On Elements of Fantasy in 16th- and 17th-Century Literature: Visions of Amazing Lands, Countries and Cities

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to present elements of fantasy in selected works of old literature. It focuses above all on presenting the amazing places shown in literary works created in the 16th and 17th centuries. The author also shows similarities between fantasy, fairy tale, and utopia. Science fiction was created on the basis of utopia or anti-utopia, which lost their cognitive functions and began to discuss the characters’ adventures in such a way as to primarily provide entertainment to readers. In addition, the author points out that in the Renaissance era, Western European literary works containing elements of fantasy were primarily utopian or fairy-tale in nature. Their main role, however, was not to fulfill the entertainment function. It was only in the 19th century that leisure literature was discovered, when the ability to read and access to the text spread.