Carroll brought to the writing of books nominally aimed at children an artistry and seriousness that commended them to the attention of adults and helped to open a space for the production of fantastic novels within the British literary marketplace.

Another form of fantastic fiction that became to some extent associated with the British Christmas annuals was the ghost story, which became extremely popular in the 1880’s and remained so for half a century, during which virtually all the classic British work in that genre was done. There is, however, something intrinsically anecdotal about ghost stories that keeps them more or less confined to short fiction. Though there have been some excellent novellas, there have never been more than half a dozen outstanding ghost novels. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, who stands at the head of the line of British ghost story writers, produced several neogothic novels, but almost all of them are so ponderous as to be nearly unreadable. M. R. James wrote only short stories, and Algernon Blackwood’s novels have not worn nearly as well as his shorter pieces.

The Victorian interest in ghosts, however, went far beyond the traffic in thrilling anecdotes. The influence of such contemporary fads as spiritualism and Theosophy sparked a new interest in the occult that began to be reflected quite prolifically in literary production. The great majority of the spiritualist fantasies of communication with the dead and accounts of the afterlife supposedly dictated by the dead through mediums are wholly inconsequential in literary terms, despite the eventual involvement in such movements of writers of ability, such as Arthur Conan Doyle. They did, however, lay important groundwork for those authors who followed. The fevered Rosicrucian romances of Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Marie Corelli’s exercises in unorthodox theology, and commercially successful accounts of life “on the other side” by such writers as Coulson Kernahan and Elizabeth Stuart Phelps paved the way for much more substantial posthumous fantasies by Wyndham Lewis ( The Childermass , 1928) and C. S. Lewis ( The Great Divorce , 1945) and for the theological romances of Charles Williams and David Lindsay. Williams’s All Hallows’ Eve (1945) is possibly the best of the ghost novels, while Lindsay’s A Voyage to Arcturus (1920) is a masterpiece of creative metaphysics.

The 1880’s also saw a renaissance of comic fantasy, exemplified in Britain by the novels of F. Anstey and in the United States by Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889). The calculated irreverence of these stories reflects a self-confident rationalism that stands in opposition to the mystical movements inspiring most posthumous fantasy. The primary target held up for ridicule in these stories, however, is not the vocabulary of fantastic ideas itself but rather the moral pretensions of the contemporary middle classes. Anstey’s stories use fantastic premises to expose the limitations of the attitudes that were rigidified within closed Victorian minds.

In the twentieth century, this tradition of humorous fantasy thrived more in the United States than in Britain— the leading American exponent of the species has been Thorne Smith—and this reflects, in part, the fact that as Britain has become somewhat less obsessed with the protocols of middle-class culture, the United States has become gradually more so. It was in the United States also that the absurd logical consequences of fantastic premises began to be exploited for pure amusement, largely in connection with the short-lived magazine Unknown , whose leading contributors were L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, who produced, in collaboration, a series of excellent comic fantasies.

A third species of fantastic fiction that first became clearly delineated in the last decades of the nineteenth century is the kind of story that translocates contemporary persons into fabulous imaginary worlds. Stories of this kind are among the oldest that are told. The mundane world has always had its fantastic parallels: its earthly paradises, the land of Cokaygne, and the land of Faerie. In the mid-nineteenth century these alternate worlds were retired into juvenile fiction, except for a few desert islands populated in a relatively mundane fashion. Victorian romances of exploration, however, celebrating the journeys of white men into the heart of the dark continent of Africa, reopened imaginative spaces for more exotic traveler’s tales.

Numerous “lost race” stories and a few “hollow earth” romances were published before 1880, but the writer who first made a considerable popular impact with exotic romances of exploration was H. Rider Haggard, first in King Solomon’s Mines (1885), and later in She (1887) and The Ghost Kings (1908). The example that he set was rapidly taken up by others, and the fantasization of the lands where adventurers went exploring proceeded rapidly. Because this was also the period when interplanetary stories were beginning to appear among early scientific romances, it was perhaps inevitable that writers began to displace their more exotic imaginary worlds to the surfaces of other planets. The example set by Edwin Lester Arnold in Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation (1905) was rapidly followed by Edgar Rice Burroughs and many others. In The Lost World (1912), Arthur Conan Doyle revitalized remote earthly locations with survivals from prehistory, and this too was an example enthusiastically followed.Anew vocabulary borrowed from scientific romance allowed later writers to send heroes through “dimensional gateways” of one kind or another into magical fantasy worlds as exotic as could be imagined: The most determined of all writers of this kind of escapist fantasy was the American Abraham Merritt, author of The Moon Pool (1919) and The Face in the Abyss (1932).

Though the lost-land story set on the earth’s surface was gradually destroyed by news of real explorations— the last classic example was James Hilton’s Lost Horizon (1933)—the borrowing of conventions from science fiction has allowed the basic story framework to be retained to the present day. Contemporary humans can still be precipitated into magical imaginary worlds with the aid of a little fake technology or even a light sprinkling of jargon. The removal of imaginary worlds from darkest Africa to other planets and other dimensions, however, coincided with another and possibly more important innovation in the use of the theme, which was to dispense with the protagonist from the familiar world.

Fairy Tales and Heroic Fantasy

Although traditional fairy tales had, at the time of their origin, been set in the believed-in world, their remote printed descendants could not help but seem to their consumers to be set in an entirely imaginary milieu. The magicalized medieval milieu of such stories became a stereotype useful to modern writers, who began to repopulate it with complex characters whose adventures were filled with allegorical significance. The pioneers of this kind of enterprise were the German Romantic Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, in his novel The Magic Ring (1813), and George MacDonald, in Phantastes (1958), but their example was followed in far more prolific fashion by William Morris, whose several romances of this kind include The Wood Beyond the World (1894) and The Water of the Wondrous Isles (1897). The form gathered further momentum in the work of Lord Dunsany, most notably in The King of Elfland’s Daughter (1924) and The Charwoman’s Shadow (1926); other contemporary examples include Margaret Irwin in These Mortals (1925) and Hope Mirrlees in Lud-in-the-Mist (1926). These sophisticated but slightly effete fairy tales then began to give way to a more active brand of heroic fantasy, first featured to extravagant extent in E. R. Eddison’s The Worm Ourobouros (1922).

Modified fairy-tale fantasy reached new heights of popularity in the fantastic volumes included in James Branch Cabell’s “Biography of Manuel,” set in the imaginary magical European kingdom of Poictesme. It was also developed in a much more extravagant way by several of the contributors to the magazine Weird Tales, who used imaginary lands set in remote eras of prehistory in order to develop the subgenre commonly known as “sword-and-sorcery” fiction. Because it was initially restricted to the pages of a pulp magazine, this subgenre was developed primarily in the short-story form, although it is actually better adapted to novel length. Its most famous progenitor, Robert E. Howard, wrote only one novel featuring his archetypal hero Conan: Conan the Conqueror (1950; originally “Hour of the Dragon,” 1935-1936). The first important novel of this kind to be published initially in book form was The Well of the Unicorn (1948) by George U. Fletcher (Fletcher Pratt), but since the advent of the paperback book the species has become established as a successful brand of pulp fiction.

The most notable modern novels set entirely in imaginary worlds tend to give the appearance of being hybrids of sophisticated fairy romance and a variety of heroic fantasy not too far removed from American sword and- sorcery fiction. The masterpieces of the genre are The Once and Future King by T. H. White—published in its entirety in 1958 but absorbing three earlier novels— and The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, published in three volumes between 1954 and 1955.

One of the most striking side effects of the development of fantasy novels of this kind for adults was the revitalization of work done primarily for the juvenile market, which is often remarkably sophisticated in both technical and ideative terms. Tolkien’s juvenile novel, The Hobbit (1937), is an old example; later ones include Ursula K. Le Guin ’s six novels set in the world of Earthsea and various works by Alan Garner, Susan Cooper, and Lloyd Alexander.

The paperback publication of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings in the 1960’s and the feature films released to great acclaim in 2001-2003 sparked countless exercises in imitation that proved popular enough to make the trilogy the basic form of modern fantasy fiction. The reborn genre went from strength to strength in commercial terms, making best sellers out of dozens of writers, many of them direly mediocre in terms of the quality of their prose. Nor is it simply oral fairytales that were rehabilitated within modern commercial fiction; following the success of Richard Adams’s Watership Down (1972), animal fables— which were also popular in medieval times— were similarly produced in some quantity. The leading examples of this form are the twenty-one novels in the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, in which generations of woodland creatures inhabit a vaguely medieval world.

This exploitation of imaginary worlds is the most striking aspect of the evolution of fantasy novels during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and it is not entirely surprising that the “fantasy” label is now retained for such novels by publishers. There has, however, been a parallel evolution of occult and horrific fantasy. The Decadent movements at the end of the nineteenth century saw the emergence of a kind of fiction that reveled in the unnatural, and though most of the fantastic fiction of this kind was cast in short-story form, there were a few notable novels, including Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (serial 1890, expanded 1891) and Hanns Heinz Ewers’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (1907) and its sequels.

Analysis of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Novels

Analysis of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Analysis of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Analysis of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Twentieth Century Gothic Fantasy

In parallel with these works appeared a new wave of stories that developed the g othic images of fear into new archetypes, treating them with a determined quasiscientific seriousness. The great success in this line was Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), which has remained in print and which surely stands as the most heavily plundered fantasy of all time, being the sourcebook for literally hundreds of vampire stories and films.

This resurgence of fiction that deals with the supernatural in a deadly earnest fashion may seem rather paradoxical. It was possible for nineteenth century rationalists to imagine that their victory over superstitious belief was almost won and to look forward to a day when the irrational might be banished from human affairs. If anything, the reverse is true: Superstition, mysticism, and irrationality now thrive to a greater extent than ever before, and modern fiction reflects that fact.

