Fantasy is fantastic

On my course, everyone and their aunt have started to think about dissertation topics thanks to some carefully planned emails and a half an hour lecture advising us to start thinking about dissertation topics. I wasn't as quick as some to figure out what I want to do but I got there in the end: Fantasy. When I told my friends, I got the reaction: what? And: Fantasy? That's like, Lord of the Rings, right?

Oh boy, have we got to talk. There is SO much more to Fantasy than simply Lord of the Rings. Oxford's definition (because then you know it's got to be legit) is "the faculty or activity of imagining impossible or improbably things." Which basically sounds like my day to day life. How that could be limited to Lord of the Rings I have no idea.

The closest module to Fantasy my university offers on the English Lit course is Surrealism in the third year. I asked a girl who takes it if it's similar to Fantasy and she said no. I'm so confused right now.

For a short education, here are some TV Trope links to help you (and me) distinguish between the different types of Fantasy. There are many more but these are the main ones, according to the website:

• Fantasy is "stuff with magic in it", although there are some pretty strict distinctions between fantasy and, say, Magical Realism. There are also ambiguous lines between it and Science Fiction, among other genres. Yeah I'm not making much sense. Go to the link, all will be explained.

• High Fantasy, which I've never been much interested in. Lord of the Rings practically made this genre and I remember being about nine, picking up The Two Towers and being frightened by the words and small font. I know; I'm a coward. High Fantasy's main elements include a world other than ours, everything being on an epic scale and great evil.

• Heroic Fantasy. This is where I live, people! Heroes with swords, monster fights, finding treasure and drinking ale. The Kingkiller Chronicle falls under this umbrella - one of my faves. Heroic Fantasy is also known as Sword and Sorcery, which is the specific strand of fantasy I'm interested in for my dissertation.

• Urban Fantasy, probably the most popular in today's world, although I can't be sure. It's been a while since I looked outside my window and saw something other than clouds. This uses the magic of Fantasy but puts it in a modern setting.

Hopefully now both you and I are leaving this post knowing a little more than we would have about the Fantasy genre. And please, tell your friends that Fantasy isn't limited to one grey guy whispering "my precioussss".