Paper #2: Fantasy and Metaphor

Paper #2: Fantasy and Metaphor

“Merlin took off the sailor hat which had just appeared and held it out to the air for inspection.  “This is an anachronism,” he said severely.  “That is what it is, a beastly anachronism” (White, 91). 

For your Second Paper, I want you to explore how fantasy functions not merely as a location or a plot device, but as a metaphor.  This suggests that we not read fantasy too literally, but appreciate the wizards, kings, knights, mariners, witches, vampires, and fairies as a framework to explore larger—and more modern—ideas.  Often the way to spot this is through a book’s use of anachronism, which delineates the boundaries between fantasy and reality.  Fantasy should occasionally remind us that the story is merely a window for seeing ourselves (or our times), so we don’t make the mistake of dismissing it as “kid’s stuff” or a mere “fairy tale.” 

For this paper, choose ONE of the following ideas to develop:

Ø  The Education of the Innocent: each of the three works we’ve read concerns the ‘education’ of an innocent: the Wedding Guest in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Cristabel in the poem of the same name, and Wart in The Sword and the Stone.  How do at least two of these works use metaphors of fantasy/legend to discuss the education of a ‘modern’ human being? 

Ø  The Anachronistic Author: each work also contains within it a narrator who seems curiously out of step with the rest of the work: either the author of the glosses in The Rime, the poet/narrator of Cristabel, and the narrator of The Sword in the Stone.  Why do these works use a ‘modern’ voice to narrate ancient legends and events?  How does this change the meaning of the story and/or how we interpret it? 

Ø  The Role of the Wild: fantasy literature often employs the natural world (animals, insects, forests, icebergs) as characters within the story.  Thus we find Wart visiting the world of fish, ants, and geese in The Sword in the Stone; the Mariner killing an Albatross and being hunted by a “northern spirit”; and Cristabel meeting her double in the dark woods under a midnight moon.  How does the natural world become a metaphor for ideas within us? 

REQUIREMENTS

Ø  As before, you should find at least 2-3 sources to help you generate ideas and respond to the literary discussion of fantasy, which is many generations old. 

Ø  Be sure to properly introduce and cite quotations in your paper according to MLA format. 

Ø  The paper should be at least 4-5 pages, double spaced, but that’s a minimum; you can do more if you like. 

PAPER #2 IS DUE BY MONDAY, MARCH  23rd BY 5PM (the Monday after Spring Break)