The term "high fantasy" was coined by
Lloyd Alexander in a 1971 essay, "High Fantasy and Heroic Romance", which was originally given at the New England Round Table of Children's Librarians in October 1969. In this definition, Alexander was using the framework
Northrop Frye set forth in his
Anatomy of Criticism, particularly Frye's Theory of Modes; High Fantasy being fantasy in the High Mimetic Mode. It typically is not considered to include the
sword and sorcery genre. The hero often begins as a naïve or childlike figure but is forced by circumstances to mature rapidly, experiencing a considerable gain in fighting or problem-solving abilities along the way. The progress of the story leads to the character's learning the nature of the unknown forces against them, that they constitute a force with great power and malevolence. The
villains in such stories are usually completely evil and unrelatable. The romances of
William Morris, such as ''
The Well at the World's End, set in an imaginary medieval world, are sometimes regarded as the first examples of high fantasy. Other early examples of the genre are some works of American novelist James Branch Cabell which were set in a fictional world inspired by medieval France and published starting in 1919, known collectively as Biography of the Life of Manuel''.
E.R. Eddison's novels
The Worm Ouroboros (1922) and the
Zimiamvian Trilogy (1935–1958) are also important in epic fantasy.
The works of English writer
J. R. R. Tolkien, especially
The Lord of the Rings (1954–55), are regarded as
archetypal works of high fantasy. '' (1896) by
William Morris is an early example of high fantasy fiction. ==Themes==