What Is The Difference Between High Fantasy And Epic Fantasy

An easy way to picture this difference is to look at the illiad with its.

What is the difference between high fantasy and epic fantasy. Really digs into the human condition and character. Definition of high fantasy. High fantasy is defined as a sub genre of the broader category of fantasy that is characterized by extravagant characters and a massive fictional world that is extensively detailed.

The term high fantasy was coined by lloyd alexander in a 1971 essay high fantasy and heroic romance which was originally given at the new england round table of children s librarians in october 1969. High fantasy is sometimes called epic fantasy and some of the hallmarks of this subset of the fantasy genre include a high page count lots of characters usually a quest and most importantly an alternative or secondary world as opposed to the real or primary world. In high fantasy magic and mythical creatures are commonplace.

High fantasy is also referred to as epic fantasy. Epic fantasy set in medieval times these books focus on a good versus evil story. Lord of the rings.

Tolkien is the founder of this sub genre. That is they are two adjectives and neither either or both may apply to a given fantasy story. Most of the time high fantasy will also be rather idyllic where the nobility are generous and live in golden castles while the common folk if they are even mentioned have peaceful.

Again the word high does not label the quality of the fantasy work. While epic fantasy also often involves a kind of quest the quest of one or a few protagonist takes centre stage in a high fantasy piece. The choices made by the individuals are what matter most.

It isn t exactly a difference unless you think there s an important difference between green and sour. The difference between high and low is how far away from the real world of medieval times it is. Differences between the two some would classify epic fantasy and high fantasy together.