Magic in fiction is the endowment of
character
Character or Characters may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk
* ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
s or objects in works of
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
or
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
with powers that do not naturally occur in the real world.
Magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
often serves as a
plot device
A plot device or plot mechanism
is any narrative technique, technique in a narrative used to move the Plot (narrative), plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing ...
and has long been a component of fiction,
since writing was invented.
Historical beliefs
Historically, witches such as the
Weird Sisters
The Three Witches, also known as the Weird Sisters or Wayward Sisters, are characters in William Shakespeare's play '' Macbeth'' (c. 1603–1607). The witches eventually lead Macbeth to his demise, and they hold a striking resemblance to t ...
in
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
,'' wizards such as
Prospero
Prospero ( ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''.
Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, whose usurping brother, Antonio, had put him (with his three-year-old daughter, Miranda) to sea ...
in ''
The Tempest'' or characters like
Doctor Faustus in
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe (; baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the ...
's
play
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* Pla ...
of the same name were widely considered to be real.
Contemporary authors tend to treat magic as an imaginary idea, opting to
build their worlds with a
blank slate
''Tabula rasa'' (; "blank slate") is the theory that individuals are born without built-in mental content, and therefore all knowledge comes from experience or perception. Epistemological proponents of ''tabula rasa'' disagree with the doctri ...
where the laws of reality do not carry as much weight.
Function
Within a work of fantasy, magic can help to advance the
plot, often providing power to heroes or to their opponents. The use of magic frequently manifests itself in a
transformation of a character, if not the transformation of the fictional world.
For magic to carry out its functions, it often comes at a price equal to its value.
Fictional magic may or may not include a detailed
magic system
Magic System is an Ivory Coast, Ivorian coupé-décalé band from Abidjan. It was founded in 1996 and comprises Asalfo, Goude, Tino, and Manadja.
Magic System's recordings in the Zouglou dance style have featured in the charts throughout Africa ...
, but it is not uncommon for authors to omit details or explanations of certain limitations, ostensibly for
pacing or other purposes; in these cases, it is possible that magic serves more as a convenience to the author rather than as a device for the character.
In nearly any given fantasy magical system, magical ability is limited. Limitations can add conflict to the story and prevent characters from becoming all-powerful with magic, although characters with unlimited power (such as
deities
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
or transcendental beings) are not unheard of in fiction.
Fantasy writers use a variety of techniques to limit the magic in their stories,
such as limiting the number of
spells a character has or may cast before needing rest,
restricting a character's magic to the use of a specific object,
limiting magic to the use of certain rare materials, or restricting the magic a character can use through its negative consequences.
Some works feature magic that is performed through the use of certain words or incantations to cast spells. While many works use this method without offering an explanation for it, others do offer an explanation.
Hard magic is a magic system with specific rules and regulations; a
soft magic system is usually much more vague and undefined with a mysterious aspect to it.
Acquisition
Authors introduce magic into their stories, and to their characters, in varying ways. Although there is great variation in how spontaneously magic occurs, how difficult it is to wield, and how the guidelines to the magic are implemented, there are a handful of methods for introducing magic found in many fictional works. In many fantasy works, writers depict magic as an innate talent, equivalent for example to
perfect pitch.
Magic may also be gained through a
pact with a devil or with other spirits, a characteristic common in folklore.
Items
In some works, such as
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
s,
magic item
A magic item is any object that has magical powers inherent in it. These may act on their own or be the tools of the person or being whose hands they fall into. Magic items are commonly found in both folklore and modern fantasy. Their fictional ...
s either endow the main characters with magical powers or have magical powers themselves. Writers often use them as plot devices or
MacGuffin
In fiction, a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin) is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself. The term was originated by Angus MacPhail for ...
s to drive the plot of a story.
Wand
A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal or plastic.
Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, which c ...
s and staves often feature in fantasy works in the hands of wizards.
Italian fairy tales had put wands into the hands of the powerful fairies by the late Middle Ages.
Talisman
A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...
s such as
rings or
amulet
An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects ...
s may exert magical influence.
[
Note ]Tolkien's legendarium
Tolkien's legendarium is the body of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic writing, unpublished in his lifetime, that forms the background to his ''The Lord of the Rings'', and which his son Christopher summarized in his compilation of ''The Silmaril ...
, for example, or ''The Story of the Amulet
''The Story of the Amulet'' is a children's literature, novel for children, written in 1906 by English author Edith Nesbit.
It is the final part of a trilogy of novels that also includes ''Five Children and It'' (1902) and ''The Phoenix and t ...
''.
Seven-league boots
Seven-league boots are an element in European folklore. The boots allow the person wearing them to take strides of seven leagues per step, resulting in great speed. The boots are often presented by a magical character to the protagonist to aid i ...
and
invisibility cloaks have also proven popular.
See also
*
Channeling in the works of Robert Jordan
*
The Force
The Force is a metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the '' Star Wars'' fictional universe. "Force-sensitive" characters use the Force throughout the franchise. Heroes like the Jedi seek to "become one with the Force", matching their personal wi ...
, a magic-like concept in the ''Star Wars'' universe
*
Hard and soft magic systems
Brandon Winn Sanderson (born December 19, 1975) is an American author of high fantasy and science fiction. He is best known for the Cosmere fictional universe, in which most of his fantasy novels, most notably the ''Mistborn'' series and ''The ...
* ''
Kidō'' in the ''Bleach'' anime and manga series
*
Magic in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series
*
Magic in the ''Bartimaeus'' trilogy (Jonathan Stroud's series)
*
Magic in the ''Earthsea'' series
*
Magic in the ''Harry Potter'' series
*
Magic in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien
*
Magic in video and role-playing games
*
Magic of ''Dungeons & Dragons''
*
Majutsu in the ''Majutsushi Orphen'' series
*
Master of the Five Magics
''Master of the Five Magics'' is a fantasy novel by Lyndon Hardy, first published in 1980. It is the first of a trilogy set in the same world; the second book is ''Secret of the Sixth Magic'' and the third ''Riddle of the Seven Realms''. The boo ...
in the works of Lyndon Hardy
References
External links
*
Lawrence Watt-Evans
Lawrence Watt-Evans (born 1954) is one of the pseudonyms of American science fiction and fantasy author Lawrence Watt Evans (another pseudonym, used primarily for science fiction, is Nathan Archer).
Biography
Born in Arlington, Massachusetts, as ...
,
Watt-Evans' Laws of Fantasy, ''Starlog''
*
Patricia C. Wrede
Patricia Collins Wrede (; born March 27, 1953) is an American author of fantasy literature. She is known for her ''Enchanted Forest Chronicles'' series for young adults, which was voted number 84 in NPR's 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels list.
Caree ...
, "Magic and Magicians"
Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions*Anders, C.J. (2011
"The Rules of Magic, According to the Greatest Fantasy Sagas of All Time"''io9.com'' (includes 7x51 chart)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magic In Fiction
Fantasy tropes
Fictional power sources
Fiction about superhuman features or abilities