Introduction

This chapter discusses the theories of fantasy which have recently been put forward, their strengths, their weaknesses, and the ways in which the theories complement or challenge each other. Theories of fantasy can be characterized by what portion of the contextual system they emphasize, and by the amount of the system they encompass. The chapter then argues that recent theories of fantasy work from faulty assumptions about the nature of literature, so the author outlines what these premises seem to be. If we look beyond mimesis-oriented critical assumptions, we can see that fantasy is present in many literary forms throughout the ages. Comparing the explicit and implicit definitions of fantasy put forward by three such diverse critics as Harold Bloom, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Eric Rabkin is like trying to compare interferon, saffron, and platinum. Literature as creation is an approach that is open to the possibility of recognizing fantasy and making use of it.