Medieval History
For the second semester in a row, I'm teaching T. H. White's The Once and Future King, a book I first encountered 25 years ago, and haven't really thought about since. I have not been, surprisingly for a medieval lit and lang guy, a big fan of Arthurian literature. But I returned to the novel in part because the more I know, the more I appreciate, if not exactly like, the "Matter of Arthur." Further, I thought it might be a good doorway into things medieval for lower level undergrad students. So now it is part of the curriculum for the semester.
The book cover of this edition declares the book "a fantasy classic." In looking for some criticism of White's work, I didn't find much; but I did find a couple of people expressing puzzlement as to why White is not considered on the same level as Tolkien in terms of 20th century fantasy literature etc. And here I have a problem. Well, ok, several problems....
First, I would contest that Tolkien is fantasy, but that is a post for another time. Second, My question is what makes White fantasy? Well, first one has to determine what "fantasy" as a genre is. And that's where I have problems. These days, there seems to be a popular and academic definition to define anything containing supernatural power "fantasy" literature. Epic of Gilgamesh? Fantasy. Iliad and The Odyssey? Fantasy. Beowulf? Fantasy. One definition said that the genre was "any work of fiction in which the laws of nature are suspended or violated." Hmmm, so this includes a lot....James Fenimore Cooper has characters who leap distances that should a normal human being experience would shatter their bones. Suspension of natural law: so the Leatherstocking tales are Fantasy? Hamlet has a ghost: Fantasy? Defining the fantasy genre with such a wide inclusion seems to me to be a knee jerk reaction to the negative connotations to the fantasy genre. In the end though, watering down the genre to include Toni Morrison, Epic of Gilgamesh, David Eddings, and Hamlet all as "fantasy" does little to make the genre appear legitimate nor in describing what makes fantasy literature a viable, vibrant, and potentially interesting genre.
BUT, all of that is to get to the point. Once we stop trying to defend the Fantasy genre by making it so broad as to include just about everything and actually hammer out a workable definition or at least description of Fantasy that really describes it as a modern genre (just as epic can't really be epic without whether by placing it outside the known world or universe or in an alternative history in which the action is dependent on the radically different operation of forces in that world and removed from reality. And yes, I'm aware that such borders are nebulous and that one easily has genre mashups and the like.
So, T. H. White is retelling Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. As a result, there is some magic, though far less than in Malory. But the important thing is that White's Arthur is very much this world in this historical timeline and the main action of the story is very real, very this world. Merlin's "magic" is explained in mundane terms, and disappears after the first 25% of the story, and none of the action of the tale depends on that "magic". In fact, the only reason I can think of to call White's The Once and Future King "fantasy" beyond trying to make money by marketing is that its MEDIEVAL. Hence this post is my response.
Now, I have no issues with Fantasy literature. I do have an issue calling Medieval literature "fantasy". Because a work has swords does not make it a fantasy story. Because a story has medieval characters, themes, or backdrop, these elements do not make it a fantasy tale. I chafe at the consistent association of the medieval with "Fantasy" in the modern sense. They should not be linked. Star Wars is evidence of that. Anyway, thanks for reading....that's my point.
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- The Book Of Broken Promises: Prophecy By M.k. Hume
Prophecy: Clash of Kings by M.K. HumeThis is one of those books that I felt held so much promise within its ample pages. I have never read or come across any historical fiction that includes or is about the events leading up to Merlin's birth and...
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Medieval History
A Medievalism Post: What is Fantasy?
For the second semester in a row, I'm teaching T. H. White's The Once and Future King, a book I first encountered 25 years ago, and haven't really thought about since. I have not been, surprisingly for a medieval lit and lang guy, a big fan of Arthurian literature. But I returned to the novel in part because the more I know, the more I appreciate, if not exactly like, the "Matter of Arthur." Further, I thought it might be a good doorway into things medieval for lower level undergrad students. So now it is part of the curriculum for the semester.
