The Impulse of Fantasy Literature

by Colin Manlove

This book grew out of the author's wish to go beyond a formal definition of fantasy to discover a basic urge and interest common to the genre. He finds this urge to be the celebration of identity. Fantasy is ultimately concerned to heighten and praise being, whether that being is God's creation, the world, or the creations of the fantasy writer themselves. This interest can take the form of direct eulogy or of more unconscious fascination. It is seen in fantasy's conservatism and its frequently elegiac mode, and is demonstrated through its formal characteristics such as circular structure and the use of juxtaposition to heighten individuality. It is more overtly present in modern than in pre-1800 fantasy, partly because modern fantasy developed as a Romantic reaction against technology and everything that reduced direct contact between people and the environment.These aspects of fantasy are illustrated from detailed discussion of the tales of Grimm, Walter de la Mare's Told Again, W. M. Thackeray's The Rose and the Ring, Charles Williams's prose fantasies, Ursula le Guin's Earthsea trilogy, E. Nesbit's magic books, George MacDonald's Phantastes and Lilith, T. H. White's The Once and Future King, Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast novels, William Morris's late romances, Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter , E. R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros , and Peter Beagle's The Last Unicorn . Together these authors and works provide a cross-section of what is a fundamentally panegyric genre demonstrating its variety, its strengths, and its limitations.

188 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1882

About the author

Colin Nicholas Manlove was a Scottih literary critic with a particular interest in fantasy.

Reviews

[M. M. J. Miguel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro de ensayos que se embarca en la idea de que la fantasía es en sí misma una poética de la conservación, de restauración, de dicotomías que se distancian entre sí y que en última instancia cada viaje épico, heroico y dentro del mundo de Faërie, debe estar bajo los lineamientos celebratorios del propio ser. La pérdida del ser es, para la fantasía, el mal encarnado, el crecimiento de lo que no se conoce, una otredad que no puede concebirse incluso bajo las aristas de la imaginación; y ese verdadero problema con el que debe lidiar su poética a través de los mundos secundarios: el encuentro con la nada.

Me sorprende que con este tema tan específico no se mencionara La historia interminable, de Michael Ende. Por lo demás, es un libro para repasar varias obras desde este tópico, que si bien puede ser algo cansón incluso si las hemos leído, nos da un punto de partida para analizar las ideas objetivadas en estas obras literarias. Nada brillante, aclaro, pues a veces se deja llevar mucho por alguna idea preconcebida sobre la idea del autor a analizar, pero ameno como material de apoyo.

[G. Salter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Manlove is always interesting to read, particularly since he's willing to critique books that are considered canonical in the fantasy genre (The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, Ghormenghast by Mervyn Peake) and show their flaws as well as their strengths. Here he gives an interesting perspective on how wonder plays a key role in fantasy, showing how widely diverse authors explore it.
Well worth reading.