The realm of fantasy literature has always been that of the 'invisible', in as much as it has either been 'excluded' from traditional academic circles or at most marginalised from the general body of literary texts and considered a literature of 'escape'. This positioning of fantasy literature has caused a definition of the genre that is two-dimensional, and that perpetuates its alienation from the 'canon'. Although the works of fantasy literature by J.R.R. Tolkien are sometimes considered 'worthy' literature, but he is an exception in literary circles. In light of the 'invisible' position that fantasy literature occupies, this thesis attempts, through the use of Derridian and Jungian theory to (re)define fantasy literature by proposing a definition of fantasy literature that is three¬dimensional and that stems precisely from its 'invisible' position. The 'spherical' theory proposed illustrates how fantasy literature allows the reader to (re)examine his/her reality by presenting him/her with a reality that is different to his/her everyday concrete reality, but that at the same time shares the same moral, ethical and identity issues found in the 'visible' world and that the reader is faced with on a daily basis. The prolific use of magic in fantasy cannot be ignored and in this thesis, the use of magic within the texts and its function in a scientifi-rational world is focused on in detail. With each text, a different kind of magic is focused on. In Tolkien, the focus is on Alchemy and how the characters in his novels undergo an Alchemical transformation. The Tolkien texts that are focussed on are The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The chapter on Patricia McKillip focuses primarily on the use of magic in her protagonist's search for identity. The texts used form part of her Riddle Master trilogy and are, The Riddle Master of Hed, Heir of Sea and Fire and Harpist in the Wind. The section on Katherine Kerr explores the idea of a 'new' magic for a 'new' world and focuses on how in the three novels, The Red Wyvern, The Black Raven and The Fire Dragon, magic takes on a 'new' definition. / Dissertation (MA (English))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / English / unrestricted

"The Prism" is a magical-girl-themed fantasy light novel series about four best friends who finally graduated junior high school. Miya, Teresa, Liana, and Destiny are anxious to start their new high school lives (for better or worse) in their rough, monotone, and corrupt urban town of Quaint Village. Their plans are interrupted, however, by the opening of a brand new private school. Then, for the first time ever, all four girls end up in the same program. They're ready to make great memories together and spend much more time with each other. Unbeknownst to them, their new school is nothing like the academically inclined programs they always had. They are no longer students carrying books, homework, and planners, scribbling and speed reading. They become soldiers, traveling subconsciously to another world. Their duty is to help Vita Mundi's Vice Sovereign and her family protect their people from criminals and life-sentence-serving convicts called Umbrans. In only a month, this tight posse goes from being a quartet of normal students in Quaint Village, to lady soldiers fighting and risking themselves for a parallel world. They will train under the mentorship of the Vice Sovereign and her family, steadily growing stronger in body, mind, heart, and spirit as they face harder and more powerful enemies.

In "On Fairy Stories" J.R.R. Tolkien writes that joy is the "mark of the true fairy- story." Tolkien believed that joy was the defining characteristic of the genre. This joy is not just apparent in the happy ending of the fairy tale, but also in the manner in which the plot and characters show theories of joy, and the way the text itself creates joy in the reader. This paper will explore Tolkien's creation of brightness, hope, and wonder, and how these instances express a theory of joy. First I will look at the different types of joy in Tolkien's work, then the more general theories that these types express, and finally the effect the joy in the story has on the reader. / by Natasha Minnerly. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Charles G. Finney’s 1936 novel The Circus of Dr. Lao was published to enthusiastic reviews, but fell into relative obscurity shortly thereafter. Since its publication, it has been the subject of one peer-reviewed critical essay, a number of reviews, one non-peer-reviewed essay, and a master’s thesis. It was published in a world where the fantastic and unique found only barren desert soil, with no scholarly tradition for the fantastic, nor a widely receptive lay audience for something truly unique, or sui generis. The concept of the sui generis, meaning “of its own kind,” provides a useful lens for examining the novel, as Finney develops not only creatures, but people, which are truly of their own kind, borrowing from existing mythologies, traits of humanity, and aspects of nature, recombining them in a singular way which resists classification. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.

Thesis (MA (Visual Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

This study undertakes an examination of the representation of nature in works of literature that it regards as early British ‘mythopoeic fantasy’. By this term the thesis understands that fantasy fiction which is fundamentally concerned with myth or myth-making. It is the contention of the study that the connection of these works with myth or the idea of myth is integral to their presentation of nature. Specifically, this study identifies a connection between the idea of nature presented in these novels and the thought of the late-Victorian era regarding nature, primitivism, myth and the impulse behind mythopoesis. It is argued that this conceptual background is responsible for the notion of nature as a virtuous force of spiritual redemption in opposition to modernity and in particular to the dominant modern ideological model of scientific materialism. The thesis begins by examining late-Victorian sensibilities regarding myth and nature, before exposing correlative ideas in selected case studies of authors whose work it posits to be primarily mythopoeic in intent. The first of these studies considers the work of Henry Rider Haggard, the second examines Scottish writer David Lindsay, and the third looks at the mythopoeic endeavours of J. R. R. Tolkien, the latter standing alone among the authors considered in these central case studies in producing fiction under a fully developed theory of mythopoesis. The perspective is then widened in the final chapter, allowing consideration of authors such as William Morris and H. G. Wells. The study attempts to demonstrate the prevalence of an identifiable conceptual model of nature in the period it considers to constitute the age of early mythopoeic fantasy fiction, which it conceives to date from the late-Victorian era to the apotheosis of Tolkien’s work.

As realist and naturalist writers at the turn of the twentieth century adopted a scientific spirit of objectivity, they reflected the emphasis many contemporary scientific studies laid on the forces of the natural world in shaping the character, behavior, and ultimate destiny of man. In this literary mood of "pessimistic determinism," fantasy literature began to experience a resurgence, providing a marked contrast to naturalism's portrayal of the impotence of man to effect change in his circumstances. I examine fantasy's restoration of efficacy to the human will through a study of two representative works of the opposing genres: Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie and Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter. As I demonstrate, the former naturalistic novel emphasizes the impotence of its characters in the face of powerful natural world, while the latter contemporary fantasy novel uniquely showcases man's ability to effect change in his world and his destiny. / by Tracy Stone. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

"December 2003" / Bibliography: leaves 249-263. / vii, 263 leaves ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, Discipline of English, 2004

Thesis (Ph.D. (English)) - Rhodes University, 2008

Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of English, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-69).