Fantasy novels intended to evoke horror and unease are more prolifically produced and consumed today than they were in the heyday of the gothic, and one of the world’s best-selling novelists, Stephen King, is primarily a horror writer. In addition, the role played by occult forces within the neogothic novel is crucially different; in gothic novels, normality was usually restored, and when the forces of the supernatural did break free, they usually did so in order to punish the guilty and liberate the innocent. In later neogothic fantasies, however— whether one looks at the respectable middlebrow tradition that extends from Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy to the works of Angela Carter or the lowbrow tradition that extends from Dennis Wheatley to James Herbert and Clive Barker—the gothic elements were superimposed in a wholesale manner upon the mundane world, subjecting it to a surrealization from which there could be no possibility of redemption.

This situation has been complicated by a marked tendency among writers of dark fantasy to subject the traditional monsters of gothic fiction to moral reappraisal. In modern vampire fiction, particularly the lush historical romances of Anne Rice, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, S. P. Somtow, and Elizabeth Kostovo, the male vampire is more hero than villain, and his unusual existential plight is subject to a sympathetically fascinated scrutiny. Modern awareness of the extent to which such figures as the vampire and the werewolf embodied and exaggerated the sexual anxieties of the nineteenth century has enabled writers to redeploy them in fictions that champion the cause of liberalism, although the question of whether understanding automatically paves the way to forgiveness remains interestingly and sometimes achingly open. The psychoanalytical sophistication of much modern horror fiction has moved so far beyond traditional considerations of good and evil that it seems to some critics to have turned from stigmatization to glamorization— an argument supported by the strangely reverent tone adopted toward their all-too-human monsters by such writers as Poppy Z. Brite and Thomas Harris.

The concerted attempt made by many modern writers of supernatural fiction to redeem the Byronic literary vampire from the negative image foisted on him by John Polidori and Stoker extends beyond the limits of literary fantasy into lifestyle fantasy. Similarly intricate relationships between literary and lifestyle fantasies, aided and abetted by extravagant scholarly fantasies—a process that began with the modern reformulation of the idea of witchcraft—have developed across the entire spectrum of New Age philosophies, pretenses, and practices. The relationship between fiction and action has been further complicated by virtue of the spectacular success of fantasy role-playing games, pioneered by Dungeons and Dragons, and fantasy-based computer games. Although play has always been a significant medium of fantasy, it has never been the case before that so much play (involving adults as well as adolescents) has drawn so extensively upon a vocabulary of ideas established and embodied by literary and cinematic fantasies.

Postmodernism

While the contents of popular fantasy fiction have overspilled in this remarkable fashion, fantastic motifs and literary methods have been imported again into the literary mainstream on a considerable scale. The mid- 1960’s and early 1970’s saw the beginnings of a significant break with the American realist tradition in novels by such fabulists as John Barth, Thomas Berger, Richard Brautigan, Thomas Pynchon, and Robert Coover, which eventually expanded in the 1980’s into an entire field of postmodern fiction closely connected—at least in the eyes of critics—with a series of formal challenges to the very ideas of realism and reality. British writers of a broadly similar stripe whose work spanned the same period include Angela Carter, Peter Ackroyd, Alasdair Gray, Robert Irwin, and Russell Hoban, although the notion of postmodern British fiction never took hold to the extent that their work began to be aggregated into a symptom of some crucial cultural transition.

Although postmodern fiction borrowed a good deal of imagery from science fiction—and postmodern critics happily conscripted such science-fiction writers as Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, and Bruce Sterling into the field—its mainstream practitioners usually deploy such imagery as a set of metaphors commenting surreally and satirically on contemporary society, in the manner of Kurt Vonnegut and Don DeLillo. The typical materials of commercial fiction bearing the “fantasy” label are far less diverse, but their potential in this regard has been demonstrated by such works as Samuel R. Delany’s Nevèrÿon series and Steven Millhauser’s Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer (1996).

The translation into English during this postmodern period of several highly esteemed Latin American novels that productively and provocatively mingle mundane and supernatural materials, including key examples by Gabriel García Márquez and Jorge Amado, introduced the concept of Magical Realism to contemporary literary criticism. The style is widely, and perhaps rather promiscuously, applied to works that owe some allegiance to alternative cultural traditions, whether or not it requires translation. Key examples can be found among the works of Ben Okri, Milorad Pavi6, and Salman Rushdie. The increasing interest of African Americans and Native Americans in their traditional cultures—previously obscured by the dominant Euro-American culture—and increasing curiosity about the folkways of Asiatic and African cultures, have led to a steady flow of new works into the American book market, much of which is advertised as Magical Realism for want of any other convenient label.

The relaxation of the realist norm allowed several varieties of fantasy that had long been dormant to resurface in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Although the classical models of the conte philosophique established by Voltaire were mostly novellas, their modern equivalents frequently take the form of novels. Significant examples include Umberto Eco ’s Foucault’s Pendulum (1989) and The Island of the Day Before (1995) and the series of theological fantasies by James Morrow begun with Towing Jehovah (1994). The classical Kunstmärchen (art fairy tale) also was confined to shorter lengths, but its modern variants are similarly making increasing use of the novel form; key examples include John Crowley’s Little, Big (1981) and Coover ’s Briar Rose (1996). Comic fantasy has been resuscitated with great success by such writers as Terry Pratchett—who was the best-selling novelist of the 1990’s in Britain and whose work has been translated into dozens of languages—and by Pseudonymous Bosch, author of The Name of This Book Is Secret (2007) and If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late (2008).

Although the bulk of the commercial fiction published under the fantasy label has become extraordinarily stereotyped and repetitive, with heavily promoted best sellers religiously following dumbed-down formulas derived from Tolkien, the fringes of the marketing category continue to play host to a number of highly imaginative and accomplished writers. These include Peter S. Beagle, Tim Powers, and James Blaylock. It is now commonplace for writers who produce excellent fantasy for children to extend their endeavors into adult fantasy; writers working with great facility on both sides of this increasingly ill-defined boundary include Jane Yolen, Patricia McKillip, and Nancy Willard. The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, which has sold 500 million copies in dozens of languages, was marketed (if not written) for young adults but read by adults as well. In Britain, Rowling’s publisher printed the books with alternate covers for adult readers who did not wish to be seen reading children’s literature. Adults are also drawn to the witty absurdist Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer and to Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. Pullman’s books are marketed for young adults, yet their handling of complex religious—or antireligious— themes has made them a topic for serious scholarly debate.

The simultaneous extension of all these trends gives contemporary fantastic fiction such an extraordinary variety that it is becoming difficult to attach much meaning to the overarching notion of the fantasy novel—a difficulty clearly reflected in the comprehensive yearly summations of novel production offered by Terri Windling in her introductions to the annual Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror anthologies that she coedits with Ellen Datlow. Windling routinely employs such fantasy categories as imaginary world, contemporary or urban, Arthurian, dark, religious, humorous, mysteries, historical, and literary fairytales but still requires such residual headings as “fantasy in the mainstream,” “young adult fantasies,” and “oddities” for the remainder. The priority traditionally awarded by critics to realistic fiction seems to be in the process of breaking down, and it may well be that a more elaborate literary taxonomy will have to be developed for the new millennium.

Source :  Rollyson, Carl. Critical Survey Of Long Fiction . 4th ed. New Jersey: Salem Press, 2010 Bibliography Anatol, Giselle Liza, ed. Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2003. Attebery, Brian. The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1980. Barron, Neil. Fantasy Literature: A Readers’s Guide. NewYork: Garland, 1990. Bleiler, Everett F. The Guide to Supernatural Fiction. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1983. Bleiler, Richard, ed. Supernatural Fiction Writers: Contemporary Fantasy and Horror. 2 vols. 2d ed. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2003. Clute, John, and John Grant, eds. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. New ed. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 1998. Dickerson, Matthew T., and David O’Hara. From Homer to Harry Potter: A Handbook on Myth and Fantasy. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Brazos, 2006. Gray, William. Fantasy, Myth, and the Measure of Truth: Tales of Pullman, Lewis, Tolkien, MacDonald, and Hoffmann. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Hume, Kathryn. Fantasy and Mimesis: Responses to Reality in Western Literature. New York: Methuen, 1984. Lobdell, Jared. The Rise of Tolkienian Fantasy. Chicago: Open Court, 2005. Pringle, David, ed. The St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers. Detroit, Mich.: St. James Press, 1996. _______. The St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost, and Gothic Writers. Detroit, Mich.: St. James Press, 1998. Sandner, David. Fantastic Literature:ACritical Reader. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2004.

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Categories: Fantasy Novels , Literature , Novel Analysis

Tags: Abraham Merritt , Alan Garner , Alasdair Gray , Analysis of Fantasy Novels , Analysis of Fantasy Novels and Novelists , Angela Carter , Charles Nodier , E. R. Eddison , Edgar Allan Poe , Edgar Rice Burroughs , Edward Bulwer-Lytton , Edwin Lester Arnold , Ellen Datlow , Famous Fantasy Novels , Fantastic Fiction , Fantasy Novels , Fantasy Novels and Novelists , Fletcher Pratt , George MacDonald , George U. Fletcher , H. Rider Haggard , J. K. Rowling , J. R. R. Tolkien , James Blaylock , James Branch Cabell , James Dalton , James Hilton’s Lost Horizon , Jane Yolen , John Barth , Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu , L. Sprague de Camp , Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation , Literary Criticism , Literary Theory , Lloyd Alexander , Lord Dunsany , Margaret Irwin , Marie Corelli , Nancy Willard , Nathaniel Hawthorne , Patricia McKillip , Peter Ackroyd , Peter S. Beagle , Richard Adams’s Watership Down , Richard Brautigan , Robert Coover , Robert E. Howard , Robert Irwin , Russell Hoban , Study Guide of Fantasy Novels , Susan Cooper , Terry Pratchett , Théophile Gautier , The Charwoman’s Shadow , The Gentleman in Black , The Hobbit , The Invisible Gentleman , The King of Elfland’s Daughter , The Lord of the Rings , The Onyx Ring , The Water of the Wondrous Isles , The Wood Beyond the World , The Worm Ourobouros , Themes of Fantasy Novels , Thomas Berger , Thomas Pynchon , Tim Powers , Towing Jehovah , William Gilbert , William Morris

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12.14: Sample Student Literary Analysis Essays

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• Heather Ringo & Athena Kashyap
• City College of San Francisco via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative

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The following examples are essays where student writers focused on close-reading a literary work.

