Rhetorics of Fantasy

Rhetorics of Fantasy

Author: Farah Mendlesohn

Publisher: Wesleyan University Press

Published: 2014-01-01

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0819573914

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This sweeping study of fantasy literature offers “new and often surprising readings of works both familiar and obscure. A fine critical work” (Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts). Transcending arguments over the definition of fantasy literature, Rhetorics of Fantasy introduces a provocative new system of classification for the genre. Drawing on nearly two hundred examples of modern fantasy, author Farah Mendlesohn identifies four categories—portal-quest, immersive, intrusion, and liminal—that arise out of the relationship of the protagonist to the fantasy world. Using these sets, Mendlesohn argues that the author's stylistic decisions are then shaped by the inescapably political demands of the category in which they choose to write. Each chapter covers at least twenty books in detail, ranging from nineteenth-century fantasy and horror to some of the best works in the contemporary field. Mendlesohn discusses works by more than one hundred authors, including Lloyd Alexander, Peter Beagle, Marion Zimmer Bradley, John Crowley, Stephen R. Donaldson, Stephen King, C. S. Lewis, Gregory Maguire, Robin McKinley, China Miéville, Suniti Namjoshi, Philip Pullman, J. K. Rowling, Sheri S. Tepper, J. R. R. Tolkien, Tad Williams, and many others.


Book Synopsis Rhetorics of Fantasy by : Farah Mendlesohn

Download or read book Rhetorics of Fantasy written by Farah Mendlesohn and published by Wesleyan University Press. This book was released on 2014-01-01 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This sweeping study of fantasy literature offers “new and often surprising readings of works both familiar and obscure. A fine critical work” (Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts). Transcending arguments over the definition of fantasy literature, Rhetorics of Fantasy introduces a provocative new system of classification for the genre. Drawing on nearly two hundred examples of modern fantasy, author Farah Mendlesohn identifies four categories—portal-quest, immersive, intrusion, and liminal—that arise out of the relationship of the protagonist to the fantasy world. Using these sets, Mendlesohn argues that the author's stylistic decisions are then shaped by the inescapably political demands of the category in which they choose to write. Each chapter covers at least twenty books in detail, ranging from nineteenth-century fantasy and horror to some of the best works in the contemporary field. Mendlesohn discusses works by more than one hundred authors, including Lloyd Alexander, Peter Beagle, Marion Zimmer Bradley, John Crowley, Stephen R. Donaldson, Stephen King, C. S. Lewis, Gregory Maguire, Robin McKinley, China Miéville, Suniti Namjoshi, Philip Pullman, J. K. Rowling, Sheri S. Tepper, J. R. R. Tolkien, Tad Williams, and many others.


Rhetorics of Fantasy

Rhetorics of Fantasy

Author: Farah Mendlesohn

Publisher: Wesleyan University Press

Published: 2008-04-30

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0819568686

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Examining fantasy literature


Book Synopsis Rhetorics of Fantasy by : Farah Mendlesohn

Download or read book Rhetorics of Fantasy written by Farah Mendlesohn and published by Wesleyan University Press. This book was released on 2008-04-30 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining fantasy literature


The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature

The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature

Author: Edward James

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2012-01-26

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1107493730

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Fantasy is a creation of the Enlightenment, and the recognition that excitement and wonder can be found in imagining impossible things. From the ghost stories of the Gothic to the zombies and vampires of twenty-first-century popular literature, from Mrs Radcliffe to Ms Rowling, the fantastic has been popular with readers. Since Tolkien and his many imitators, however, it has become a major publishing phenomenon. In this volume, critics and authors of fantasy look at its history since the Enlightenment, introduce readers to some of the different codes for the reading and understanding of fantasy, and examine some of the many varieties and subgenres of fantasy; from magical realism at the more literary end of the genre, to paranormal romance at the more popular end. The book is edited by the same pair who produced The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction (winner of a Hugo Award in 2005).


