Full record for high fantasy n.

Definition	a genre of fantasy set in an imaginary world with a medieval-style society and level of technology, usually featuring a quest or a conflict between Good and Evil, and often written in an elevated style
OED requirements	antedating 1973
Earliest cite	in the New York Times Book Review
Comment	Alexx Kay submitted a 1986 cite from Gardner Dozois in Dozois' "The Year's Best SF Third Annual Series". Enoch Forrester submitted a 1980 cite from "The Dragon" magazine. Enoch Forrester submitted a 1998 cite from Mike Resnick's "Ask Bwana" column in Speculations. Jeff Prucher submitted a 1986 cite from Gary Wolfe's "Critical Terms for Science Fiction and Fantasy". Jeff Prucher submitted a 2003 cite from Rich Horton's review column in Locus. Jeff Prucher submitted a 2002 cite from Charles de Lint's review column in F&SF. David Bratman submitted a 1977 cite from Robert H. Boyer and Kenneth J. Zahorski's "The Fantastic Imagination". Bill Mullins submitted a 1973 cite from the New York Times Book Review.
Last modified	6 July, 2008

Citations for high fantasy n.

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1977 R. H. Boyer & K. J. Zahorski Fantastic Imagination 2	High fantasy consists of fairy tales and myth-based tales: fairy tales, those ancient and new stories which take place in the mysterious other world of faërie, such as Beowulf or J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit; myth tales, stories whose setting is the realm in which gods and men have commerce, as in the Welsh Mabinogion or in Lloyd Alexander's The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain. This is not to say that ghost stories, fables, folk tales, or satirical farces are not fantasy. To the extent that they take place in an unreal world or conjure up people or happenings which, according to realistic norms, are impossible, they are indeed fantasy. But they are not high fantasy. A number of traits combine to produce a work of high fantasy. High fantasy has an other-world setting, whether this be Middle Earth or Brocéliande, or whether it be the sacred grove of Ashtaroth or the cottage of the Fates. The characters in high fantasy include a generous number of imposing figures who, with their magical or supernatural powers, inspire wonder or fear or often both: Elfin kings, wizards, unicorns, and demigods. High fantasy deals with recognizably archetypal themes and motifs such as the initiation into manhood, death and rebirth, and most frequently with the courage an individual needs to undertake the fateful quest. And, finally, as befits the settings, characters, and themes of high fantasy, the style is elevated, often figurative as it must be to evoke the imaginary worlds it deals with.
1986 G. K. Wolfe Crit. Terms for Sci. Fiction & Fantasy 52	High fantasy , fantasy set in a fully imagined Secondary World, according to Boyer and Zahorski, as opposed to Low Fantasy which concerns supernatural intrusions into the ‘real’ world.
2002 Sci. Fiction Chron. July 21/2	Of course that has to include all the talking animal stories, fairy tales, and takeoffs (Captain Underpants, for example) as well as straight forward [sic] high fantasy.
2003 R. Horton Short Fiction in Locus Apr. 15/1	Elysian Fiction (<www.sfroundup.com/elysian>) is devoted to fantasy, often quite traditional high fantasy, mostly featuring newer writers, though the quality is somewhat uneven.