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Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction which involves themes of the supernatural, magic, and imaginary worlds and creatures.[1][2]
Its roots are in oral traditions, which became fantasy literature and drama. From the twentieth century, it has expanded further into various media, including film, television, graphic novels, manga, animations, and video games.
The expression fantastic literature is also often used to refer to this genre by the Anglophone literary critics.[3][4][5][6] An archaic spelling for the term is phantasy.[7]
Fantasy is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the absence of scientific or macabre themes, although these can occur in fantasy. In popular culture, the fantasy genre predominantly features settings that emulate Earth, but with a sense of otherness.[8] In its broadest sense, however, fantasy consists of works by many writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians from ancient myths and legends to many recent and popular works.
- ^ "Fantasy". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- ^ "Definition of FANTASY". www.merriam-webster.com. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ Rabkin, Eric (1975). The Fantastic in Literature. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- ^ Jackson, Rosemary (1981). Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion. London: Methuen.
- ^ Armitt, Lucy (1996). Theorising the Fantastic. London: Arnold.
- ^ Sandner, David (2004). Fantastic Literature: A Critical Reader. Westport: CT: Praeger.
- ^ "fantasy". Encyclopedia Britannica. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- ^ Saricks, Joyce G. (2001). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction. American Library Association. pp. 36–60. ISBN 0-8389-0803-9. OCLC 46769544.