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Low fantasy is a term not devised to describe a specific subgenre but to contrast specific works with high fantasy. It has been repeatedly used to point out contrasts, and its meaning has depended on what aspect the person wishes to contrast. This, naturally, led to many defintions, none of which have dominated the others. It is an umbrella term, describing various works within different sub-genres of fantasy. It is almost always placed in an antagonistic relationship with the better-defined high fantasy genre; though a work may contain one contrast with high fantasy and many common points, such antagonism centers on the traits the writer has decided to concentrate on. High fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction that is set in invented or parallel worlds. ... An umbrella term is a word that provides a superset or grouping of related concepts, also called a hypernym. ... Look up genre in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Smaug in his lair: an illustration for the fantasy The Hobbit Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. ...

Conan the Barbarian's Hyborian Age is an example of low fantasy that typifies the sword and sorcery subgenre.

Some of the meanings used are: Image File history File links Conan_usurper. ... Image File history File links Conan_usurper. ... Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet. ... An illustration of The Hyborian Age primarily based upon a map hand-drawn by Robert E. Howard in March 1932. ... This article is about a fantasy sub-genre. ...

• Comic fantasy.
• Fantasy literature that has a relatively low amount of magic and the supernatural.
• Fantasy with a large degree of gritty realism about conditions of life in a medieval society, dirt, disease, power, or money. George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire cycle is, by this criterion, low fantasy, though having many high fantasy traits.
• Fantasy set in the real world with fantastic elements, like magic and monsters: contemporary fantasy or historical fantasy.
• Fantasy using a non-epic world view, as, for instance, not including an absolute evil.
• Dark fantasy.
• Fantasy where the protagonists are ordinary people, heroic only in character if at all (usually also an aspect of dark fantasy).
• Fantasy concerned with everyday life, as opposed to world-shaking quests.
• Fantasy written in a plain-spoken as opposed to an elevated style. (The diminishing stylistic influence of J.R.R. Tolkien and Lord Dunsany has made this definition less useful, as high fantasy is decreasingly marked out stylistically.)

The ideas of what qualifies something as a Low Fantasy tale has only one overarching consistency: the moral "greyness" of the setting or the main character[s] (rather than hero, though hero or anti-hero could apply, as the case may be). Comic fantasy is a subgenre of Fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Sorceress by John William Waterhouse Magic and sorcery are the influencing of events, objects, people and physical phenomena by mystical, paranormal or supernatural means. ... Look up Supernatural in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Realism in the visual arts and literature is the depiction of subjects as they appear in everyday life, without embellishment or interpretation. ... George Raymond Richard Martin, sometimes called GRRM, born September 20, 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey is an American author and screenwriter of science fiction, horror, and fantasy. ... A Song of Ice and Fire (commonly abbreviated as ASoIaF) is a series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin. ... Contemporary fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy, also known as modern-day fantasy, or indigenous fantasy. ... The Accolade by British painter Edmund Blair Leighton exhibits an idealized view of history common in historical fantasy. ... A world view (or worldview) is a term calqued from the German word Weltanschauung (pronounced ) Welt is the German word for world, and Anschauung is the German word for view or outlook. It implies a concept fundamental to German philosophy and epistemology and refers to a wide world perception. ... Dark fantasy has yet to be solidly connected to its own particular subgenre of Fantasy. ... Dark fantasy has yet to be solidly connected to its own particular subgenre of Fantasy. ... J. R. R. Tolkien in 1916. ... Best known as Lord Dunsany, Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (July 24, 1878–October 25, 1957) was an Irish writer and dramatist notable for his work in fantasy and horror. ...

Referring to the criteria listed above:

Some say it is the lack of fantastic races and creatures, but have gritty, impure, self centered Elves/dwarves/Centaurs/etc can exist.

Some say it is the use of magic, but like in Robert E. Howard's Hyboria, magic is there, though its a horrible dark thing that corrupts men and eats at their soul.

In creating a good definition and delineation for separating Low v. High you need consistency, and a hallmark of High Fantasy is the galvanized pure good v. unredeemable evil dichotomy -though there are some High Fantasy tales that have it to a lesser degree- while Low Fantasy consistently lacks it. Those tales include characters wracked by indecision over moral dilemma (which would have one clear path in High Fantasy), haunted by inner demons, or wrestling with visceral desires and addictions.

In some cases clear good/evil duality might seem present, but as the tale unfolds it is revealed otherwise. L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s The Saga of Recluce is a good example: the reader starts out thinking Chaos is always bad and Order always good, but as the series draws on the need for balance of both, and the humanity of those who wield chaos, is revealed. While you can use the initial guidelines to get a general sense of where a particular tale falls they are very subjective, the litmus test must in the end by the moral ambiguity or definition therein. L. E. (Leland Exton) Modesitt, Jr was born in 1943 in Denver, Colorado. ... The Saga of Recluce is a series of fantasy novels written by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. ...

• Sword and sorcery, which can be low fantasy by several of the above definitions.