Heinlein's Juvenile Novels by C.W. Sullivan III

“Women in Scandinavian and Celtic Myth and Legend” Tolkien to Lloyd Alexander, Nancy Bond, Susan Cooper, Alan Garner, Evangeline Walton, and beyond. “Welsh Celtic Myth and Legend in Modern Fantasy Literature”Īlthough William Butler Yeats believed that the Celtic myths and legends would be as important an inspiration for the twentieth century as the Arthurian legends were for late medieval times, such has not been the case. But the Celtic materials have significantly influenced fantasy literature from Kenneth Morris through J.R.R. In both cases, the narratives end depicting cultures that distinctly resemble our own. The Irish materials begin on the mythological level and move forward into a recognizable socio/political culture, while the Welsh materials chronicle development from a female-oriented culture to a male-oriented culture.

The Welsh Celtic myths and legends in the “Four Branches” of The Mabinogi and the Irish myths and legends in the four major Irish “Cycles” are narratives that illustrate cultural changes. “Welsh Celtic Myth and Legend: Documenting Cultural Change” A look at what the best authors in this genre create, beyond the plot, attempts to explain: “What’s Fantastic About Fantastic Literature.” The basic plot of Ursula Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea certainly details the education of a wizard, but Le Guin’s purpose was also to create a psychological examination of the nature of pride, ambition, and-ultimately-self. And while it is true that fantasy’s base is in traditional narratives, and often narratives with a medieval folk tale or fairy tale setting, the best authors adapt those materials to their own purposes. “What’s Fantastic About Fantastic Literature”įantasy literature has long been criticized as a genre that tells the same old folk tale, legend, or myth over and over again.

Heinlein's Juvenile Novels by C.W. Sullivan III