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fan·ta·sy noun 1. imagination, especially when extravagant and unrestrained. 2. the forming of mental images, especially wondrous or strange fancies; imaginative conceptualizing. (Dictionary.com) A literary genre characterized by fantastical elements fantasy-backgrounds.com

Elements of Fantasy Often inspired by folklore and mythology New worlds are created with rules different from our own Sometimes inspired by history—especially Medieval times Magic is a common element, as are fantastical creatures

Defining Fantasy One of the oldest genres Ancient stories are often considered fantasy Beowulf, the Odyssey, King Arthur, etc. The boundaries aren’t always clear between fantasy and other genres It is not very well defined, except that fantasy stories must be very imaginative, and easily distinguished from realistic stories. bin/rackham.pl?../galleries/rackham/ring/ring21.jpg

The Hero vs. the Dark Lord Good vs. Evil is one of the most common themes in Fantasy Evil is often personified by a single person: the “dark lord” Sauron in Lord of the Rings Voldemort in Harry Potter Darth Vader in Star Wars skyscrapercity.com

Quest (Hero’s Journey) The hero of a fantasy story often must go on a quest in order to beat the dark lord This is a common theme in many literary genres because good vs. evil is such an old theme in literature! This is prominent in the Lord of the Rings books, but is common in most fantasy

Magic Most fantasy stories involve some form of magic Often, the type of magic and the rules surrounding it are unique to the world of a particular story Magic is usually drawn from some sort of larger power In the worlds of Harry Potter, Earthsea, and many others, magic relies on knowing some form of ancient language

Fantasy Races Elves & fairies Dwarves Gnomes Halflings (Hobbits) Dragons In Earthsea, races are important, but are basically human. Le Guin purposely makes most of her characters non- white because she is annoyed that many fantasy worlds resemble Medieval Europe meantimelife.wordpress.com

Earthsea In Malay/Indonesian, “tanah air” means homeland or motherland, but literally translates as “earth water” We don’t know for sure, but this may be the origin of the name Most people are “red- brown” in coloring Magic comes from personal power and true names

Ursula K LeGuin Has won many literary awards Writes novels & short stories Works explore Taoism, anarchy, race, feminism, psychology, and queer theory Father was an anthropologist Wrote SIX Earthsea books oregonlive.com

The only questions that really matter are the ones you ask yourself. ~U.K. LeGuin The trouble is that we have a bad habit… of considering happiness as something rather stupid. …But to praise despair is to condemn delight, to embrace violence is to lose hold of everything else. ~U.K. LeGuin, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"