FANTASY AND FAIRY TALES

MYTH AND FOLKLORE IIDEPEW AND FONTANAROSA

Fantasy And Fairy Tales

Fantasy: a literary work that contains highly unrealistic elements

Often contrasted and associated with

science fiction, in which the unrealistic

elements are given a scientific or

pseudo-science explanation

COMMON ELEMENTS OF

FAIRY TALES

Elements of Fairy Tales1. Take place in an unreal world-although may

be contained in a familiar setting

2. Have incredible or unreal characters: talking or magical beasts, monsters, witches, etc.

Elements of Fantasy3. Involve magical or fantastic events

4. Repetition of actions, phrases, and chants

5. Number 3 is especially common

Elements of Fairy Tales

6. Reflect some important aspect our world

7. Magic charms, disguises, spells, tricks

8. A lost or abandoned child

Elements of Fairy Tales

9. Suitor searching for a bride

10. Royalty and castles

11. Often contain symbolism/metaphorical aspects

Elements of Fairy Tales

12. Involve some sort of lesson or universal truth

13. Good and evil clearly identified

14. Problems overcome through bravery , cleverness, or other positive virtues

COMMON FAIRY TALE THEMES

Common Fantasy Themes/Motifs

1. Abandoned children

2. Deception and Reality

3. Good vs. evil

4. Loss and recovery

Common Fantasy Themes/Motifs

5. Parents who fail to protect their

children

6. The Persecuted Heroine

7. Redemption and Forgiveness

8. The Quest for Revenge

Common Fantasy Themes/Motifs9. Three wishes for saving/aiding a

magical/supernatural being

10. Supernatural beings who “know things” or perform magical tasks

TYPES OF FANTASY

TYPES OF FANTASY

Heroic FantasyWhat most people associate with fantasy

○ Typically a heroic character who embodies society’s ideals and values, may possess certain gifts or strengths

TYPES OF FANTASY

Heroic Fantasy○Usually contains a good and evil

conflict

○Often closely follows the hero’s journey

Examples?

TYPES OF FANTASY

TYPES OF FANTASYAdventure Fantasy

○ The focus is on adventure, although story contains some fantasy elements

Example: Tarzan, Indiana Jones

TYPES OF FANTASY

TYPES OF FANTASY

Christian Fantasy

○ Often an Allegory that contains a

message of religious value

Ex. Chronicles of Narnia

TYPES OF FANTASY Horror/Dark Fantasy

○ When fantasy crosses the line into

horror

Evil often triumphs

Stephen King “The Dark Tower” series

Terry Brooks “Running with the Demon”

“Coraline” by Neil Gaiman

TYPES OF FANTASY Humorous Fantasy

○ When fantasy involves parody, satire,

and slapstick

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett

Fantasy And Fairy Tales Humorous Fantasy

Satire: a literary technique which exposes the follies of its subject (for example, individuals, organizations, or states) to ridicule, often intended to provoke or prevent change.

Parody: a form of satire that imitates another work of art in order to ridicule it Examples:

Fantasy And Fairy TalesLegends○ Unverified popular stories handed down

over time about local heroes, events, places

May contain some elements of fact

Examples: King Arthur, Robin Hood

Fantasy And Fairy Tales

TYPES OF FANTASYFable○ A brief story with animal characters told

to express a moral

Fantasy And Fairy Tales

Fairy TalesA subgenre of folklore, along with

myths and legends

Faiere “the realm or state in which fairies have their being”

Fantasy And Fairy Tales

Fairy TalesFeature stark conflicts between good

and evil, with magic and luck determining usually happy endings

Fantasy And Fairy Tales

Fairy TalesUniversal human emotions appear

throughout fairy tales○ Love, hate, courage, kindness, cruelty

Elements of themes of fairy tales alive in plays, movies, and books for all ages

Fantasy And Fairy Tales

Fairy TalesUsually feature 1-dimensional

Archetypal characters and settings such as peasants, witches, royalty, small villages, castles and dark forests○ They don’t always have a moral lesson

Fantasy And Fairy Tales

Maslow’s Hierarchy of NeedsFive levels of basic needsHis theory contends that as humans

meet 'basic needs', they seek to satisfy successively 'higher needs' that occupy a set hierarchy

Fantasy And Fairy Tales

Physiological needsBiological needs:○ Oxygen, food, water, warmth, etc.○ Strongest needs

Fantasy And Fairy Tales

Safety NeedsNeed for security○ a properly-functioning society tends to

provide security to its members○ This level is more likely to be found in

children as they have a greater need to feel safe

Fantasy And Fairy Tales

Needs of Love, Affection, and BelongingnessBoth giving and receiving love,

affection, and a sense of belonging

Fantasy And Fairy Tales

Esteem Needstwo versions of esteem needs – ○ the need for the respect of and

recognition by others, ○ the need for self-respect

Fantasy And Fairy Tales

Self-ActualizationSelf-actualization is the instinctual

need of a human to make the most of their unique abilities

purpose, personal growth and realization of potentials. ○ An artist must paint, a musician must

make music, etc. if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself.

○ What a man can be, he must be.