Skip to content
EntityQ326439· pop 37· linked from 1,455 articles

high fantasy

Sign in to save

Also known as epic fantasy, fantasy epic

sub-genre of fantasy fiction defined by a fantastical setting

~5 min read

Encyclopedic overview

High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. High fantasy is usually set in an alternative, fictional ("secondary") world, rather than the "real" or "primary" world. This secondary world is usually internally consistent, but its rules differ from those of the primary world. By contrast, low fantasy is characterized by being set on Earth, the primary or real world, or a rational and familiar fictional world with the inclusion of magical elements.

Characteristics

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “high fantasy” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.