While reading these examples, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the essay's thesis statement, and how do you know it is the thesis statement?
• What is the main idea or topic sentence of each body paragraph, and how does it relate back to the thesis statement?
• Where and how does each essay use evidence (quotes or paraphrase from the literature)?
• What are some of the literary devices or structures the essays analyze or discuss?
• How does each author structure their conclusion, and how does their conclusion differ from their introduction?

Example 1: Poetry

Victoria Morillo

Instructor Heather Ringo

3 August 2022

How Nguyen’s Structure Solidifies the Impact of Sexual Violence in “The Study”

Stripped of innocence, your body taken from you. No matter how much you try to block out the instance in which these two things occurred, memories surface and come back to haunt you. How does a person, a young boy , cope with an event that forever changes his life? Hieu Minh Nguyen deconstructs this very way in which an act of sexual violence affects a survivor. In his poem, “The Study,” the poem's speaker recounts the year in which his molestation took place, describing how his memory filters in and out. Throughout the poem, Nguyen writes in free verse, permitting a structural liberation to become the foundation for his message to shine through. While he moves the readers with this poignant narrative, Nguyen effectively conveys the resulting internal struggles of feeling alone and unseen.

The speaker recalls his experience with such painful memory through the use of specific punctuation choices. Just by looking at the poem, we see that the first period doesn’t appear until line 14. It finally comes after the speaker reveals to his readers the possible, central purpose for writing this poem: the speaker's molestation. In the first half, the poem makes use of commas, em dashes, and colons, which lends itself to the idea of the speaker stringing along all of these details to make sense of this time in his life. If reading the poem following the conventions of punctuation, a sense of urgency is present here, as well. This is exemplified by the lack of periods to finalize a thought; and instead, Nguyen uses other punctuation marks to connect them. Serving as another connector of thoughts, the two em dashes give emphasis to the role memory plays when the speaker discusses how “no one [had] a face” during that time (Nguyen 9-11). He speaks in this urgent manner until the 14th line, and when he finally gets it off his chest, the pace of the poem changes, as does the more frequent use of the period. This stream-of-consciousness-like section when juxtaposed with the latter half of the poem, causes readers to slow down and pay attention to the details. It also splits the poem in two: a section that talks of the fogginess of memory then transitions into one that remembers it all.

In tandem with the fluctuating nature of memory, the utilization of line breaks and word choice help reflect the damage the molestation has had. Within the first couple of lines of the poem, the poem demands the readers’ attention when the line breaks from “floating” to “dead” as the speaker describes his memory of Little Billy (Nguyen 1-4). This line break averts the readers’ expectation of the direction of the narrative and immediately shifts the tone of the poem. The break also speaks to the effect his trauma has ingrained in him and how “[f]or the longest time,” his only memory of that year revolves around an image of a boy’s death. In a way, the speaker sees himself in Little Billy; or perhaps, he’s representative of the tragic death of his boyhood, how the speaker felt so “dead” after enduring such a traumatic experience, even referring to himself as a “ghost” that he tries to evict from his conscience (Nguyen 24). The feeling that a part of him has died is solidified at the very end of the poem when the speaker describes himself as a nine-year-old boy who’s been “fossilized,” forever changed by this act (Nguyen 29). By choosing words associated with permanence and death, the speaker tries to recreate the atmosphere (for which he felt trapped in) in order for readers to understand the loneliness that came as a result of his trauma. With the assistance of line breaks, more attention is drawn to the speaker's words, intensifying their importance, and demanding to be felt by the readers.

Most importantly, the speaker expresses eloquently, and so heartbreakingly, about the effect sexual violence has on a person. Perhaps what seems to be the most frustrating are the people who fail to believe survivors of these types of crimes. This is evident when he describes “how angry” the tenants were when they filled the pool with cement (Nguyen 4). They seem to represent how people in the speaker's life were dismissive of his assault and who viewed his tragedy as a nuisance of some sorts. This sentiment is bookended when he says, “They say, give us details , so I give them my body. / They say, give us proof , so I give them my body,” (Nguyen 25-26). The repetition of these two lines reinforces the feeling many feel in these scenarios, as they’re often left to deal with trying to make people believe them, or to even see them.

It’s important to recognize how the structure of this poem gives the speaker space to express the pain he’s had to carry for so long. As a characteristic of free verse, the poem doesn’t follow any structured rhyme scheme or meter; which in turn, allows him to not have any constraints in telling his story the way he wants to. The speaker has the freedom to display his experience in a way that evades predictability and engenders authenticity of a story very personal to him. As readers, we abandon anticipating the next rhyme, and instead focus our attention to the other ways, like his punctuation or word choice, in which he effectively tells his story. The speaker recognizes that some part of him no longer belongs to himself, but by writing “The Study,” he shows other survivors that they’re not alone and encourages hope that eventually, they will be freed from the shackles of sexual violence.

Works Cited

Nguyen, Hieu Minh. “The Study” Poets.Org. Academy of American Poets, Coffee House Press, 2018, https://poets.org/poem/study-0 .

Example 2: Fiction

Todd Goodwin

Professor Stan Matyshak

Advanced Expository Writing

Sept. 17, 20—

Poe’s “Usher”: A Mirror of the Fall of the House of Humanity

Right from the outset of the grim story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Edgar Allan Poe enmeshes us in a dark, gloomy, hopeless world, alienating his characters and the reader from any sort of physical or psychological norm where such values as hope and happiness could possibly exist. He fatalistically tells the story of how a man (the narrator) comes from the outside world of hope, religion, and everyday society and tries to bring some kind of redeeming happiness to his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, who not only has physically and psychologically wasted away but is entrapped in a dilapidated house of ever-looming terror with an emaciated and deranged twin sister. Roderick Usher embodies the wasting away of what once was vibrant and alive, and his house of “insufferable gloom” (273), which contains his morbid sister, seems to mirror or reflect this fear of death and annihilation that he most horribly endures. A close reading of the story reveals that Poe uses mirror images, or reflections, to contribute to the fatalistic theme of “Usher”: each reflection serves to intensify an already prevalent tone of hopelessness, darkness, and fatalism.

It could be argued that the house of Roderick Usher is a “house of mirrors,” whose unpleasant and grim reflections create a dark and hopeless setting. For example, the narrator first approaches “the melancholy house of Usher on a dark and soundless day,” and finds a building which causes him a “sense of insufferable gloom,” which “pervades his spirit and causes an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an undiscerned dreariness of thought” (273). The narrator then optimistically states: “I reflected that a mere different arrangement of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression” (274). But the narrator then sees the reflection of the house in the tarn and experiences a “shudder even more thrilling than before” (274). Thus the reader begins to realize that the narrator cannot change or stop the impending doom that will befall the house of Usher, and maybe humanity. The story cleverly plays with the word reflection : the narrator sees a physical reflection that leads him to a mental reflection about Usher’s surroundings.

The narrator’s disillusionment by such grim reflection continues in the story. For example, he describes Roderick Usher’s face as distinct with signs of old strength but lost vigor: the remains of what used to be. He describes the house as a once happy and vibrant place, which, like Roderick, lost its vitality. Also, the narrator describes Usher’s hair as growing wild on his rather obtrusive head, which directly mirrors the eerie moss and straw covering the outside of the house. The narrator continually longs to see these bleak reflections as a dream, for he states: “Shaking off from my spirit what must have been a dream, I scanned more narrowly the real aspect of the building” (276). He does not want to face the reality that Usher and his home are doomed to fall, regardless of what he does.

Although there are almost countless examples of these mirror images, two others stand out as important. First, Roderick and his sister, Madeline, are twins. The narrator aptly states just as he and Roderick are entombing Madeline that there is “a striking similitude between brother and sister” (288). Indeed, they are mirror images of each other. Madeline is fading away psychologically and physically, and Roderick is not too far behind! The reflection of “doom” that these two share helps intensify and symbolize the hopelessness of the entire situation; thus, they further develop the fatalistic theme. Second, in the climactic scene where Madeline has been mistakenly entombed alive, there is a pairing of images and sounds as the narrator tries to calm Roderick by reading him a romance story. Events in the story simultaneously unfold with events of the sister escaping her tomb. In the story, the hero breaks out of the coffin. Then, in the story, the dragon’s shriek as he is slain parallels Madeline’s shriek. Finally, the story tells of the clangor of a shield, matched by the sister’s clanging along a metal passageway. As the suspense reaches its climax, Roderick shrieks his last words to his “friend,” the narrator: “Madman! I tell you that she now stands without the door” (296).

