About fantasyHere's a brief outline about fantasy and its inspirers.It is said that modern fantasy fiction, as we know it today, began
with Scottish author George MacDonald, who wrote The Princess and the Goblin, and Phantastes (1858). Doubtless this book was influenced by much earlier concepts and ideas which the author molded into his theme.
Phantastes is considered to be the first fantasy novel ever written for adults. MacDonald is also said to have influenced both J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. The other famous fantasy author of this era was William Morris, a poet, who wrote several novels in the late Victorian period, including The Well at the World's End. These was quite well received by the public who regarded them as the colourful machinations of a poetic mind.
But it wasn't until the turn of the century that fantasy fiction began to reach a bigger audience. Edward Plunkett, also known as Lord Dunsany, did much to establish the genre's popularity in both the novel and short story form. Although to say that his works could be classified as early pulp fiction, would be unfair.
A number of mainstream authors also began to write fantasy at this time, including H. Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling and Edgar Rice Burroughs. These authors, created what was known as the "lost world" sub-genre, which went on to become the most popular form of fantasy in the early 20th century. Also around at this time,were a number of classic children's fantasies, such as Peter Pan and The Wizard of Oz. Works of this kind were highly visual and became part of the fodder for the early film industry.
But it was considered more appropriate for fantasy to be written for a juvenile audience than an adult one. The consequence of this was that writers who wrote fantasy had to fit their work into their writings for children. But some of the tales were quite allegorical and in some cases became metaphors for religious themes.
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote many early works that verged on fantasy, but in A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys, wrote fantasy. For many years, this and works such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), created the assumption that all fantasy works, including The Lord of the Rings, were classified as children's literature. But despite this an ever growing army of adult fans embraced this fiction.
Weird Tales, an all fantasy fiction magazine which came out in 1923, set a new trend in the perception of this kind of fiction. Other magazines of a similar kind followed, most noticeably The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Magazines of this type would include lurid graphics which helped to define the modern concept of fantasy and science fiction.
The public were responding positively to this cheap, throwaway magazing format, which helped bring fantasy fiction to a wide audience in both the U.S. and Britain. It also boosted the profile of science fiction, and the two genres began to be associated with each other. The use of art was now mandatory, influencing the film industry and creating visual stereotypes in the minds of the public.
By the 1950's "sword and sorcery" fiction had begun to take hold. Typical successes were Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian and Fritz Leiber's Gray Mouser stories. This became a branch of fiction in its own right.
But Fantasy only really entered the mainstream with the arrival of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in the late 1960s. Authors such as C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books, helped to establish the genre's widespread popularity. The emergence of fantasy stereotypes began to dominate the genre.
This popularity has grown the 21st century, as evidenced by the arrival of the Harry Potter books. Several film adaptations of this genre have achieved blockbuster status, in particular The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. It is quite apparent that this is an ever expanding genre with more surprises to come.
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plot summary
Mythical creatures