What is Modern Fantasy?
Modern Fantasy is distinguished from other genres by story elements that viloate the natural, physical laws of our world. Stories in this genre include such elements as talking animals, imaginary worlds, fanciful charachers, and magical beings. Authors of modern fantasy do not merely make up an imaginary story. They must create a setting with a new set of physical laws, believeable characters, and a credible plot. These stories should invite the reader to examine issues of the human condition and believe that such world could really exist. Lastly, Modern Fantasy differs from Traditional Fantasy in that the stories have an identifiable author and were written as early as the 1800s.
Categories of Modern Fantasy
Six Basic Fantasy Motifs
Not all Modern Fantasy employs these six motifs. Any combination of these motifs classifies a story as Modern Fantasy. Sometimes, only one motif is utilized. However, if a story uses all six of these elements, it is considered Modern High Fantasy.
1. Magic
2. Other Worlds / Secondary Worlds
3. Good vs. Evil
4. Heroism
5. maturing and becoming a "whole person" 6. returning home
5. Special Character Types
6. Fantastic Objects
Science Fiction
1. Sometimes called Futuristic Fiction
§ Concerns the way in which scientific possibilities might affect societies of human or alien beings; or both.
§ Can include a combination of scientific fact and scientific possibility
2. Focuses on Dystopia
§ An imaginary place where people live dehumanized and often fearful lives (The Giver; The Hunger Games)
3. Science Fantasy
§ Stories with plots that play on scientific fact as well as magical occurrences (Star Wars series)
The Truth in Fantasy
Some adults dismiss Modern Fantasy as being too whimsical and not grounded firmly in reality. In actuality, good fantasy tells the truth about life. It clarifies the human condition and captures the essense of our deepest emotions, dreams, hopes, and fears. Metaphors presented in Modern Fantasy help us to enhance our communication and thinking by increasing our frame of reference and understading, creating interest, and going beyond the intellect to act on our emotions. Readers of Modern Fantasy are become actively engaged with the story and message being presented. We are encouraged to explore hard issues from the varying viewpoints of the characters.
Source: Tunnell, Michael O.. Children's literature, briefly. 5th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.
Modern Fantasy is distinguished from other genres by story elements that viloate the natural, physical laws of our world. Stories in this genre include such elements as talking animals, imaginary worlds, fanciful charachers, and magical beings. Authors of modern fantasy do not merely make up an imaginary story. They must create a setting with a new set of physical laws, believeable characters, and a credible plot. These stories should invite the reader to examine issues of the human condition and believe that such world could really exist. Lastly, Modern Fantasy differs from Traditional Fantasy in that the stories have an identifiable author and were written as early as the 1800s.
Categories of Modern Fantasy
- Animal Fantasy (The Wind in the Willows; Charlotte’s Web)
- Toys and Objects Imbued with Life (Pinocchio)
- Tiny Humans (The Borrowers)
- Peculiar Characters and Situations (Mary Poppins)
- Imaginary Worlds (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
- Magical Powers (The Chocolate Touch)
- Supernatural Tales (Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story)
- Time-Warp Fantasies (King of Shadows; The Gate of Days)
- High Fantasy (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
- Novelized Traditional Tales (Beauty; East)
Six Basic Fantasy Motifs
Not all Modern Fantasy employs these six motifs. Any combination of these motifs classifies a story as Modern Fantasy. Sometimes, only one motif is utilized. However, if a story uses all six of these elements, it is considered Modern High Fantasy.
1. Magic
- Fantasy literature’s most basic element
- Often a part of the setting, explaining otherwise inexplicable events
- Cannot be explained—it’s just there
2. Other Worlds / Secondary Worlds
- A special geography or universe is established, a place wherein magic may freely operate
- The entire tale may be set in an imaginary place
- The characters are taken from a primary world to a secondary world, through some type of portal
- The secondary world invades our primary world
3. Good vs. Evil
- Modern fantasy stories have strong mythological base
- The basic theme gives rise to the conflict in a story
- How do good and evil manifest in each of the characters?
4. Heroism
- Every hero has a quest--a circular journey; an age-old pattern
- There are six elements in every hero's quest
5. maturing and becoming a "whole person" 6. returning home
5. Special Character Types
- Characters who come from either our legendary past or author’s vivid imagination
- Rarely typically humans (Fairies, pixies, giants, wicked witches, ogres, vampires, wizards, dwarves, elves, hobbits, etc.)
6. Fantastic Objects
- Characters employ magical props to accomplish heroic or evil deeds
- Magical cloaks, swords, staffs, cauldrons, mirrors, silver slippers, wands, the ring, flying brooms
Science Fiction
1. Sometimes called Futuristic Fiction
§ Concerns the way in which scientific possibilities might affect societies of human or alien beings; or both.
§ Can include a combination of scientific fact and scientific possibility
2. Focuses on Dystopia
§ An imaginary place where people live dehumanized and often fearful lives (The Giver; The Hunger Games)
3. Science Fantasy
§ Stories with plots that play on scientific fact as well as magical occurrences (Star Wars series)
The Truth in Fantasy
Some adults dismiss Modern Fantasy as being too whimsical and not grounded firmly in reality. In actuality, good fantasy tells the truth about life. It clarifies the human condition and captures the essense of our deepest emotions, dreams, hopes, and fears. Metaphors presented in Modern Fantasy help us to enhance our communication and thinking by increasing our frame of reference and understading, creating interest, and going beyond the intellect to act on our emotions. Readers of Modern Fantasy are become actively engaged with the story and message being presented. We are encouraged to explore hard issues from the varying viewpoints of the characters.
Source: Tunnell, Michael O.. Children's literature, briefly. 5th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.
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