Roderick, who slowly falls into insanity, ironically calls the narrator the “Madman.” We are left to reflect on what Poe means by this ironic twist. Poe’s bleak and dark imagery, and his use of mirror reflections, seem only to intensify the hopelessness of “Usher.” We can plausibly conclude that, indeed, the narrator is the “Madman,” for he comes from everyday society, which is a place where hope and faith exist. Poe would probably argue that such a place is opposite to the world of Usher because a world where death is inevitable could not possibly hold such positive values. Therefore, just as Roderick mirrors his sister, the reflection in the tarn mirrors the dilapidation of the house, and the story mirrors the final actions before the death of Usher. “The Fall of the House of Usher” reflects Poe’s view that humanity is hopelessly doomed.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Fall of the House of Usher.” 1839. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library . 1995. Web. 1 July 2012. < http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/PoeFall.html >.

Example 3: Poetry

Amy Chisnell

Professor Laura Neary

Writing and Literature

April 17, 20—

Don’t Listen to the Egg!: A Close Reading of Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”

“You seem very clever at explaining words, Sir,” said Alice. “Would you kindly tell me the meaning of the poem called ‘Jabberwocky’?”

“Let’s hear it,” said Humpty Dumpty. “I can explain all the poems that ever were invented—and a good many that haven’t been invented just yet.” (Carroll 164)

In Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass , Humpty Dumpty confidently translates (to a not so confident Alice) the complicated language of the poem “Jabberwocky.” The words of the poem, though nonsense, aptly tell the story of the slaying of the Jabberwock. Upon finding “Jabberwocky” on a table in the looking-glass room, Alice is confused by the strange words. She is quite certain that “ somebody killed something ,” but she does not understand much more than that. When later she encounters Humpty Dumpty, she seizes the opportunity at having the knowledgeable egg interpret—or translate—the poem. Since Humpty Dumpty professes to be able to “make a word work” for him, he is quick to agree. Thus he acts like a New Critic who interprets the poem by performing a close reading of it. Through Humpty’s interpretation of the first stanza, however, we see the poem’s deeper comment concerning the practice of interpreting poetry and literature in general—that strict analytical translation destroys the beauty of a poem. In fact, Humpty Dumpty commits the “heresy of paraphrase,” for he fails to understand that meaning cannot be separated from the form or structure of the literary work.

Of the 71 words found in “Jabberwocky,” 43 have no known meaning. They are simply nonsense. Yet through this nonsensical language, the poem manages not only to tell a story but also gives the reader a sense of setting and characterization. One feels, rather than concretely knows, that the setting is dark, wooded, and frightening. The characters, such as the Jubjub bird, the Bandersnatch, and the doomed Jabberwock, also appear in the reader’s head, even though they will not be found in the local zoo. Even though most of the words are not real, the reader is able to understand what goes on because he or she is given free license to imagine what the words denote and connote. Simply, the poem’s nonsense words are the meaning.

Therefore, when Humpty interprets “Jabberwocky” for Alice, he is not doing her any favors, for he actually misreads the poem. Although the poem in its original is constructed from nonsense words, by the time Humpty is done interpreting it, it truly does not make any sense. The first stanza of the original poem is as follows:

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogroves,

An the mome raths outgrabe. (Carroll 164)

If we replace, however, the nonsense words of “Jabberwocky” with Humpty’s translated words, the effect would be something like this:

’Twas four o’clock in the afternoon, and the lithe and slimy badger-lizard-corkscrew creatures

Did go round and round and make holes in the grass-plot round the sun-dial:

All flimsy and miserable were the shabby-looking birds

with mop feathers,

And the lost green pigs bellowed-sneezed-whistled.

By translating the poem in such a way, Humpty removes the charm or essence—and the beauty, grace, and rhythm—from the poem. The poetry is sacrificed for meaning. Humpty Dumpty commits the heresy of paraphrase. As Cleanth Brooks argues, “The structure of a poem resembles that of a ballet or musical composition. It is a pattern of resolutions and balances and harmonizations” (203). When the poem is left as nonsense, the reader can easily imagine what a “slithy tove” might be, but when Humpty tells us what it is, he takes that imaginative license away from the reader. The beauty (if that is the proper word) of “Jabberwocky” is in not knowing what the words mean, and yet understanding. By translating the poem, Humpty takes that privilege from the reader. In addition, Humpty fails to recognize that meaning cannot be separated from the structure itself: the nonsense poem reflects this literally—it means “nothing” and achieves this meaning by using “nonsense” words.

Furthermore, the nonsense words Carroll chooses to use in “Jabberwocky” have a magical effect upon the reader; the shadowy sound of the words create the atmosphere, which may be described as a trance-like mood. When Alice first reads the poem, she says it seems to fill her head “with ideas.” The strange-sounding words in the original poem do give one ideas. Why is this? Even though the reader has never heard these words before, he or she is instantly aware of the murky, mysterious mood they set. In other words, diction operates not on the denotative level (the dictionary meaning) but on the connotative level (the emotion(s) they evoke). Thus “Jabberwocky” creates a shadowy mood, and the nonsense words are instrumental in creating this mood. Carroll could not have simply used any nonsense words.

For example, let us change the “dark,” “ominous” words of the first stanza to “lighter,” more “comic” words:

’Twas mearly, and the churly pells

Did bimble and ringle in the tink;

All timpy were the brimbledimps,

And the bip plips outlink.

Shifting the sounds of the words from dark to light merely takes a shift in thought. To create a specific mood using nonsense words, one must create new words from old words that convey the desired mood. In “Jabberwocky,” Carroll mixes “slimy,” a grim idea, “lithe,” a pliable image, to get a new adjective: “slithy” (a portmanteau word). In this translation, brighter words were used to get a lighter effect. “Mearly” is a combination of “morning” and “early,” and “ringle” is a blend of “ring” and "dingle.” The point is that “Jabberwocky’s” nonsense words are created specifically to convey this shadowy or mysterious mood and are integral to the “meaning.”

Consequently, Humpty’s rendering of the poem leaves the reader with a completely different feeling than does the original poem, which provided us with a sense of ethereal mystery, of a dark and foreign land with exotic creatures and fantastic settings. The mysteriousness is destroyed by Humpty’s literal paraphrase of the creatures and the setting; by doing so, he has taken the beauty away from the poem in his attempt to understand it. He has committed the heresy of paraphrase: “If we allow ourselves to be misled by it [this heresy], we distort the relation of the poem to its ‘truth’… we split the poem between its ‘form’ and its ‘content’” (Brooks 201). Humpty Dumpty’s ultimate demise might be seen to symbolize the heretical split between form and content: as a literary creation, Humpty Dumpty is an egg, a well-wrought urn of nonsense. His fall from the wall cracks him and separates the contents from the container, and not even all the King’s men can put the scrambled egg back together again!

Through the odd characters of a little girl and a foolish egg, “Jabberwocky” suggests a bit of sage advice about reading poetry, advice that the New Critics built their theories on. The importance lies not solely within strict analytical translation or interpretation, but in the overall effect of the imagery and word choice that evokes a meaning inseparable from those literary devices. As Archibald MacLeish so aptly writes: “A poem should not mean / But be.” Sometimes it takes a little nonsense to show us the sense in something.

Brooks, Cleanth. The Well-Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry . 1942. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1956. Print.

Carroll, Lewis. Through the Looking-Glass. Alice in Wonderland . 2nd ed. Ed. Donald J. Gray. New York: Norton, 1992. Print.

MacLeish, Archibald. “Ars Poetica.” The Oxford Book of American Poetry . Ed. David Lehman. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2006. 385–86. Print.

Attribution

• Sample Essay 1 received permission from Victoria Morillo to publish, licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International ( CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 )
• Sample Essays 2 and 3 adapted from Cordell, Ryan and John Pennington. "2.5: Student Sample Papers" from Creating Literary Analysis. 2012. Licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported ( CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 )

• University Writing Center
• The Writing Mine

How To: Genre Analysis  

Although most of us think of music styles when we hear the word “genre,” the word simply means category of items that share the same characteristics, usually in the arts. In this context, however, we are talking about types of texts. Texts can be written, visual, or oral.  

For instance, a written genre would be blogs, such as this one, books, or news articles. A visual genre would be cartoons, videos, or posters. An oral genre would be podcasts, speeches, or songs. Each of these genres communicates differently because each genre has different rules.   

A genre analysis is an essay where you dissect texts to understand how they are working to communicate their message. This will help you understand that each genre has different requirements and limitations that we, as writers, must be aware of when using that genre to communicate.    

Sections of a genre analysis   

Like all other essays, a genre analysis has an introduction, body, and conclusion.  

In your introduction, you introduce the topic and the texts you’ll be analyzing.  

In your body, you do your analysis. This should be your longest section.  

In your conclusion, you do a short summary of everything you talked about and include any closing thoughts, such as whether you think the text accomplished its purpose and why.   

Content  

All professors ask for different things, so make sure to look at their instructions. These are some areas that will help you analyze your text and that you might want to touch base on in your essay (most professors ask for them):

1. Purpose of the text 

What did the creator of the text want to achieve with it? Why was the text created? Did something prompt the creator to make the text?  

Sometimes, the texts themselves answer these questions. Other times, we get that through clues like the language they use, the platforms the creator chose to spread their text, and so on. Make sure to include in your essay what features of the text led you to your answer.  

If we take this blog post as an example, we can say that its purpose is to inform students like you about what a genre analysis is and the content it requires. You probably figured this out through the language I’m using and the information I’m choosing to include.  

2. Intended audience 

Who is the creator of the text trying to reach? How did you figure that out?  

The audience can be as specific as a small group of people interested in a very niche topic or as broad as people curious about a common topic.   

With this blog, for example, I’m trying to reach students, particularly UTEP students who have this assignment and are trying to understand it. My causal and informative tone, as well as the fact that the blog is posted on UTEP’s Writing Center blog, probably gave this away.   

3. Structure 

How is the text organized? How does that help the creator achieve the text’s purpose?  

You need to know the information at the top of this blog post to understand what comes after, so this blog post is organized in order of complexity.   

