I have been re-reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s “On Fairy Stories,” and one of the things I have wanted to take away from the essay this time around is a good, clear definition of fantasy literature. What is it that distinguishes a tale of Faerie from other kinds of tales?
Tolkien himself in the essay does not attempt to directly provide a definition: “analysis will not necessarily discover the secret of the whole.” But he does provide many of the materials and resources for such a definition.
