Time slip

Last updated
A time slip classic Yankee in KAC book.JPG
A time slip classic

A time slip is a plot device in fantasy and science fiction in which a person, or group of people, seem to accidentally travel through time by unknown means, or by a means unknown to the character(s). [1] [2] [3]

Contents

The idea of a time slip was used in 19th century fantasy, an early example being Washington Irving's 1819 Rip Van Winkle , where the mechanism of time travel is an extraordinarily long sleep. [4] Time-slip stories were popularized at the end of the century by Mark Twain's 1889 historical novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court , which had considerable influence on later writers. [5]

Time slip is one of the main plot devices of time travel stories, another being a time machine. The difference is that in time slip stories, the protagonist typically has no control and no understanding of the process (which is often never explained at all) and is either left marooned in a past or future time and must make the best of it, or is eventually returned by a process as unpredictable and uncontrolled as the journey out. [6]

Paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson wrote a novella, published posthumously, The Dechronization of Sam Magruder , about a scientist who experiences a time slip from 2162 back into the Cretaceous Period. In this case, the time slip is accidental, but the protagonist understands the mechanism, which came about due to his experiments into the quantum nature of time.

The plot device is also popular in children's literature. [7] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sword and sorcery</span> Genre of fantasy fiction

Sword and sorcery (S&S) or heroic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tales, though dramatic, focus on personal battles rather than world-endangering matters. The genre originated from the early-1930s works of Robert E. Howard. The term "sword and sorcery" was coined by Fritz Leiber in the 6 April 1961 issue of the fantasy fanzine Ancalagon, to describe Howard and the stories that were influenced by his works. In parallel with "sword and sorcery", the term "heroic fantasy" is used, although it is a more loosely defined genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rip Van Winkle</span> 1819 short story by Washington Irving

"Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, imbibes their strong liquor and falls deeply asleep in the Catskill Mountains. He awakes 20 years later to a very changed world, having missed the American Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romance novel</span> Genre novel on the theme of romantic love

A romance novel or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primary focuses on the relationship and romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed to the development of this genre include Samuel Richardson, Jane Austen, and Charlotte Brontë.

A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction. When it happens near the end of a story, it is known as a twist ending or surprise ending. It may change the audience's perception of the preceding events, or introduce a new conflict that places it in a different context. A plot twist may be foreshadowed, to prepare the audience to accept it, but it usually comes with some element of surprise. There are various methods used to execute a plot twist, such as withholding information from the audience, or misleading them with ambiguous or false information. Not every plot has a twist, but some have multiple lesser ones, and some are defined by a single major twist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetary romance</span> Subgenre of science fiction focussing on adventures on alien planets

Planetary romance is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy in which the bulk of the action consists of adventures on one or more exotic alien planets, characterized by distinctive physical and cultural backgrounds. Some planetary romances take place against the background of a future culture where travel between worlds by spaceship is commonplace; others, particularly the earliest examples of the genre, do not, and invoke flying carpets, astral projection, or other methods of getting between planets. In either case, it is the planetside adventures which are the focus of the story, not the mode of travel.

The timestream or time stream is a metaphorical conception of time as a stream, a flowing body of water. In Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction, the term is more narrowly defined as: "the series of all events from past to future, especially when conceived of as one of many such series". Timestream is the normal passage or flow of time and its historical developments, within a given dimension of reality. The concept of the time stream, and the ability to travel within and around it, are the fundamentals of a genre of science fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paranormal romance</span> Subgenre of romantic fiction and speculative fiction

Paranormal romance is a subgenre of both romantic fiction and speculative fiction. Paranormal romance focuses on romantic love and includes elements beyond the range of scientific explanation, from the speculative fiction genres of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Paranormal romance range from traditional romances with a paranormal setting to stories with a science fiction or fantasy-based plot with a romantic subplot included. Romantic relationships between humans and vampires, shapeshifters, ghosts, and other entities of a fantastic or otherworldly nature are common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time travel in fiction</span> Concept and accompanying genre in fiction

Time travel is a common theme in fiction, mainly since the late 19th century, and has been depicted in a variety of media, such as literature, television, film, and advertisements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adventure fiction</span> Fiction in which an adventure forms the main storyline

Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of science fiction</span> Speculative fiction memetics retrospective

The literary genre of science fiction is diverse, and its exact definition remains a contested question among both scholars and devotees. This lack of consensus is reflected in debates about the genre's history, particularly over determining its exact origins. There are two broad camps of thought, one that identifies the genre's roots in early fantastical works such as the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh. A second approach argues that science fiction only became possible sometime between the 17th and early 19th centuries, following the scientific revolution and major discoveries in astronomy, physics, and mathematics.

