Fantastic Taxonomy and World-building
By: Anna Kryczka
“The urge to classify things is a fundamental human instinct;
like the predisposition to sin, it accompanies us into the world at birth and
stays with us to the end.”
Although
paleontologist Tindall Hopwood was mainly referring to biological taxonomy when
making this statement, the human need to classify extends far beyond organisms.
Humans have classified everything in sight, including literature, leaving us
with numerous genres. Since the categorization of literature is subjective, it
is no surprise that the boundaries between genres are unclear. One distinction
that is often misunderstood is the difference between high and low fantasy.
At
first glance, the definition of high and low fantasy may seem simple. Low
fantasy stories take place in real-world-like settings which contain magical aspects
that normal humans are unaware of. For example, in Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere the real world exists
completely oblivious to the presence of London below. On the other hand, high
fantasy stories take place in fictional worlds that are unconnected to the real
world. All characters are aware of the existence of magic. Till We Have Faces by SC Lewis is an example. The characters of
this book live in a world ruled by gods who interact with mortals and cause
supernatural events.
Although
it may seem simple, the distinction between high and low fantasy is not always
clear. Writer Glen C Strathy believes “the difference has to do with the extent
to which the story is set in the real world versus a world that is far removed
from present reality.” (http://www.how-to-write-a-book-now.com/low-fantasy.html#sthash.QxJ7MywV.dpuf) Interaction
between the real and supernatural world regularly occurs in low fantasy, while
it is minimal or nonexistent in high fantasy. This is a problematic definition,
for how is one to know how much interaction is necessary to cross the line from
high to low fantasy.
While
the definition is fuzzy, there are certain differences in world-building that
are commonly associated with each subgenre. One difference lies in how the
reader is introduced to the magical world. In high fantasy readers usually
immediately find themselves engulfed in an unfamiliar world and it is up to
them to make sense of it all. The entry into unfamiliar territory is more
gradual in low fantasy. The story switches between the real world and the
magical world so readers often find themselves on familiar footing. Also, low
fantasy often features a character from the real world who is pulled into the
supernatural world along with the reader, giving the reader a companion who is
also trying to comprehend their surroundings.
The
differences between the two subgenres give authors different options for world-building.
The key to successful world-building is to introduce the reader to unfamiliar
concepts
without
disrupting the plot to offer long, awkward explanations. For example, in Till We Have Faces Orual describes her
feelings in the presence of the Priest of Ungit by writing “I think what
frightened me… was the holiness of the smell that hung around him - a
temple-smell of blood (mostly pigeons’ blood, but he had sacrificed men, too)”
(11). Without interrupting the flow of the story, this passage explains that
Orual lives in a religious kingdom where people fear gods and regularly make
sacrifices to please them.
without
disrupting the plot to offer long, awkward explanations. For example, in Till We Have Faces Orual describes her
feelings in the presence of the Priest of Ungit by writing “I think what
frightened me… was the holiness of the smell that hung around him - a
temple-smell of blood (mostly pigeons’ blood, but he had sacrificed men, too)”
(11). Without interrupting the flow of the story, this passage explains that
Orual lives in a religious kingdom where people fear gods and regularly make
sacrifices to please them. 
World-building in low fantasy is
different. For example, Neverwhere
features a character, Richard, who begins the book as part of London above before
being sucked into London below. He is faced by a new world governed by rules he
does not understand. Sometimes his companions provide him with information. For
example, Anaesthesia tells the story of how she slipped into London below and
informs him that “nobody ever gets both” worlds (88). Form this conversation
Richard learns about the nature of the world he has slipped into. As Richard
learns more throughout his journey, the reader shares the learning experience.
Readers
of fantasy must go through a process of becoming accustomed to a new world. In
high fantasy, they are forced to do this on their own. In low fantasy, the
reader has a character such as Richard who is going through a similar
experience and can guide the reader’s thoughts. As a result, the reader feels a
more intimate connection with characters in low fantasy, and feels more like an
observer when reading high fantasy. To conclude, the differences in the setting
of high and low fantasy offer different options for world-building and in turn
affect how the reader experiences the story.
(Psst -- Anna! It's "C.S. Lewis"!)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see you pulling in some of your own sources to put a more specific and personal stamp on your response -- and I think the urge to classify you point out through biological taxonomy is fundamental to human nature, just as you say. To know what something is seems to us a way of mastering it; maybe that's why "nobody ever gets both" London Above and Below? Too much knowledge and mastery? As for Orual's story, perhaps her problem is the same. She can't know the world of the gods and the world of men at once -- can't occupy both as Psyche has - and that becomes the source of her jealousy and fear. It's a lack of mastery, or of understanding.