4. Genre conventions 

Is the text following the usual characteristics of the genre? How is this helping or impeding the text to achieve its purpose?  

Like most blogs, this one is using simple language, short paragraphs, and illustrations. My use of all these elements is helping me be clear and specific so you can understand your assignment.  

5. Connection 

Do the ideas in the text come from somewhere else? Can the reader or consumer interact with the text? Is the text inviting that interaction?  

Most of the time, when the ideas come from another source, the text will make that clear by mentioning the text. In terms of interaction possible with the text, think about if it would be easy for you to say something back to the text.   

For instance, if you wanted to ask a question about this blog post, you could type it in our comment section. I might not explicitly say that many ideas in this blog come from the guidelines your professor gives you for this assignment, but you probably gathered that because I mention that these areas are things most professors are looking for.   

Hopefully, this information helps you tackle your assignment with a clearer idea of what your professor is looking for. Make sure to address any other areas the professor is asking you to.  

If you still have questions or want to make sure you are on the right path, come visit us at the University Writing Center.   

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E: [email protected] P: (915) 747-5112

Definition of Fantasy

Fantasy is a form of literary genre in which a plot cannot occur in the real world. Its plot usually involves witchcraft or magic, taking place on an undiscovered planet of an unknown world. Its overall theme and setting involve a combination of technology, architecture, and language, which sometimes resemble European medieval ages. The most interesting thing about fantasies is that their plot involves witches, sorcerers, mythical and animal creatures talking like humans, and other things that never happen in real life.

Types of Fantasy

Modern folktales.

Modern folktales are types of fantasy that narrators tell in a traditional tale accompanying some typical elements, such as strong conflict , little description of characters, fast-moving plot with a quick resolution , and sometimes magical elements and vague settings. However, these tales are popular, as authors throughout history have written them. Hans Christian Andersen has written several fairy tales of this category including:

• The Nightingale
• The Emperor’s New Clothes
• The Ugly Duckling

Animal Fantasy

Animal fantasy tells tales about animals, behaving like human beings, speaking, experiencing emotions, and having the ability to reason. Nevertheless, animals in animal fantasies retain their various animal characteristics too. Often, such fantasies have simple plots, and constitute literary symbolism by presenting symbolic expression of human counterparts. Popular examples of animal fantasy include:

• The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
• Charlotte’s Web, by E. B. White
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter

Toy Fantasy

In toy fantasy stories, narrators bring their beloved toys to life, and transform them into animated beings that can live, talk, think, breathe, love, and behave like human beings. You would see modern toy fantasies in picture book format. Examples include:

• Winnie the Pooh , by A. A. Milne
• The Adventures of Pinocchio , by Carlo Collodi

Magical Fantasy

In a magical fantasy, you see a character having magical powers, or a strange magical object becomes the subject of the narrative . Such fantasies include

• Charlie and Chocolate Factory , by Roald Dahl
• Sylvester and the Magic Pebble , by William Steig

Alternative Worlds & Enchanted Journeys

In these fantasies, you see leading character undertaking a journey to an alternative world, or a fantasy world. Though realistic tales also employ journeys, you would only see magical things happen in fantasy journeys. Examples include:

• Alice Adventures in Wonderland , by Lewis Carroll
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone , by K. Rowling
• Gulliver’s Travels , by Jonathan Swift

Quest or Heroic Fantasy (High Fantasy)

These fantasies involve adventures with a search, quest , and motif . While this quest could be a pursuit for a higher purpose, like justice and love, or for getting a reward like hidden treasure, or a magical power ; the conflict of heroic fantasies focuses on struggle between evil and good. The protagonist struggles with internal weakness and temptations, such as you may observe in these stories:

• The Lord of the Rings trilogy / Hobbit , by J. R. R. Tolkien
• The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley
• The Book of Three, by Lloyd Alexander.

Mystery and Supernatural Fantasy

One of the most common forms of supernatural fantasy is known as a “ghost story .” Ghosts could be either helpful protectors, or fearsome adversaries. However, in a mystery , the solution is always a supernatural one, or through supernatural assistance such as witchcraft. Its best example is:

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving

Science Fiction

Science fiction is a type of imaginative literature. It provides a mental picture of something that may happen on realistic scientific principles and facts. This fiction might portray, for instance, a world where young people are living on Mars. Hence, it is known as “futuristic fiction.” It dramatizes the wonders of technology, and resembles heroic fantasy where magic is substituted with technology. You can find this type of imaginative fiction in these stories:

• Frankenstein , by Mary Shelley
• Rocket Ship Galileo , by Robert Heinlein
• The White Mountains, by John Christopher

Cyberpunk is a sub-genre of science fiction .

Function of Fantasy

We all like fantasy stories, and grow up reading and listening to fantasies. These tales serve to fuel our imaginations, and satisfy our longings for adventure . Thus, fantasy directly relates to our deepest desires and dreams . That is why they are important for increasing power of imagination in growing minds, especially in children. In addition, exposing our minds to lots of romance and magic, the seeking for ideal heroes and beauty queens, adventure, and even deception, captures the attention and imagination of every age group. Also, fantasy has a distinguished writing style , with freedom of expression – the reason that authors can experiment and employ elements of narrative to strengthen their tales.

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Genre Analysis & Reverse Outlining

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This vidcast explains two tools that writers can use as they revise their documents: genre analysis and reverse outlining. Genre analysis involves looking at model texts to gain an understanding of how a particular document might be composed. Reverse outlining helps writers look at their organization throughout a document by looking at what sections are doing as well as what they are saying. Several handouts provide additional explanation of both topics and explain how to create a database of sentence templates to do particular kinds of rhetorical work. 

Note:   Closed-captioning and a full  transcript  are available for this vidcast. 

Genre Analysis (PDF)

Genre analysis is a way of examining a type or style of writing in order to better understand the conventions, expectations, purpose, and target audience for that genre. This handout briefly outlines some steps for two approaches to genre analysis: (1) the global vs. local approach, which analyzes what a style of writing is doing on a large and small scale, and (2) the reverse outlining approach, which analyzes what a style of writing is both saying and doing at the paragraph level in relation to an overarching purpose. 

Questions for Genre Analysis (PDF)

This handout contains questions that are intended to help guide writers working with model texts. It is recommended for use in conjunction with the Genre Analysis (PDF) linked in the preceeding section. The questions range from global rhetorical concerns to sentence structure and voice. 

Organization & the CARS Model

This resource provides strategies for revising introductions. The CARS Model ensures that writers adequately put their research into a wider context, address what's missing in the surrounding scholarship in relation to the topic at hand, and explain how their writing seeks to address those gaps. 

Reverse Outlining

Reverse outlining is a strategy that helps writers distill main ideas into short, clear statements.This tool is especially helpful for refocusing an argument and the overall organization of a text. This resource explains the steps for creating a reverse outline so that writers are empowered to revise their own work. 

Creating a Database of Templates (PDF)

Scholarly writing features many sentences that follow a particular form, pattern, or template, such as when it indicates a gap in research or makes a counter-claim. This handout outlines how one can learn to write within a discipline by creating a database of template-sentences in their field. 

16.3 Glance at Genre: Print or Textual Analysis

Learning outcomes.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Define key terms and organizational patterns of textual analysis.
• Explain how genre conventions are shaped by purpose, culture, and expectation.

As a genre —or literary category in which works feature similar forms, styles, or subject matter—textual analysis is less of a genre in itself and more of an exploration and interpretation of other genres. That is, textual analysis is explanatory and interpretive. When you receive an assignment to analyze a text, you focus on the elements that give it meaning. Usually your instructor will assign a specific writing task: to analyze and explain certain aspects of a text, to compare or contrast certain elements within a single text or in two or more texts, or to relate certain text elements to historical context or current events (as student writer Gwyn Garrison has done in the Annotated Student Sample ). These writing tasks thus explore genre characteristics of fiction, drama, poetry, literary nonfiction, film, and other forms of literary language.

When you write a textual analysis, ask yourself questions such as these:

• In what ways can this text be read?
• What are some different ways of reading it?
• Which reading makes the most sense to me?
• Which passages in the text support this reading?
• Whom does my analysis need to convince? (Who is my audience?)

Textual Analysis and Interpretive Communities

How you read and analyze a text depends on who you are. Who you are depends on the influences that have shaped you, or the communities to which you belong. Everyone belongs to various communities: families, social and economic groups (e.g., students or teachers, middle or working class), organizations (e.g., Democratic or Republican Party, Masons, Habitat for Humanity), geographic locales (e.g., rural or urban, north or south), and institutions (e.g., school, church, fraternity). Your membership in one or more communities may determine how you view and respond to the world. The communities that influence you most are called interpretive communities ; they influence the meaning you make of the world. People who belong to the same community may well have similar assumptions and therefore are likely to analyze texts in similar ways.

Before writing an interpretive or textual analysis essay, it is helpful to ask, Who am I when writing this piece? Be aware of your age, gender, race, ethnic identity, economic class, geographic location, educational level, or political or religious persuasion. Ask to what extent and for what purpose any of these identities emerges in your writing. Readers will examine the biases you may bring to your work, understanding that everyone views the world—and, consequently, texts—from their own vantage point.

College is, of course, a large interpretive community. The various smaller communities that exist within it are called disciplines: English, history, biology, business, art, and so on. Established ways of interpreting texts exist within disciplines. Often when you write a textual analysis, you will do so from the perspective of a traditional academic interpretive community or from the perspective of one who challenges that community.

Whether you deliberately identify yourself and any biases you might bring with you in your essay depends on the assignment you are given. Some assignments ask you to remove your personal perspective as much as possible from your writing, others ask that you acknowledge and explain it, and others fall somewhere in between.

Conventions of Textual Analysis

When asked to analyze or interpret a literary work, whether fiction or nonfiction, you will likely focus on some of these literary elements to explain how an author uses them to make meaning.

