Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Is this a running heroic or fantasy theme?

I've read a few different fantasy series and something keeps popping up. It seems that the heroes in whatever story you're reading aren't the first heroes to be around.

In Lord of the Rings, there are the tales of Gil-galad, Beren and Luthien, etc. In Beowulf, there's Sigemund the dragon slayer. It seems in every fantasy series that comes to mind there are heroes of the past to which the heroes of the story are compared.

Where else have you noticed this happening? Does this happen in other genres, or is this a heroic/fantasy thing?

1 comment:

Editwright said...

I think the fantasy genre has a need to establish history, since the setting is (usually) in a place unfamiliar to earth. Therefore, adding stories within stories and details regarding character lineage and past events makes the story more convincing and draws the reader in. Stories that take place on earth and in the timeline of the world as we know it don't need to be introduced or set up. The reader already knows all about the history and background of the world the story is set in because he or she lives in it.