Book Synopsis The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature by : Edward James

Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature written by Edward James and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-01-26 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fantasy is a creation of the Enlightenment, and the recognition that excitement and wonder can be found in imagining impossible things. From the ghost stories of the Gothic to the zombies and vampires of twenty-first-century popular literature, from Mrs Radcliffe to Ms Rowling, the fantastic has been popular with readers. Since Tolkien and his many imitators, however, it has become a major publishing phenomenon. In this volume, critics and authors of fantasy look at its history since the Enlightenment, introduce readers to some of the different codes for the reading and understanding of fantasy, and examine some of the many varieties and subgenres of fantasy; from magical realism at the more literary end of the genre, to paranormal romance at the more popular end. The book is edited by the same pair who produced The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction (winner of a Hugo Award in 2005).


Children's Fantasy Literature

Children's Fantasy Literature

Author: Michael Levy

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2016-04-16

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 1316483134

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Fantasy has been an important and much-loved part of children's literature for hundreds of years, yet relatively little has been written about it. Children's Fantasy Literature traces the development of the tradition of the children's fantastic - fictions specifically written for children and fictions appropriated by them - from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century, examining the work of Lewis Carroll, L. Frank Baum, C. S. Lewis, Roald Dahl, J. K. Rowling and others from across the English-speaking world. The volume considers changing views on both the nature of the child and on the appropriateness of fantasy for the child reader, the role of children's fantasy literature in helping to develop the imagination, and its complex interactions with issues of class, politics and gender. The text analyses hundreds of works of fiction, placing each in its appropriate context within the tradition of fantasy literature.


Book Synopsis Children's Fantasy Literature by : Michael Levy

Download or read book Children's Fantasy Literature written by Michael Levy and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-04-16 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fantasy has been an important and much-loved part of children's literature for hundreds of years, yet relatively little has been written about it. Children's Fantasy Literature traces the development of the tradition of the children's fantastic - fictions specifically written for children and fictions appropriated by them - from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century, examining the work of Lewis Carroll, L. Frank Baum, C. S. Lewis, Roald Dahl, J. K. Rowling and others from across the English-speaking world. The volume considers changing views on both the nature of the child and on the appropriateness of fantasy for the child reader, the role of children's fantasy literature in helping to develop the imagination, and its complex interactions with issues of class, politics and gender. The text analyses hundreds of works of fiction, placing each in its appropriate context within the tradition of fantasy literature.


Palimpsest

Palimpsest

Author: Catherynne Valente

Publisher: Spectra

Published: 2009-02-24

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 0553906291

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In the Cities of Coin and Spice and In the Night Garden introduced readers to the unique and intoxicating imagination of Catherynne M. Valente. Now she weaves a lyrically erotic spell of a place where the grotesque and the beautiful reside and the passport to our most secret fantasies begins with a stranger’s kiss.… Between life and death, dreaming and waking, at the train stop beyond the end of the world is the city of Palimpsest. To get there is a miracle, a mystery, a gift, and a curse—a voyage permitted only to those who’ve always believed there’s another world than the one that meets the eye. Those fated to make the passage are marked forever by a map of that wondrous city tattooed on their flesh after a single orgasmic night. To this kingdom of ghost trains, lion-priests, living kanji, and cream-filled canals come four travelers: Oleg, a New York locksmith; the beekeeper November; Ludovico, a binder of rare books; and a young Japanese woman named Sei. They’ve each lost something important—a wife, a lover, a sister, a direction in life—and what they will find in Palimpsest is more than they could ever imagine.


