Fantasy Fiction

Fantasy Fiction

Fantasy describes something unrealistic and primarily imaginary. By definition, fantasy is a subgenre of literature full of imaginary and unrealistic narrations that feature supernatural and magical elements barring the realities of the natural world (Mendlesohn & Levy, 2016). Fantasy literature is rooted in ancient magic, legends, myth, and fairy, and cautionary tales. Most events in fantasy space involve supernatural elements, including magic creatures, ancient legends, demigods with a setting typically outside the natural universe. Another distinguishing feature the fantasy literature is that they often occur in the past, unlike science fiction which often predicts the future. Narrations often harbor elements from the medieval periods, including references to ancient superstition, magical words, knights, queens, castles, and kings. Fantasy literature features a little reflection on the modern world. Plots and characters are built around the pre-industrial period, with magic being the most vital source of order.

I read Coraline by Neil Golman and Phillip Pullman's His Dark Material from the excerpt, which are both fairy tales. The excerpt from Coraline revolves around a scene where Coraline's stranger experiences after she discovered a doorway to a sinister neighborhood "Other Mother" in their new home. In the second excerpt, Lyra realizes that the magisterium abducted her friend Roger and is set to save her friend from the parallel universe (Wright & Pullman, 2005). While most fairy tales will attract any young reader with a sense of imagination, what makes the two excepts common among children is how they convey their delightfully scary and perilous journey scenes with a fluttery lightheaded dramatic narration.  

References

Gaiman, N. (2019). Coraline. Albin Michel.

Levy, M., & Mendlesohn, F. (2016). Children's Fantasy Literature. Cambridge University Press.

Wright, N., & Pullman, P. (2005). His Dark Materials. Heinemann.