On the Main Aspects of the Aesthetics of the Fantastic Genre and its Evolution from the Romantic Fantastic to the Postmodern Fantastic

Abstract

In this article we will deal with the main characteristics of the aesthetics of the fan-tastic. First, we will look back to the origins of this literary genre. Then, we will establish some differences between the Romantic fantastic, the Modern fantastic and the Postmod-ern fantastic. The fantastic is a rather complex vehicle of literary creation whose theoretical conceptualisation has been the object of critical debates. We will observe how the concep-tual and communicative aims of the fantastic have evolved in order to get adapted to the readers’ inner thoughts about the mysterious reality of life as well as to social and episte-mological changes.