Book Synopsis Palimpsest by : Catherynne Valente

Download or read book Palimpsest written by Catherynne Valente and published by Spectra. This book was released on 2009-02-24 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Cities of Coin and Spice and In the Night Garden introduced readers to the unique and intoxicating imagination of Catherynne M. Valente. Now she weaves a lyrically erotic spell of a place where the grotesque and the beautiful reside and the passport to our most secret fantasies begins with a stranger’s kiss.… Between life and death, dreaming and waking, at the train stop beyond the end of the world is the city of Palimpsest. To get there is a miracle, a mystery, a gift, and a curse—a voyage permitted only to those who’ve always believed there’s another world than the one that meets the eye. Those fated to make the passage are marked forever by a map of that wondrous city tattooed on their flesh after a single orgasmic night. To this kingdom of ghost trains, lion-priests, living kanji, and cream-filled canals come four travelers: Oleg, a New York locksmith; the beekeeper November; Ludovico, a binder of rare books; and a young Japanese woman named Sei. They’ve each lost something important—a wife, a lover, a sister, a direction in life—and what they will find in Palimpsest is more than they could ever imagine.


The Ambiguity of Play

The Ambiguity of Play

Author: Brian Sutton-Smith

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2009-06-30

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 0674044185

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Sutton-Smith focuses on play theories rooted in seven distinct "rhetorics"--The ancient discourses of fate, power, communal identity, and frivolity and the modern discourses of progress, the imaginary, and the self. In a sweeping analysis that moves from the question of play in child development to the implications of play for the Western work ethic, he explores the values, historical sources, and interests that have dictated the terms and forms of play put forth in each discourse's "objective" theory


Book Synopsis The Ambiguity of Play by : Brian Sutton-Smith

Download or read book The Ambiguity of Play written by Brian Sutton-Smith and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sutton-Smith focuses on play theories rooted in seven distinct "rhetorics"--The ancient discourses of fate, power, communal identity, and frivolity and the modern discourses of progress, the imaginary, and the self. In a sweeping analysis that moves from the question of play in child development to the implications of play for the Western work ethic, he explores the values, historical sources, and interests that have dictated the terms and forms of play put forth in each discourse's "objective" theory


Strategies of Fantasy

Strategies of Fantasy

Author: Brian Attebery

Publisher:

Published: 1992-03-22

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13:

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In the early chapters, the author sorts out some of the confusion about the term fantasy, distinguishing the fantastic as a technique from fantasy as a popular formula and a literary genre. Looking back to the early reception of Tolkien's trend-setting epic fantasy, he points out how critical theory at the time was simply unable to account for either the strengths or the weaknesses of The Lord of the Rings. By contrast, critical methods developed for coping with postmodernist metafictions are shown to apply equally well to the genre of fantasy. Having worked primarily with older fantasies in his study of The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature, Attebery focuses here on important recent examples such as Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, Suzette Haden Elgin's Ozark Trilogy, and John Crowley's Little, Big.


Book Synopsis Strategies of Fantasy by : Brian Attebery

Download or read book Strategies of Fantasy written by Brian Attebery and published by . This book was released on 1992-03-22 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early chapters, the author sorts out some of the confusion about the term fantasy, distinguishing the fantastic as a technique from fantasy as a popular formula and a literary genre. Looking back to the early reception of Tolkien's trend-setting epic fantasy, he points out how critical theory at the time was simply unable to account for either the strengths or the weaknesses of The Lord of the Rings. By contrast, critical methods developed for coping with postmodernist metafictions are shown to apply equally well to the genre of fantasy. Having worked primarily with older fantasies in his study of The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature, Attebery focuses here on important recent examples such as Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, Suzette Haden Elgin's Ozark Trilogy, and John Crowley's Little, Big.


Ancient Symbology in Fantasy Literature

Ancient Symbology in Fantasy Literature

Author: William Indick

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2014-01-10

Total Pages: 205

ISBN-13: 0786492333

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Archetypal symbols in ancient myths as well as the folktales, nursery stories, and fairytales of the Middle Ages are the blueprints of modern fantasy literature. This book explores the modern dreamscape of present-day fantasy, using the ancient myths and traditional fairytales as guides and shining the light of psychological insight onto every symbolic figure and theme encountered. Chapters are dedicated to all of the significant archetypes: heroes and princesses, fairy godmothers and evil witches, wizards and dark lords, magic, and magical beasts are all explored. The analyses and interpretations are informed by classic psychoanalytic studies; the works of fantasy literature examined in this book include the most popular and influential in the genre.


