Megatext

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Megatext is a term used by scholars of speculative fiction that describes the elaborate fictional background, tropes, images, and conventions that science fiction or fantasy narratives share.

Contents

History

This collective body of knowledge, utilized by writers and recognized by readers, was first described by Christine Brooke-Rose in her 1981 work, A Rhetoric of the Unreal: Studies in Narrative and Structure, Especially of the Fantastic. Brooke-Rose builds on the culture or referential code first described by Roland Barthes in his work S/Z.

Background

Brooke-Rose describes a subconsciously familiar set of images, attributes and ideas that are shared within a particular genre. She cites examples in several genres, but goes into critical detail when considering fantasy, specifically the work of J. R. R. Tolkien.

Damien Broderick builds on this concept, separating Brooke-Rose's criticism of Tolkien and the specific exposition in Tolkien's work, from the megatext concept itself and introducing other comparable science fiction theories, such as the work of Gary K. Wolfe in The Known and the Unknown: The Iconography of Science Fiction (1979). The "mega-text" in Broderick's description is much more clearly identified as a shared cultural experience and interaction between writer and reader.

In his essay "The Evolving Megatext of Fantasy" Allen Stroud identifies the distinction between the author's specific fictional world mythos (macrotext or world bible) and the way in which the megatext of fantasy has changed, spreading out across multiple media to incorporate many shared concepts into hundreds of different fictions. [1] Stroud notes that many of these concepts are washed of their cultural origins in their new forms, relying instead on more popular contemporary images and archetypes.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of fantasy</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Far future in fiction</span> The far future as a theme in fiction

The far future has been used as a setting in many works of science fiction. The far future setting arose in the late 19th century, as earlier writers had little understanding of concepts such as deep time and its implications for the nature of humankind. Classic examples of this genre include works such as H.G. Wells' The Time Machine (1895) or Olaf Stapledon's Last and First Men (1930). Recurring themes include themes such as Utopias, eschatology or the ultimate fate of the universe. Many works also overlap with other genres such as space opera, science fantasy or apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction.

<i>Master of Middle-Earth</i> 1972 book by Paul H. Kocher

Master of Middle-earth: The Fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien is a 1972 book of literary criticism of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings, written by Paul H. Kocher. It focuses especially on the best-selling novel The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, and also covers some of his minor works such as "Leaf by Niggle" and "Smith of Wootton Major". It was one of the earliest book-length analyses of Tolkien's work, winning Kocher the 1973 Mythopoeic Society's Scholarship in Inkling Studies Award.

References

  1. Stroud, Allen (5 May 2016). "The Evolving Megatext of Fantasy". Academia.edu. Retrieved 4 November 2019.

Sources