Low Fantasy is a sub-genre of Fantasy fiction in which the setting is the real world with the addition of fantastic elements. The word "low" is used to indicate the quantity of fantasy in a work and not the quality. The subgenre was created when overall fantasy genre split into high and low fantasy in the early twentieth century. Within the fantasy genre, low fantasy is the opposite of high fantasy, which takes place, partly or entirely, in a completely fictional setting.
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Definition
Low fantasy contrasts with the sub-genre of High fantasy. Low fantasy is characterised by being set in the real ("Primary") world, or a rational and familiar fictional world, with the inclusion of magical elements. The opposite, high fantasy, is set in an alternative, entirely fictional ("Secondary") world with its own, albeit internally-consistent, rules that separate it from the real world. Low fantasy can be described as non-rational events occurring in a rational setting.[1][2][3] It is important to note that the use of the word "low" is not an indication of quality but of the relative level of "fantasy" contained within a particular work of fiction.[4][5]
History of low fantasy
Fantasy fiction diverged into the two subgenres, high and low, after the Edwardian era. Low fantasy itself diverged into further subgenres in the subsequent decades.[6]
Distinguishing between subgenres
High and low fantasy are distinguished as being set, respectively, in an alternative "secondary" world or in the real "primary" world. In many works, the distinction between whether the setting is the primary or secondary world, and therefore whether it is low or high fantasy, can be unclear. The secondary world may take three forms:[3]
- Primary does not exist (e.g. The Lord of the Rings)
- Entered through a portal from the primary world (e.g. The Chronicles of Narnia)
- World-within-a-world (e.g. Harry Potter)
J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is set in Earth's past but the setting, Middle-earth, is sufficiently divergent from the reality to be classed as a secondary world and hence high fantasy. Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials is largely set in an alternative Oxfordshire, a real location, but the fact that it is an alternative world at all places it in the high fantasy subgenre. J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series is again set in the real world; however, the primary setting, mostly the school Hogwarts, is physically separated from the real world and becomes a "world-within-a-world." Hogwarts is therefore as much of an alternative world as C. S. Lewis' Narnia, which means that both series are in the high fantasy subgenre.[3]
Low fantasy in gaming
Low fantasy exists in role-playing games such as Shadowrun, Hârn, Seventh Sea, and the products of many d20 manufacturers like White Wolf and Skirmisher Publishing LLC. Examples in computer and video games include the Myth series, Darklands, and Shadow Hearts.
Examples
- The Borrowers by Mary Norton[6]
- The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper[3]
- The Doll's House by Rumer Godden[6]
- Five Children and It by E. Nesbit[3]
- The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks[6]
- Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren[6]
- The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo[3]
- Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit[2]
See also
- Contemporary fantasy, which is set in the real world but may, in some cases, include high fantasy
References
- ^ Buss, Kathleen; Karnowski, Lee (2000). Reading and Writing Literary Genres. International Reading Assoc.. p. 114. ISBN 9780872072572.
- ^ a b Perry, Phyllis Jean (2003). Teaching Fantasy Novels. Libraries Unlimited. p. vi. ISBN 9781563089879.
- ^ a b c d e f Gamble, Nikki; Yates, Sally (2008). Exploring Children's Literature. SAGE Publications Ltd. pp. 102–103. ISBN 9781412930130.
- ^ Oziewicz, Marek (2008). One Earth, One People. McFarland & Co. p. 78. ISBN 9780786431359.
- ^ Boyer, Robert H.; Zahorski, Kenneth J. (1978). The Fantastic Imagination II. Avon. p. 2. ISBN 9780380415335.
- ^ a b c d e Jean-François, Leroux (2004). "The World Is Its Own Place". in Jean-François, Leroux; La Bossière, Camille R.. Worlds of Wonder. University of Ottawa. p. 192. ISBN 9780776605708.
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