Book Synopsis Ancient Symbology in Fantasy Literature by : William Indick

Download or read book Ancient Symbology in Fantasy Literature written by William Indick and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-01-10 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Archetypal symbols in ancient myths as well as the folktales, nursery stories, and fairytales of the Middle Ages are the blueprints of modern fantasy literature. This book explores the modern dreamscape of present-day fantasy, using the ancient myths and traditional fairytales as guides and shining the light of psychological insight onto every symbolic figure and theme encountered. Chapters are dedicated to all of the significant archetypes: heroes and princesses, fairy godmothers and evil witches, wizards and dark lords, magic, and magical beasts are all explored. The analyses and interpretations are informed by classic psychoanalytic studies; the works of fantasy literature examined in this book include the most popular and influential in the genre.


Here Be Dragons

Here Be Dragons

Author: Stefan Ekman

Publisher: Wesleyan University Press

Published: 2013-02-19

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 081957323X

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First in-depth study of the use of landscape in fantasy literature


Book Synopsis Here Be Dragons by : Stefan Ekman

Download or read book Here Be Dragons written by Stefan Ekman and published by Wesleyan University Press. This book was released on 2013-02-19 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First in-depth study of the use of landscape in fantasy literature


Writing Their Bodies

Writing Their Bodies

Author: Sarah Klotz

Publisher: University Press of Colorado

Published: 2021-02-01

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 164642087X

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Between 1879 and 1918, the Carlisle Indian Industrial School housed over 10,000 students and served as a prototype for boarding schools on and off reservations across the continent. Writing Their Bodies analyzes pedagogical philosophies and curricular materials through the perspective of written and visual student texts created during the school’s first three-year term. Using archival and decolonizing methodologies, Sarah Klotz historicizes remedial literacy education and proposes new ways of reading Indigenous rhetorics to expand what we know about the Native American textual tradition. This approach tracks the relationship between curriculum and resistance and enumerates an anti-assimilationist methodology for teachers and scholars of writing in contemporary classrooms. From the Carlisle archive emerges the concept of a rhetoric of relations, a set of Native American communicative practices that circulates in processes of intercultural interpretation and world-making. Klotz explores how embodied and material practices allowed Indigenous rhetors to maintain their cultural identities in the off-reservation boarding school system and critiques the settler fantasy of benevolence that propels assimilationist models of English education. Writing Their Bodies moves beyond language and literacy education where educators standardize and limit their students’ means of communication and describes the extraordinary expressive repositories that Indigenous rhetors draw upon to survive, persist, and build futures in colonial institutions of education.


Book Synopsis Writing Their Bodies by : Sarah Klotz

Download or read book Writing Their Bodies written by Sarah Klotz and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2021-02-01 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between 1879 and 1918, the Carlisle Indian Industrial School housed over 10,000 students and served as a prototype for boarding schools on and off reservations across the continent. Writing Their Bodies analyzes pedagogical philosophies and curricular materials through the perspective of written and visual student texts created during the school’s first three-year term. Using archival and decolonizing methodologies, Sarah Klotz historicizes remedial literacy education and proposes new ways of reading Indigenous rhetorics to expand what we know about the Native American textual tradition. This approach tracks the relationship between curriculum and resistance and enumerates an anti-assimilationist methodology for teachers and scholars of writing in contemporary classrooms. From the Carlisle archive emerges the concept of a rhetoric of relations, a set of Native American communicative practices that circulates in processes of intercultural interpretation and world-making. Klotz explores how embodied and material practices allowed Indigenous rhetors to maintain their cultural identities in the off-reservation boarding school system and critiques the settler fantasy of benevolence that propels assimilationist models of English education. Writing Their Bodies moves beyond language and literacy education where educators standardize and limit their students’ means of communication and describes the extraordinary expressive repositories that Indigenous rhetors draw upon to survive, persist, and build futures in colonial institutions of education.