• Alliteration: literary device consisting of repetition of initial consonant sounds. (“Away from the steamy sidewalk, the children sat in a circle.”)
• Analysis: close examination and explanation of a text, supported by reasoning and evidence.
• Antagonist: character or force opposing the main character (protagonist) in a story.
• Climax: moment of emotional or intellectual intensity or a point in the plot when one opposing force overcomes another and the conflict is resolved.
• Epiphany: flash of intuitive understanding by the narrator or a character in a story.
• Figurative language: language that suggests special meanings or effects. Similes and metaphors are examples of figurative, rather than literal, language. (“She stands like a tree, solid and rooted.”)
• Imagery: language that appeals to one (or more) of the five senses. (“The cicadas hummed nonstop all day, but never loud enough to dull the roar of the leaf blowers.)
• Metaphor: direct comparison between two unlike things. (“She is a sly fox in her undercover work for the government.”)
• Narrator: someone who tells a story. A character narrator is a part of the story, whereas an omniscient narrator tells a story about others.
• Persona: mask to disguise or cover the author’s real self when presenting a story or other literary work.
• Plot: sequence of events in a story or play.
• Point of view: vantage point from which a story or event is perceived and told. The most frequently used points of view are first person and third person. In first person, the narrator is a character or observer in the story (fiction) or the author of it (nonfiction). In third person, the narrator has no part in the story other than telling it.
• Protagonist: main character or hero in a story.
• Rhyme: repetition of sounds, usually at the ends of lines in poems, but also occurring at other intervals in a line.
• Rhythm: rise and fall of stressed sounds within sentences, paragraphs, and stanzas.
• Simile: indirect comparison of unlike things using the word as or like . (“When he does undercover work, he is as sly as a fox.”)
• Symbol: object that represents itself and something else at the same time. A red rose is both a rose of a certain color and the suggestion of something romantic.
• Theme: meaning or thesis of a literary text.

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COM 1010: Composition and Critical Thinking I

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• Shifting Genres

Understanding What is Meant by the Word "Genre"

What do we mean by genre? This means a type of writing, i.e., an essay, a poem, a recipe, an email, a tweet. These are all different types (or categories) of writing, and each one has its own format, type of words, tone, and so on.  Analyzing a type of writing (or genre) is considered a genre analysis project. A genre analysis grants students the means to think critically about how a particular form of communication functions as well as a means to evaluate it.

Every genre (type of writing/writing style) has a set of conventions that allow that particular genre to be unique. These conventions include the following components:

• Tone: tone of voice, i.e. serious, humorous, scholarly, informal.
• Diction : word usage - formal or informal, i.e. “disoriented” (formal) versus “spaced out” (informal or colloquial).
•   Content : what is being discussed/demonstrated in the piece? What information is included or needs to be included?
•   Style / Format (the way it looks): long or short sentences? Bulleted list? Paragraphs? Short-hand? Abbreviations? Does punctuation and grammar matter? How detailed do you need to be? Single-spaced or double-spaced? Can pictures / should pictures be included? How long does it need to be / should be? What kind of organizational requirements are there?
•   Expected Medium of Genre : where does the genre appear? Where is it created? i.e. can be it be online (digital) or does it need to be in print (computer paper, magazine, etc)? Where does this genre occur? i.e. flyers (mostly) occur in the hallways of our school, and letters of recommendation (mostly) occur in professors’ offices.
• Genre creates an expectation in the minds of its audience and may fail or succeed depending on if that expectation is met or not.
• Many genres have built-in audiences and corresponding publications that support them, such as magazines and websites.
• The goal of the piece that is written, i.e. a newspaper entry is meant to inform and/or persuade, and a movie script is meant to entertain.
• Basically, each genre has a specific task or a specific goal that it is created to attain.
• Understanding Genre
• Understanding the Rhetorical Situation

To understand genre, one has to first understand the rhetorical situation of the communication. 

Below are some additional resources to assist you in this process:

• Reading and Writing for College

Genre Analysis

Genre analysis:  A tool used to create genre awareness and understand the conventions of new writing situations and contexts.  This a llows you to make effective communication choices and approach your audience and rhetorical situation appropriately

Basically, when we say "genre analysis," that is a fancy way of saying that we are going to look at similar pieces of communication - for example a handful of business memos - and determine the following:

• Tone: What was the overall tone of voice in the samples of that genre (piece of writing)?
• Diction : What was the overall type of writing in the three samples of that genre (piece of writing)? Formal or informal?
•   Content : What types(s) of information is shared in those pieces of writing?
•   Style / Format (the way it looks): Do the pieces of communication contain long or short sentences? Bulleted list? Paragraphs? Abbreviations? Does punctuation and grammar matter? How detailed do you need to be in that type of writing style? Single-spaced or double-spaced? Are pictures included? If so, why? How long does it need to be / should be? What kind of organizational requirements are there?
•   Expected Medium of Genre : Where did the pieces appear? Were they online? Where? Were they in a printed, physical context? If so, what?
•   Audience:   What audience is this piece of writing trying to reach?
• Purpose :  What is the goal of the piece of writing? What is its purpose? Example: the goal of the piece that is written, i.e. a newspaper entry is meant to inform and/or persuade, and a movie script is meant to entertain.

In other words, we are analyzing the genre to determine what are some commonalities of that piece of communication. 

For additional help, see the following resource for Questions to Ask When Completing a Genre Analysis . 

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Fantasy Literature

Challenging Genres

• © 2016
• Mark A. Fabrizi 0

Eastern Connecticut State University, USA

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• This volume marries critical literacy pedagogy with fantasy literature, something no other book does, describing specific approaches teachers can use for a wide variety of fantasy works while providing the theoretical foundations which enable teachers to extend the approaches to works not addressed in the chapters.
• The fantasy works discussed in this text are wide-ranging, semi-canonical works within the fantasy genre—works most likely to be taught in classrooms.
• Chapters are written by scholars, teachers, and authors of fantasy, providing a unique blend of perspectives from which to explore the fantasy literature genre.

Part of the book series: Critical Literacy Teaching Series: Challenging Authors and Genre (LITE)

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Critical Engagement through Fantasy in Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

Some psychoanalytic reflections: femininity, feminism and fantasy in “APPLE TREE YARD”

Leading with Quality Literature

• critical literacy
• fantasy literature
• teaching approaches
• literary analysis
• interdisciplinary
• critical pedagogy
• social justice

Table of contents (15 chapters)

Front matter, introduction.

Mark A. Fabrizi

Philosophical Issues

In the shadow of the status quo.

• Neil Mcgarry, Daniel Ravipinto

The Wizards Beneath

• Nathaniel Gee

You’re a Prince, Harry

Designing a course integrating critical pedagogy, fantasy literature, and religious studies.

• Nathan Fredrickson

Gender, Class, and Privilege

Strong women in fairy tales existed long before frozen.

• Martha M. Johnson-Olin

From Fledgling to Buffy

• Margaret A. Robbins, Jennifer Jackson Whitley

Gender, Class, and Marginalization in Beatrix Potter

• Hannah Swamidoss

Depictions of Social Class in Newbery-Winning Fantasies

• Danielle E. Forest

Indifference, Neglect, and Outright Dislike

• Claire A. Davanzo

Education and Social Justice

Magic as privilege in robert jordan and brandon sanderson’s wheel of time epic fantasy series.

• Louise Pisano Simone

Seeing Harry Potter as an At-Risk Student

• Dawan Coombs, Jon Ostenson, Whitney Sommerville

Magical Objects in Fantasy

• Stephanie Dreier

Critical Literacy in Inquiry Learning

• Cynthia Dawn Martelli, Vickie Johnston

“Bruce Banner Can Be an Asshole”

• Rebecca Sutherland Borah

Back Matter

Editors and affiliations, bibliographic information.

Book Title : Fantasy Literature

Book Subtitle : Challenging Genres

Editors : Mark A. Fabrizi

Series Title : Critical Literacy Teaching Series: Challenging Authors and Genre

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-758-0

Publisher : SensePublishers Rotterdam

eBook Packages : Education , Education (R0)

Copyright Information : SensePublishers-Rotterdam, The Netherlands 2016

eBook ISBN : 978-94-6300-758-0 Published: 11 October 2016

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : VIII, 234

Topics : Education, general

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Literary Genres — Fantasy

Essays on Fantasy

Writing an essay about this topic can be an exciting and creative way to explore the power of imagination and its impact on our lives. Whether you're a student looking for an engaging essay topic or a writer seeking to delve into the realm of Fantasy, this genre offers endless possibilities for exploration and analysis.

When it comes to choosing a topic for your Fantasy essay, the possibilities are endless. You can explore the themes of magic, adventure, and mythical creatures, or you can delve into the psychological aspects of Fantasy and its effects on the human mind. Consider what aspects of Fantasy intrigue you the most and how you can develop a unique and compelling topic that will captivate your audience.

For an argumentative essay on Fantasy, you can explore topics such as the impact of Fantasy literature on society, the portrayal of gender roles in Fantasy, or the ethical implications of magical powers in Fantasy stories. For a cause and effect essay, you can investigate how Fantasy influences creativity, empathy, and problem-solving skills. An opinion essay can delve into your personal experiences with Fantasy and how it has shaped your worldview. Lastly, an informative essay can explore the history of Fantasy literature, the works of influential Fantasy authors, or the cultural significance of Fantasy in different societies.

In an essay about Fantasy, your thesis statement should clearly convey the main idea or argument you will be discussing. For example, "The portrayal of magic in Fantasy literature reflects society's desire for escapism and wonder," or "The exploration of mythical creatures in Fantasy stories serves as a reflection of human fears and desires."

