How does Attebery (1980) define Fantasy? Find at least five definitions.
Attebery proposes the question; what is fantasy? He says there are numerous ways to define the genre, however, most importantly, we have to decide what the essential characteristics are, the defining ones. (Attebery, 1980). Throughout this post, I will mention the definitions I found whilst reading Attebery's work, the ones I agree with and think define fantasy exceptionally well.
W.R Irwin, (as cited in Attebury, 1980), states that
"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" (p.9).
I completely agree with this definition, especially the 'development of an impossibility'. Fantasy is all about making the unreal, seem real and come alive, to the reader/viewer.
Attebery goes on to say that a narrative is a part of the fantasy genre, when a significant part or all of it involves some sort of violation of what it's author believes to be 'natural law'.
Furthermore, he states that there are many ways a story can prove itself to be apart of the fantasy catagory. It can involve mystical creatures, such as flying horses, dragons, or shape shifters. Or it can revolve around magical, brought to life objects that would usually be inanimate, like talking hats, or moving picture frames..take Harry Potter for example. It could also 'proceed through events', Attebery gives the example of a tree reaching out to grab a person, to me, I think of the Wizard of Oz.
Attebery believes that fantasy distinguishes between itself and other similar genres, by the way it demands a 'straightforward treatment' of characters, objects, or events, we would generally consider impossible.
Fantasy makes these impossibilities happen "without hesitation, without doubt", says Attebery (1980). It makes us believe that such things could under any circumstances, come true.
Reference
Attebery, B. (1980). The Fantasy of Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Well summed up, Jess. SF likes to extrapolate from present trends and thus stay plausible. SF often works from 'what if' questions. For example, The Man in the High Castle attempts to answer the question, 'what if Germany and Japan won WW2?' but also note that the fantastic world of Fantasy have to be internally consistent.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jess, "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" - especially the "development of an impossibility". I think as humans, we are drawn to the impossibilities and attempting to make them possible. We can see this in all areas of life, not just writing. Take flying for example, so often people have tried to 'fly' without the use of engines, just by using nature. We see this in Fantasy too. In Earth Wind, we saw shapeshifters, turning into eagles that soared the skies. I think this fascination of the human race today has lead to wide range of creativity, which at times, seems limitless. We're seeing now, that other mystical creatures are being heightened, such as the vampires and werewolves in Twilight, or the wizards in Harry Potter - most film and novels out there today have this sense of heightened reality.
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