Time portals are doorways in time, employed in various fiction genres, especially science fiction and fantasy, to transport characters to the past or future.

Timeslip may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fantasy</span> Genre of speculative fiction

Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, as well as a work in this genre.

The idea of a fourth dimension has been a factor in the evolution of modern art, but use of concepts relating to higher dimensions has been little discussed by academics in the literary world. From the late 19th century onwards, many writers began to make use of possibilities opened up by the exploration of such concepts as hypercube geometry. While many writers took the fourth dimension to be one of time, others preferred to think of it in spatial terms, and some associated the new mathematics with wider changes in modern culture.

Time-travel romance is a subgenre of romantic fiction associated with paranormal romance. Time-travel romance focuses on romantic love and includes an element of time travel. Time-travel romance stories may or may not have a happy ending. Jude Deveraux's A Knight in Shining Armor is one of the best known time-travel romance novels, famous for the lack of a happy ending. Time-travel romances feature at least one character transported to a time period which is unfamiliar to them. A recurring theme is the conflict of falling in love and subsequently the character must decide to stay in the alternate time or return to the time he or she came from.

Suspended animation in fiction refers to the temporary cessation of life processes experienced by fictional characters, followed by their subsequent revival. This process is commonly employed as a plot device in science fiction narratives. It is frequently utilized to transport a character from the past to the future or to facilitate interstellar space travel, which necessitates an extended journey for months or years. In addition to accomplishing the character's primary objective in the future, they often encounter the unfamiliarity of a new world, which may bear only faint resemblance to their previous surroundings. On occasion, a character is portrayed as possessing skills or abilities that have become lost to society during their period of suspension, enabling them to assume a heroic role in their new temporal setting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accidental travel</span> Speculative fiction plot device

Accidental travel is a speculative fiction plot device in which ordinary people accidentally find themselves outside of their normal place or time, often for no apparent reason, a particular type of the “fish-out-of-water” plot. In Russian fandom, the trope is known under the term popadantsy, plural form for popadanets, female: popadanka, a person who accidentally finds himself elsewhere/elsewhen. The Russian term bears ironical flavor, because popadantsy has become a widespread cliche in Russian pulp science fiction. Russian critic Boris Nevsky traces this plot device to at least Gulliver's Travels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romance (prose fiction)</span> Genre of novel

Romance, is a "a fictitious narrative in prose or verse; the interest of which turns upon marvellous and uncommon incidents". This genre contrasted with the main tradition of the novel, which realistically depict life. These works frequently, but not exclusively, take the form of the historical novel. Walter Scott describes romance as a "kindred term", and many European languages do not distinguish between romance and novel: "a novel is le roman, der Roman, il romanzo".

References

  1. Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Literature, "Timeslip romance", p. 357
  2. Anders, Charlie Jane (12 June 2009). "Timeslip romance". io9. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  3. Palmer, Christopher (2007). Philip K. Dick: Exhilaration and Terror of the Postmodern (Reprint ed.). Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. p. 146. ISBN   978-0-853236184 . Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  4. Lee, Maggie (12 April 2016). "Film Review: 'A Bride for Rip Van Winkle'". Variety . Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  5. James, Edward; Mendlesohn, Farah (2002). The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 106. ISBN   9781107493735 . Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  6. Schweitzer, Darrell (2009). The Fantastic Horizon: Essays and Reviews (1st ed.). Rockville, Maryland: Borgo Press. p. 112. ISBN   9781434403209 . Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  7. Lucas, Ann Lawson (2003). The Presence of the Past in Children's Literature. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. p. 113. ISBN   978-0-313324833.
  8. Cosslett, Tess (1 April 2002). ""History from Below": Time-Slip Narratives and National Identity". The Lion and the Unicorn. 26 (2): 243–253. doi:10.1353/uni.2002.0017. ISSN   1080-6563. S2CID   145407419 . Retrieved 22 September 2017.