What genre?
Defining ‘Fantasy’
 Fantasy, a term used (in the context of children’s
literature) to describe works of fiction, written
by a specific author (i.e. not traditional) and
usually novel-length, which involve the
supernatural or some other unreal element.
 Good definition???
 Counterarguments:
– not only children read the books of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings
– quite vague terms: unreal/supernatural
– no mentioning of film adaptation
Good definition by Tolkien
What really happens is that the story-maker proves a
successful “sub-creator”. He makes a Secondary
World which your mind can enter. Inside it, what he
relates is “true”: it accords with the laws of that
world. You therefore believe it, while you are, as it were,
inside. The moment disbelief arises, the spell is broken;
the magic, or rather art, has failed.
Can someone explain this in his own words?
We will use Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring &
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as case-studies
The authors: Rowling and Tolkien
Is this world totally different?
Mimesis and Magic/ Realism vs. Fantasy
 Hogwarts: Harry’s school of wizardry has a Great Hall
with:
– normal christmas trees
– normal benches
– normal floors…
 The shire and the rest of Middle-earth can be drawn
into a ‘normal’ map, has normal trees and rivers…
= mimesis
BUT The Great Hall seems to be having no roof and the
Hobbits live in extraordinary looking houses
= magic
Differences
Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter
• High Fantasy
• Contemporary Fantasy
• Closed world
• Open world
• Shift from one world to another
with guide Hagrid
!Movie excerpt (3’ movie 1)
• Epic genre
• Quest
• ‘Bildungsroman’: personal quest
Fantasy vocabulary
• Plot: a set of connected events that a story, film, etc. is based on
• Recurrence: an occasion when something that has happened
before, happens again
• Protagonist: the most important character
• Antagonist = Opponent
• Space: all of the space in which everything exists, and in which
everything has a position or direction.
• Mission: something you feel you must do because it is your
duty.
• Tension: a situation in which different needs, forces, or
influences pull in different directions and make the situation
difficult.
• Closure/Resolution: the act of finding a way to deal with a
difficulty.
Similarities
Both movies/books have
1/ Recurrency Plot: peace-chaos-peace
2/ Romantic Heroes: more abilities than humans but no Gods
3/ Fantastical elements: HP:Quidditch, posions, ministry of
wizardry, transfiguration,…
LOTR: hobbits/Nazgul/orcs/eternal life/…
4/ Included Subgenres: seriesbooks, ghost-stories and horror
(excerpt smeagol turns into Gollem 3’-6’ 3rd movie)
5/ Fantastic languages: Sindarin, Quenya: elves languages +
Entish (tree language)in LOTR / English-Latin magical lang.
POTTER (vingardium leviosa)
6/ Foreshadowing of things to come
Opposites attract?
•
Good versus evil: give your opinion:
‘While Good can imagine what it would look like to be Evil, Evil
can not imagine what it would look like to be Good.’
•
The difference is actually not that clear:
!! Many characters are each others opposites:
1. Harry Potter for example has the same wand as Voldemort
himself. See quote:Mr. Ollivander: It's curious that you should be destined
for this wand when its brother gave you that scar.
2.
A lot of Tolkien’s characters are also each others opposites:
the orcs are fallen elves / Gollem vs. Smeagol/…
Heroes
•
1.
LOTR hero(es)?
Aragorn: archetypal epic hero (he is obviously
courageous and destined to become King)
2. Frodo: archetypal fairy-tale hero (unlikely doer of
great deeds)
3. Tolkien called Sam the chief hero: do you agree?
Consider this: ‘I can’t carry the ring for you, but I can
carry you’
Is Harry Potter the only hero in J.K. Rowling’s tales?
Understanding LOTR
Watch trailer! (movie 1)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Space idyllic Shire vs. Mordor= exemplary of peace vs. Chaos
Receiver (Frodo) learns about the problem of evil Dark Lord
Sauron from Messenger (Gandalf)
Mission/Object: “the ring must be destroyed” (tension)
Hero (protagonist) gets mission 1st Gandalf/ than Galadriel
“this task was appointed to you”and the community appoints
“the most unlikely person imaginable”
“I can not do this alone” Helpers are needed
(Aragorn/Gimli/Sam/Legolas/Gandalf/Galadriel…)
Opponents (antagonists): work against the hero
(Sauron/Nazgul/Orks “evil that does not sleep”)
Tension in space and characters: Empathy for good cause:
“the ring is trying to get back to its master”
At the end of the cycle the ring is destroyed: mission
completed: reader wants Closure
Plot exercise
Mission
Receiver/Hero
Resolution/Closure
Space
Helpers
Opponents
Understanding Harry Potter
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Space: England of all Muggles vs. Hogwarts
Hero (Harry) has two missions: achieving true identity of
wizard “ you’re a wizard, Harry”+ protecting magical world
from evil Voldemort because he survived him “the boy who
lived”
Mission: keep the Philosopher’s Stone from Voldemort
otherwise V. would revive
Helpers: All Gryffindor kids(Ron, Hermione,..)/Prof.
Dumbledore, Prof. Snape and Prof. McGonagall/ Hagrid/…
Opponents: Voldemort, the Malfoy’s, Prof. Quirell: for
supporting the Dark Arts AND the Dudley’s: not accepting
his identity
Harry gets the stone+ wins the House Cup: everything is
restored to peace
Fun, fun, fun
• www.dreuzels.com and www.harrypotterfreakz.com give you a lot of extra
information on all things Potter.
• Test your Potter knowledge:
http://www.emse.fr/~yukna/harrypotter/Harryquiz.htm
Sources
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia_(film_series)
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_In_Wonderland
 http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/features/lordoftheringstrilogy/lesso
ns
 Jackson, Peter, The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
 Columbus, Chris,Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
 Rowling, J.K., Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.Bloomsbury, 1997.
 Verhaegen, Melissa, The story that lived. Onuitgegeven scriptie 2006.
 Keunen, Bart, Tijd voor een verhaal. Gent, Academia Press 2005, p.179.