When crafting an for your Fantasy essay, you can set the stage by discussing the allure of Fantasy and its impact on culture, literature, and the human imagination. For example, you can begin with a captivating anecdote about a memorable Fantasy story or delve into the historical origins of Fantasy literature.

In the of your Fantasy essay, you can reflect on the broader implications of your topic and how it relates to the human experience. You can also leave your readers with a thought-provoking question or a call to action to further explore the world of Fantasy.

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Characters and photos in miss peregrine’s home for peculiar children, wart’s most valuable lesson, analysis of different versions of beauty and the beast, "a leaf by niggle" by j.r.r. tolkien: god and the artist, the theme of self-identity in c.s. lewis' works, psychoanalysis of the lancelot character in t.h. white’s "the once and future king", the wizard of oz movie review, depiction of reagan 80s fantasies in the action films, good omens as a reactionary gothic novel, magical realism in murakami’s kafka on the shore, the impact of childhood experiences on protagonist’s identity in 'coraline', fantastical elements in "top girls", analysis of winnie the pooh: fantasy and nonsense in children's literature, self discovery in anansi boys, racial dictation for sexual desire in "m butterfly", the concept of home in "kindred" by octavia e. butler, digory kirke heroic characteristics analysis, the use of the fantasy genre in behn’s the rover and more’s utopia, marion zimmer bradley’s "the mists of avalon".

Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore.

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. In writing fantasy the author uses worldbuilding to create characters, situations, and settings that may not be possible in reality.

There are over 50 fantasy subgenres and the list keeps on growing as brilliant writers experiment, fusing genres and subgenres together. However, the most essential are: high or epic fantasy, low fantasy, magical realism, sword and sorcery, dark fantasy, fables, fairy tales, superhero fiction.

Examples of fantasy include William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and T.H. White’s The Once and Future King.

C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, George R.R. Martin

1. Young, H. (2015). Race and popular fantasy literature: Habits of whiteness. Routledge. (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315724843/race-popular-fantasy-literature-helen-young) 2. Sullivan III, C. W. (1992). Fantasy. In Stories and Society: Children’s Literature in its Social Context (pp. 97-111). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-22111-0_7) 3. Nikolajeva, M. (2003). Fairy tale and fantasy: From archaic to postmodern. Marvels & Tales, 17(1), 138-156. (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/27/article/42224/summary) 4. Petzold, D. (1986). Fantasy fiction and related genres. Modern Fiction Studies, 32(1), 11-20. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/26281846) 5. Stephan, M. (2016). Do you believe in magic? The Potency of the Fantasy Genre. Coolabah, (18), 3-15. (https://www.raco.cat/index.php/coolabah/article/view/327572) 6. Feldt, L. (2016). Harry Potter and contemporary magic: Fantasy literature, popular culture, and the representation of religion. Journal of Contemporary Religion, 31(1), 101-114. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13537903.2016.1109877) 7. Angelskår, S. (2005). Policing Fantasy: problems of genre in fantasy literature (Master's thesis). (https://www.duo.uio.no/handle/10852/25415) 8. Ekman, S. (2016). Urban Fantasy: A Literature of the unseen. Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, 27(3), 452. (https://www.proquest.com/docview/1933853280?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true)

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Introduction

Most of your familiarity with essays probably comes from your own coursework. When you are assigned an essay for a class, perhaps you’ve been assigned an expository essay or a persuasive essay. In other words, you may have been assigned an essay with a clear purpose.

Literary essays are an exciting departure from those essays that many of us have been assigned. Employing techniques akin to those used by novelists, poets, and short story writers, essayists work to explore an idea. In fact, the word “essay” is etymologically linked to the notion of experimenting, weighing, or testing out. Essayists rarely produce straightforward manifestos or polemics. Instead, they entice the reader to care or understand or learn by using elements and techniques common to and found in literature. The more adept you are at recognizing those elements, the better you’ll be able to appreciate a work of creative nonfiction.

In order to analyze creative nonfiction, you should be aware of the different rhetorical structures writers use. Most of these structures will be familiar to you. What is important to consider, though, is how creative nonfiction writers use literary structures and techniques to achieve a particular effect.

Analyzing Nonfiction

Analysis of Nonfiction

Like analysis of fiction, poetry, and drama, analysis of a nonfiction requires more than understanding the point or the content of a nonfiction text. It requires that we go beyond what the text says explicitly and look at such factors as implied meaning, intended purpose and audience, the context in which the text was written, and how the author presents his/her argument. Before you can analyze, however, you must first comprehend the text and be able to provide an objective summary.

When working with a complex text, it is best to start with short excerpts, go through several reads of the piece if possible, and focus on moving from basic comprehension on the first read, to deeper, more complex understandings with each subsequent reading. For an example of an effective strategy, use the “SOAPSTone” strategy, which consists of a series of questions that provide a basis for analysis. Remember that regardless of analysis strategy, you must always provide evidence taken directly from the text to prove their point.

Subject: What is the subject? This is the general topic, content, and ideas contained in the text. Try to state the subject in only a few words or a short phrase so as to concisely summarize the topic for your own comprehension purposes.

Occasion: What is the occasion? It is the time and place of the piece; the context that encouraged the writing to happen. This can be a large occasion (an environment of ideas and emotions that swirl around a broad issue) or an immediate occasion or specific event.

Audience: Who is the audience? The audience is the group of readers to whom the piece is directed. The audience may be an individual, a small group, or a large group of people. It may be specific or more general.

Purpose: What is the purpose? It is the reason behind the text. What does the author want the audience to think or do as a result of this text? Does the author call for some specific action or is the purpose to convince the reader to think, feel or believe in a certain way? Too often readers do not consider this question, yet understanding the purpose of a nonfiction text is crucial in order to critically analyze the text.

Speaker: Who is the speaker? This is the voice that tells the story. What is their background? Is there a bias? Does that impact how the text is written and the points being made? Typically in nonfiction, the speaker and the author are the same; however, when we approach fiction, we must realize that the speaker and the author are often NOT the same. In fiction the author may choose to tell the story from any number of different points of view. In fact, the method of narration and the character of the speaker may be a crucial piece in understanding the work, particularly in satire. However, in nonfiction, the speaker and the author of the text are most likely going to be the same, which allows us a different avenue for analysis, as we can critique a text alongside what we know about the author.

Tone: What is the tone? This is the attitude a writer takes towards the subject or character: It can be serious, humorous, sarcastic, or even objective. Examine the author’s choice of words, sentence structure, and imagery. Consider providing students with a list of tone words to help them find the exact word. Often in informational text, the tone is objective because the author is simply relaying information and is not trying to sway the audience; however, in literary nonfiction as with fiction, the author may want his/her audience to feel a certain way about the situation, characters, etc.

“Text-Dependent Analysis: Nonfiction.” Licensed under Standard Youtube License https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzMzHrroZGM

“Analyzing Nonfiction.” Licensed under Standard Youtube License https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_k6RXWMHas

“How to Analyze Non-Fiction.” Licensed under CC BY SA 4.0 http://www.rpdp.net/literacyFiles/literacy_101.pdf

The world of creative nonfiction is broad, but learning to analyze the techniques used by literary and personal essayists is a good way to understand how much crafting goes into making a true story, told well. And though the word “essay” may have once been associated with homework assignments and tests, rest assured, there’s much more to the form.

Like fiction, creative nonfiction relies on the careful choices made by a writer. What separates creative nonfiction from fiction, of course, is the writer’s tacit promise to be conveying a story or set of events that is purported to be true. In order to accentuate that truth or present it in its most compelling fashion, creative nonfiction writers use a variety of literary elements and techniques. Everything from the structure of an essay to its shape to its tone influences how a reader makes sense of the content.

ENG134 – Literary Genres Copyright © by The American Women's College and Jessica Egan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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For the "Rhetorical Genre Analysis" assignment and the "Editorial Style Essay" assignment, you are asked to select 2 to 3  editorial texts addressing a singular topic that you believe are good examples of writing in the genre :

"A rhetorical genre analysis requires you to consider the effectiveness of how a writer presents a topic using rhetoric within the constraints of a genre instead of the extent to which you agree or disagree with the writer. Understanding the relationship between writerly intention, audience, genre expectations, and how writers use rhetoric will help you consider the issues around rhetoric and genres and for whom."

A great place to start searching for editorials, opinion pieces and "viewpoint essays" is the Opposing Viewpoints database, available here:

• Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window Viewpoint essays, articles, statistics, and more giving the pro and con sides on topical social and political issues. Years covered: 18th Century-present

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At the bottom of the page is a video explaining how to search the publication pages. 

• The Atlantic The Atlantic is an American lifestyle magazine and multi-platform publisher. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, Massachusetts, as The Atlantic Monthly, a literary and cultural commentary magazine that published leading writers' commentary on the abolition of slavery, education, and other major issues in contemporary political affairs. (Wikipedia)
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Fantasy Fiction Genre Guide | ELA Film Analysis Essay | PPT and PDFs |

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4. Real and Mythical Creatures

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1. 3 x Fill-in-the-Words

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Fantasy Genre Facts & Worksheets

Fantasy is a genre of literature that typically involves magical or supernatural elements, often set in imaginary worlds or alternate realities. It allows authors to create fantastical settings, characters, and events that defy the laws of the natural world.

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Table of Contents

See the fact file below for more information about the Fantasy genre, or you can download our 24-page ELA Fantasy worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Key aspects of fantasy literature.

