Main types of fantastic literature they are the fantastic wonderful, the fantastic weird, the pure marvelous and the pure weird. Fantastic literature is a narrative genre that is characterized by having extraordinary elements in its stories.
It is generally associated with witchcraft and magical creatures, and is characterized by having their own worlds in which stories unfold.
The definition of this literary genre is imprecise. This is because no agreement has been reached regarding which element distinguishes this genre from others.
It has been alleged that the special thing about this genre is that it uses scenarios and supernatural elements.
But the extraordinary and magical elements are not precisely what makes it unique, since these elements are also present in religious narratives.
As it has been difficult to define, it is also complex to classify. However, the literary theorist Tzvetan Todorov, in his book Introduction to fantasy literature , established a definition of gender. This has been widely accepted by the guild.
Tzvetan Todorov
Todorov's theories are based on the fact that the distinguishing element of fantasy literature is"the marvelous."
In this same book he establishes a classification of 4 types of fantastic literature: the fantastic fantastic, the strange fantastic, the pure marvelous and the pure strange.
The 4 main types of fantasy literature
1- The fantastic wonderful
The narrations that maintain the marvelous without rational explanation are part of the marvelous fantastic.
The mystery is answered with another mystery, and the inexplicable facts are recognized and pointed out by leaving the common. But even so they are assumed as inexplicable.
The basis of this typology is acceptance rather than rationalization. The dead in love , By Théophile Gautier, is part of the wonderful fantastic narrative.
2- The fantastic thing strange
The fantastic stranger is deceptive. In appearance what counts is supernatural or magical. But towards the end the same writer unveils the mystery and gives a rational explanation for what happened.
Manuscript found in Zaragoza , By Jan Potocki, is an example of this kind of narrative.
3- The pure wonderful
In these narratives the wonder or the fantastic is assumed as part of everyday life. No character is affected by the surprise of something he thought was impossible. But it is designed to take the reader out of everyday life.
In these abound parallel worlds with different laws but similar to this world. Example of this type of narrative are The Chronicles of Narnia , By C.S Lewis.
4- The pure stranger
The fantasy of the pure stranger is that in which the extraordinary element is in the sum of the everyday.
These elements are so everyday that the events framed in this type of literature can be explained by nature.
That is, the combination of certain common facts becomes something out of the ordinary. But the extraordinary does not lie in what happens, but in the combination of the facts.
The mystery of the narrative is unveiled by the reader himself through the tools given by the writer.
The literature of horror stands out within this kind of fantasy. The sinking of the house Usher , by Edgar Allan Poe, is an example of this kind of fantastic literature.
References
- Fantasy literarydevices.com
- The fantasy gender. childliterature.net
- Fantasy; narrative gender (2017) britannica.com
- Types of fantastic literature. (2016) tipos.com.mx
- A beginning from the middle earth. (2009) journalism.uma.es