Fantasy is widely considered to be one of the oldest genres
of storytelling. The oldest story known to mankind, the Epic of Gilgamesh, is a
fantasy. One can almost imagine ancient tribes, where the tribe elder sits with
the children, by the fire at night, telling stories of monsters who roam at the
edge of the forest.
Fantasy literature provides an avenue to explore facets of
humanity which are timeless and transcendent. The allegorical tales of Aesop,
the brave adventures of Ulysses, the justice of Arthur are all ancient stories,
which are adapted again and again, even to this day, because of how relevant
they are.
Fantasy, at its most crude form, can be seen as escapist.
Something so far removed from our world, that it forces us to escape the
troubles of this world. That is an allegation often laid upon the genre by
those who don’t consider it to be literature. However, if you look at the most
enduring fantasy literature, you will see that they deal with issues that are
quintessentially human. The Hobbits are the most mundane and physically weakest
race in Middle Earth, and yet, they were instrumental in getting rid of the One
Ring. Harry was a meek, orphan boy, who was neither the most powerful nor the
smartest wizard of his time and yet, he defeated the greatest dark wizard of
all time. And these are just the broadest subjects being tackled in fantasy. If
you dig a little deeper, you will find fantasy stories dealing with numerous real-world
issues, like racism and sexism (Wheel of Time), abuse of institutional
authority (His Dark Materials), economic divide (Mistborn) etc.
Fantasy can often lead us to truth which we were
oblivious to in the real life. By wearing the cloak of imagination, it often
brings to focus things that might otherwise blend in and be lost. Like the
great Neil Gaiman said, “Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and
dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and
ashes, and forgot.”
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