• Fantasy literature is a genre that transports readers into worlds filled with magic, mythical creatures, and epic quests. 
• It captivates audiences with its imaginative storytelling and offers an escape into realms where the laws of physics and reality are often suspended. Here are the key aspects that define fantasy literature:
• At the heart of fantasy literature lies worldbuilding. Authors create intricate and fantastical worlds, including unique landscapes, cultures, and histories. 
• These settings serve as the backdrop for the story’s events, immersing readers in vibrant and immersive environments that feel both familiar and otherworldly.
• Magic is a central element of fantasy literature. From spells and enchantments to magical creatures and artifacts, the presence of magic adds excitement and wonder to the narrative. 
• Whether wizards casting spells or dragons breathing fire, magic infuses the story with a sense of possibility and awe.
• Fantasy literature introduces readers to a host of mythical creatures , from majestic dragons to mischievous fairies . These creatures populate the fantastical worlds created by authors, serving as both allies and adversaries to the story’s protagonists. 
• Their presence adds depth and intrigue to the narrative, inviting readers to explore the rich tapestry of mythical beings.
• Epic quests are a staple of fantasy literature. Heroes embark on daring adventures, facing formidable challenges and overcoming great odds to achieve their goals. 
• Whether retrieving a magical artifact or defeating an evil sorcerer, the quest drives the narrative forward, keeping readers on the edge of their seats with excitement and anticipation.
• Themes of good versus evil permeate fantasy literature. Heroes battle against dark forces, risking their lives to protect the innocent and uphold justice.
• These themes explore complex moral questions and resonate with readers, inspiring them to reflect on the nature of right and wrong in the world around them.
• Fantasy literature features iconic characters who embody heroic archetypes. From brave knights to wise wizards, these characters follow familiar patterns that resonate with audiences. 
• However, fantasy also allows for the subversion and reinvention of these archetypes, offering fresh perspectives on traditional heroism and storytelling .
• Symbolism and allegory are often employed in fantasy literature to explore deeper themes and ideas. Using fantastical elements and magical symbolism , authors address real-world issues such as power, oppression, and the human condition. 
• These style elements add depth and complexity to the narrative, encouraging readers to engage with the story on multiple levels.
• Ultimately, fantasy literature captivates readers with its sense of wonder and imagination. It transports them to fantastical worlds where anything is possible, inviting them to explore the limitless boundaries of the human imagination. 
• With its richly imagined settings, thrilling adventures, and timeless themes, fantasy literature continues to enchant audiences of all ages.

NOTABLE CLASSIC FANTASY LITERATURE

“The Epic of Gilgamesh”

• Dating back to ancient Mesopotamia, “The Epic of Gilgamesh” is one of the oldest known works of literature and contains elements of myth and fantasy.
• The epic follows the adventures of Gilgamesh, a legendary king, and his companion, Enkidu, as they embark on a quest for immortality.
• Filled with gods, monsters, and epic battles, “The Epic of Gilgamesh” explores timeless themes such as friendship, mortality, and the search for meaning.

“One Thousand and One Nights” (Arabian Nights)

• “One Thousand and One Nights” is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled over centuries. 
• It features iconic stories such as “Aladdin’s Wonderful Lamp,” “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” and “Sinbad the Sailor,” which are filled with magic, adventure, and fantastical elements. 
• These tales have enchanted readers of all ages for generations and remain enduring classics of fantasy literature.

“The Odyssey” by Homer

• “The Odyssey” is an ancient Greek epic poem attributed to the poet Home r. It follows the adventures of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, as he journeys home from the Trojan War . 
• Along the way, Odysseus encounters gods, monsters, and other fantastical beings, including the Cyclops Polyphemus and the sorceress Circe. 
• With its epic scope, heroic quests, and supernatural encounters, “The Odyssey” is a timeless masterpiece of fantasy and adventure.

“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll

• Lewis Carroll’s whimsical tale follows young Alice as she falls down a rabbit hole into a fantastical world filled with peculiar characters and nonsensical events. 
• From the grinning Cheshire Cat to the tyrannical Queen of Hearts, Wonderland is a place of wonder and absurdity where logic and reason turn upside down. 
• “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” has enchanted readers since its publication in 1865 and remains a classic of fantasy literature for all ages.

NOTABLE CONTEMPORARY FANTASY LITERATURE

“Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling

• While the series began in the late 1990s, its impact and influence continue to resonate strongly in contemporary fantasy literature. 
• Following the journey of young wizard Harry Potter and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, the series explores themes of friendship, bravery, and the battle between good and evil. 
• With its richly imagined world of magic and memorable characters, “Harry Potter” remains a cultural phenomenon that has inspired readers of all ages.

“A Song of Ice and Fire” series by George R.R. Martin

• George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy series, beginning with “A Game of Thrones,” has garnered widespread acclaim for its complex characters, intricate political intrigue, and morally ambiguous storytelling. 
• Set in the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos, the series follows the power struggles among noble houses vying for control of the Iron Throne. 
• With its gritty realism and unpredictable plot twists, “A Song of Ice and Fire” has redefined the genre of epic fantasy for a contemporary audience.

“How to Train Your Dragon” series by Cressida Cowell

• The “How to Train Your Dragon” series follows the misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, a young Viking who befriends and trains dragons instead of fighting them. 
• Set in the fictional world of the Barbaric Archipelago, the series combines humor, adventure, and heartwarming moments as Hiccup and his dragon Toothless navigate challenges and defend their home from enemies. 
• With its charming illustrations and engaging storytelling, the series “How to Train Your Dragon” has captivated young readers and inspired a successful film franchise.
• Fantasy literature is popular because it offers escapism, where readers can immerse themselves in worlds of magic, adventure, and possibility. 
• It ignites the imagination, transporting readers to fantastical realms where they can explore new cultures, encounter mythical creatures, and embark on epic quests. 
• Fantasy stories often resonate with universal themes of heroism, friendship, and the battle between good and evil, offering readers a sense of wonder and excitement. 
• Additionally, fantasy literature provides a break from reality, offering a reprieve from the stresses of everyday life and allowing readers to experience a sense of enchantment and awe.

Fantasy Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about the Fantasy Genre across 24 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about the ELA: Fantasy. Fantasy Literature allows authors to create fantastical settings, characters, and events that defy the laws of the natural world.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

• ELA: Fantasy Facts
• Fairy Tales
• To Fantasy Land!
• Historical Fantasy
• Epic Fantasy
• Illustrated Song
• Fantastical Characters
• Music to Your Ears
• Fantastic Summary

Frequently Asked Questions

What defines fantasy literature.

Fantasy literature typically involves elements of magic, mythical creatures, supernatural phenomena, or extraordinary settings that deviate from reality. It often takes place in imaginary worlds where the laws of nature may differ from those in our own world.

Who are some prominent authors in the fantasy genre?

J.R.R. Tolkien, author of “The Lord of the Rings” series, is often considered the father of modern fantasy literature. Other notable authors include George R.R. Martin (“A Song of Ice and Fire” series), J.K. Rowling (“Harry Potter” series), and Terry Pratchett (“Discworld” series).

What are some common themes explored in fantasy literature?

Themes in fantasy literature often revolve around the conflict between good and evil, the hero’s journey, the search for identity, power, and the consequences of one’s actions. Additionally, themes of friendship, loyalty, sacrifice, and redemption are commonly explored.

How does fantasy literature differ from other genres like science fiction or horror?

While fantasy and science fiction both involve speculative elements, fantasy tends to focus more on magical or mystical elements, often set in medieval-like worlds or alternate realities, whereas science fiction explores futuristic or technological advancements grounded in scientific principles. Horror literature, on the other hand, primarily aims to evoke fear, often through elements of suspense, terror, or the supernatural.

Why is fantasy literature important?

Fantasy literature provides an avenue for escapism, allowing readers to immerse themselves in imaginative worlds that offer a break from reality. It also serves as a vehicle for exploring complex themes and moral dilemmas in a way that’s both entertaining and thought-provoking. Additionally, fantasy literature fosters creativity and imagination, inspiring readers to dream and envision possibilities beyond the constraints of the everyday world.

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Hello! I'm considering taking AP Lang next year and I'm curious about the structure of the course. What are the typical components of it (like essays, arguments, analysis, etc.) and how is the coursework structured throughout the year? Thanks in advance!

Hello! AP Lang, or AP English Language and Composition, is a popular course that is centered around the study of rhetoric in various forms, such as essays, arguments, and analysis. The coursework typically covers the following components:

1. Rhetorical Analysis: You'll learn to analyze and dissect the rhetorical strategies used by writers to convey their purpose in various written works, such as speeches, essays, and articles. You'll be required to read and analyze these texts, paying close attention to the author's use of language, structure, and stylistic choices.

2. Argument: AP Lang also focuses on developing strong argumentation skills. You'll learn to create and defend compelling arguments, often through written essays. This may include taking a clear position on a given issue, providing evidence to support your claims, and using persuasive language to convince readers of your viewpoint.

3. Synthesis: One of the key skills you’ll develop in AP Lang is synthesizing information from multiple sources. You'll learn to evaluate various sources, including visual texts, for credibility, relevance, and usefulness, and then skillfully incorporate these sources into your own writing to support your argument.

Throughout the year, the coursework is usually structured in a way that allows you to gradually build your skills in these areas through a combination of readings, lectures, class discussions, and writing assignments. You may be tasked with writing various types of essays such as rhetorical analysis essays, argumentative essays, and synthesis essays, as well as engaging in peer reviews and revisions. Alongside this, you'll likely read and analyze a wide range of non-fiction texts, including essays, speeches, articles, and other media.

It's important to note that the exact structure of AP Lang courses can vary depending on the teacher and school. However, at the end of the year, all students will take the AP English Language and Composition Exam, which typically consists of a multiple-choice section and a free-response section that includes three essay prompts assessing your rhetorical analysis, argumentation, and synthesis skills.

Overall, AP Lang is an engaging and intellectually challenging course that sharpens your analytical, writing, and critical thinking skills, making it a valuable choice for many students. Good luck!

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