Fantastic Tale

The fantastic tale is a literary genre that is characterized by bringing short narratives in which there is the presence of inexplicable and/or impossible elements, which can be explored both for the wonderful and for the horror. Thus, this genre manages to encompass both children’s literature and fairy tales and horror stories.

Fantastic literature explores the possibilities of creation, beyond material reality and logical knowledge. Therefore, this literature disobeys the expectations of representation of the real and inserts the “strange, the “different” within the common context . This way of narrating was used by several recognized authors, including being the identity mark of some.

Fantastic tales or fantasy tales represent a genre of fantastic literature (magical or wonderful realism) that originated in the 17th century.

This style prevailed in Latin American countries from the 20th century onwards, as a way of denouncing the oppressive reality experienced during the years of dictatorship.

According to the Bulgarian philosopher and linguist Tzvetan Todorov:

“ There is a strange phenomenon that can be explained in two ways, by means of natural and supernatural causes. The possibility of hesitating between the two created the fantastic effect .”

Fantastic literature

Fantastic literature is characterized by the presence of the inexplicable, unreal, strange or fantasy element. This literary genre usually features non-human elements with personality, speakers and, often, with passions similar to people’s. In addition, the laws that determine what we call reality are often subverted, presenting humans with different capacities and societies outside the concreteness of everyday life.

Although this trait is functionally distinctive, the term encompasses numerous productions, which can be clearly differentiated without, however, failing to integrate into this category. Fantasy can be explored in different ways , which is why children’s, youth, adult, horror, fairy, with heroes, without heroes, philosophical literature can occur, all with the presence of the fantastic.

Fantasy, therefore, can be understood as an aesthetic storytelling strategy in which unreal, illogical, subversive and impossible elements can gain fertile space to produce narratives of different themes and for different audiences.

Characteristics of the fantastic tale?

The fantastic tale is a short story that has these characteristics :

• supernatural elements;
• facts without rational explanation;
• mythological characters;
• surreal phenomena;
• nonsense .

This type of tale is capable of surprising, frightening and moving. However, the fantastic can also be used to make us reflect on social, cultural and political issues. Therefore, it not only serves to entertain but can also be a vehicle for criticism and reflection.

Fantastic tale authors in the world