week 4 ✿

How does Tolkien (1964) define fantasy? Compare and contrast this to the other definitions from last week’s reader?

The human mind is capable of forming mental images of things not actually present (page 44). Tolkien defines fantasy as the making or glimpsing of other-worlds (Page 40). In other words, fantasy is everything that we imagined and they do not exist. This is different to the definition we found in week 3’s readings. In week 3’s definition science fiction does not belong to fantasy. However, in Tolkien’s definition science fiction can be fantasy as some of the stuff does not exist.

I agree with Tolkien, everything that imagined by our brain and do not exist in real world should be classified as fantasy. In the past, people would consider travelling in the sky as fantasy as it was impossible in the past. Thanks to technology, in the present it is possible for us to travel in the sky and it is no longer a fantasy. My point is that fantasy may one day became true although some may never became true.


Reference:

Tolkien,J.R.R(1988;1964).Tree and leaf.London:Unwin Hyman.