Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Definitions of Fantasy


How does Atterbery (1980) define Fantasy? Find at least five definitions. 

When I was reading the article I found five definitions of fantasy. These are the five definitions I found.

Definition 1: The single condition, that a story treat an impossibility as if it were true (Attebery, 1980)

 Definition 2: an overt violation of what is generally accepted as possibility... Whatever the material, extravagant or seemingly commonplace, a narrative is a fantasy if it presents the persuasive establishment and development of an impossibility, an arbitrary construct of the mind with all under the control of logic and rhetoric. (Irwin as cited by Attebery, 1980)

Definition 3: founded upon the hard recognition that things are so in the world as it appears under the sun; on recognition of fact but not slavery to it. (Tolkien as cited by Attebery, 1980)

Definition 4: Any narrative which includes as a significant part of its make-up some violation of what the author clearly believes to be natural law. (Attebery, 1980)

Definition 5: The fantastic... That hesitation experienced by a person who knows the laws of nature, confronting an apparently supernatural event” (Todorov as cited by Attebery, 1980)

I think from reading them that Atterberys own definition are either the

The single condition, that a story treat an impossibility as if it were true (Attebery, 1980)

Or

Any narrative which includes as a significant part of its make-up some violation of what the author clearly believes to be natural law. (Attebery, 1980)


References
Attebery, B. (1980). The Fantasy of Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

1 comment:

  1. A good summary, Julie. Bear in mind that any Fantasy world must be internally consistent or self consistent now matter how fantastic.

    hey, I find this white on black confusing.
    'I think from reading them that Atterberys own definition are either the'
    is this an unfinished sentence?

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