EDU21ACL – Australian Children’s Literature FANTASY STORIES © La Trobe University, David Beagley 2006 Lecture 1 Defining Fantasy Worlds

Recommended Reading Charlotte Huck (1987) Modern Fantasy, in Children’s Literature in the Elementary School, pp CW Sullivan (2004) High Fantasy, in The International Companion Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature, ed. Peter Hunt, vol JRR Tolkien - On Fairy Stories in either Tree and Leaf or the Monsters and the Critics JRR Tolkien – Beowulf: the monsters and the critics in The Monsters and the Critics

Definition of Fantasy Stories with events/episodes/happenings not consistent with accepted reality (Huck) Question – Who determines what is consistent, accepted and reality?

The Extraordinary and the Probable Adventure Stories must balance the extraordinary and the probable by taking short steps through reality towards the exciting Fantasy Stories shift the balance in some literary aspects more towards the extraordinary BUT NOT ALL Is Adventure a distinct genre of literature, or is it a cross-genre style of writing? e.g. Adventure – plot Fantasy - setting

Primary World – Secondary World JRR Tolkien – “On Fairy Stories” … fairy-stories are not in normal English usage stories about fairies or elves but stories about Fairy, that is, Faërie, the realm or state in which fairies have their being Primary world & Secondary world are distinct and separate Secondary world is NOT “make believe”, “blossom and butterfly fairies” with implied inferiority and un- reality Historical World of Faërie - the Perilous Realm – the fey - with contiguous and equivalent reality Fantasy is its own reality, not an escape from, or pale shadow of, ours

The Imaginative Urge Key element is IMAGINATION the capability of “forming mental images of things not actually present” (Tolkien) Imagination is key to human understanding “to boldly go where no man has gone before” “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” (Lao Tzu, c.550 bc) Suspension of disbelief “Dreaming the Future” dreaming of future truths - dreaming the truth.

Dreaming of Future Truths Exploring the boundaries of reality and knowledge. Many great scientists (eg. Einstein, Galileo, Hawking) had powerful imaginations, dreamed up ideas rather than just testing reality. What could be, rather than what is Scientism, Empiricism, Humanism – “consistent with accepted reality” Imagination steps from reality, past the probable, past the possible, into the “what if …?”

Dreaming the Truth Using imagination to understand reality – speculative fiction Enables broad concepts (e.g. Good, Evil, Heroism, Truth etc.) to be explored and explained free of the grey areas of the everyday. Clear focus on specific aspects without the distractions of “relevance”. Removes from the immediate, fears to be overcome (the safety of distance). Allows narrative and structural contrivance for the “dreaming”.

The Other “the journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one’s feet” (Lao Tzu) Any journey begins from where you are Our world must be the starting point for “The Other” – the secondary world An aspect of accepted reality is altered eg time, place, (a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away), size, skills, identity, social fabric … But the rest of reality remains – contiguous, consistent, co-existent - the worlds walk side by side, “the inner consistency of reality” (Tolkien) Cosmography - Cosmology

The Inner Consistency of Reality Two possibilities in dealing with the inner consistency: Work from established reality of our world (with a few tweaks and variations) Create a totally new world (with its own consistency) Our world: Dragonkeeper, Runestone, Beowulf, Snugglepot & Cuddlepie, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Mary Poppins, Wind in the Willows Other world: Sabriel, Shædow Master, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Wizard of Earthsea Slip between: Keys to the Kingdom, Doorways, Wrinkle in time, Harry Potter, Wizard of Oz, Narnia

The Inner Consistency of Reality What is changed from the inner consistency we would expect in our world: Magic What is magic? – superpowers, paranormal, mystical, supernatural, outside the expected … a means of influencing the supernatural or natural world with mechanisms or techniques unfamiliar to most. Any technology, advanced beyond the experience of the observer, would appear magical

What if? - the Possibilities of Magic Fantasy stories are usually asking ‘What If … ?’ Creative questions such as: … animals could talk? … children could fly? … toys come alive? … you could travel across the galaxy? … you could become invisible? … magic was a human skill? … dragons (trolls, elves, orcs, psammeads) were? … and then what?