The book cover of this edition declares the book "a fantasy classic." In looking for some criticism of White's work, I didn't find much; but I did find a couple of people expressing puzzlement as to why White is not considered on the same level as Tolkien in terms of 20th century fantasy literature etc. And here I have a problem. Well, ok, several problems....
First, I would contest that Tolkien is fantasy, but that is a post for another time. Second, My question is what makes White fantasy? Well, first one has to determine what "fantasy" as a genre is. And that's where I have problems. These days, there seems to be a popular and academic definition to define anything containing supernatural power "fantasy" literature. Epic of Gilgamesh? Fantasy. Iliad and The Odyssey? Fantasy. Beowulf? Fantasy. One definition said that the genre was "any work of fiction in which the laws of nature are suspended or violated." Hmmm, so this includes a lot....James Fenimore Cooper has characters who leap distances that should a normal human being experience would shatter their bones. Suspension of natural law: so the Leatherstocking tales are Fantasy? Hamlet has a ghost: Fantasy? Defining the fantasy genre with such a wide inclusion seems to me to be a knee jerk reaction to the negative connotations to the fantasy genre. In the end though, watering down the genre to include Toni Morrison, Epic of Gilgamesh, David Eddings, and Hamlet all as "fantasy" does little to make the genre appear legitimate nor in describing what makes fantasy literature a viable, vibrant, and potentially interesting genre.
BUT, all of that is to get to the point. Once we stop trying to defend the Fantasy genre by making it so broad as to include just about everything and actually hammer out a workable definition or at least description of Fantasy that really describes it as a modern genre (just as epic can't really be epic without whether by placing it outside the known world or universe or in an alternative history in which the action is dependent on the radically different operation of forces in that world and removed from reality. And yes, I'm aware that such borders are nebulous and that one easily has genre mashups and the like.
So, T. H. White is retelling Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. As a result, there is some magic, though far less than in Malory. But the important thing is that White's Arthur is very much this world in this historical timeline and the main action of the story is very real, very this world. Merlin's "magic" is explained in mundane terms, and disappears after the first 25% of the story, and none of the action of the tale depends on that "magic". In fact, the only reason I can think of to call White's The Once and Future King "fantasy" beyond trying to make money by marketing is that its MEDIEVAL. Hence this post is my response.
Now, I have no issues with Fantasy literature. I do have an issue calling Medieval literature "fantasy". Because a work has swords does not make it a fantasy story. Because a story has medieval characters, themes, or backdrop, these elements do not make it a fantasy tale. I chafe at the consistent association of the medieval with "Fantasy" in the modern sense. They should not be linked. Star Wars is evidence of that. Anyway, thanks for reading....that's my point.
- Game Of Thrones: When The Medieval Fantasy Explains Realpolitik
The Iron Throne A Song of Ice and Fire in the original has become an HBO series, this dark fantasy saga written by George R. R. Martin, whose first volume appeared in 1996 and who must rely on Sept. 1 when completed. The story of the saga takes place...
- The Rampant Reviewer
I have finally set up a blog for all the reviews I do, and have done in the past, that I don't put on this A&M blog. All those other genres that I read seperate to Historical Fiction. There will be some historical fiction reviews on the...
- Hey Kid, Who Are You Really?
How does what we read as a child affect our reading tastes as adults? I often see my childhood self in what I read today. Something in the books that we were made to read forged a fire within me that still burns now.There are some mysteries I am yet to...
- The Book Of Broken Promises: Prophecy By M.k. Hume
Prophecy: Clash of Kings by M.K. HumeThis is one of those books that I felt held so much promise within its ample pages. I have never read or come across any historical fiction that includes or is about the events leading up to Merlin's birth and...
- First There Came Little Attila
Attila by William NapierThe first thing you should know if you are thinking about reading this book, or indeed purchasing it, is that it is not adult Attila. This is William Napier's interpretation of Attila's childhood. This book is about little...