High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. High fantasy is usually set in an alternative, fictional ("secondary") world, rather than the "real" or "primary" world.

Characteristics

The term "high fantasy" was coined by Lloyd Alexander in a 1971 essay, "High Fantasy and Heroic Romance", which was originally given at the New England Round Table of Children's Librarians in October 1969. In this definition, Alexander was using the framework Northrop Frye set forth in his Anatomy of Criticism, particularly Frye's Theory of Modes; High Fantasy being fantasy in the High Mimetic Mode. It typically is not considered to include the sword and sorcery genre.

The hero often begins as a naïve or childlike figure but is forced by circumstances to mature rapidly, experiencing a considerable gain in fighting or problem-solving abilities along the way. The progress of the story leads to the character's learning the nature of the unknown forces against them, that they constitute a force with great power and malevolence. The villains in such stories are usually completely evil and unrelatable.

The romances of William Morris, such as The Well at the World's End, set in an imaginary medieval world, are sometimes regarded as the first examples of high fantasy.<!-- https://books.google.com/books?id=3r6FBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT15 --> Other early examples of the genre are some works of American novelist James Branch Cabell which were set in a fictional world inspired by medieval France and published starting in 1919, known collectively as Biography of the Life of Manuel. E.R. Eddison's novels The Worm Ouroboros (1922) and the Zimiamvian Trilogy (1935–1958) are also important in epic fantasy.

The works of English writer J. R. R. Tolkien, especially The Lord of the Rings (1954–55), are regarded as archetypal works of high fantasy. "Good versus evil" is a common one in high fantasy, and defining the character of evil is often an important theme in a work of high fantasy, such as The Lord of the Rings. The importance of the concept of good and evil can be regarded as the distinguishing mark between high fantasy and sword and sorcery. In many works of high fantasy, this conflict marks a deep concern with moral issues; in other works, the conflict is a power struggle, with, for instance, wizards behaving irresponsibly whether they are "good" or "evil".

Game settings

Role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons with campaign settings like Dragonlance by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis and Forgotten Realms by Ed Greenwood are a common basis for many fantasy books and many other authors continue to contribute to the settings.

See also

  • List of genres
  • List of high fantasy fiction

References

  • "Fantasy Genre Lecture"—A paper by Michael Joseph discussing high fantasy and referencing Alexander's theories, via Rutgers' School of Communication and Information.
  • "The Flat-Heeled Muse" by Lloyd Alexander, the inventor of the term "high fantasy", discusses fantasy world-building and "the problems and disciplines of fantasy"
  • "Fantasy book writing: 7 tips"—Now Novel discusses the origin of the term, referencing Lloyd Alexander and offering high fantasy writing tips