Fantasy tropes

Fantasy tropes are a specific type of literary tropes that occur in fantasy fiction. Worldbuilding, in particular, has many common conventions, as do plot and characterization, to a lesser extent.

Many works of fantasy operate using these tropes, while others use them in a revisionist manner, making the tropes over for various reasons such as for comic effect, and to create something fresh (a method that often generates new clichés).

The conflict of good against evil is a theme in the many popular forms of fantasy; normally, evil characters erupt from their lands to invade and disrupt the good characters' lands.J. R. R. Tolkien delved into the nature of good and evil in The Lord of the Rings, but many of those who followed him use the conflict as a plot device, and often do not distinguish the sides by their behavior. In some works, mostly notably in sword and sorcery, evil is not opposed by the unambiguously good but by the morally unreliable.

Heroic characters are a mainstay of fantasy, particularly high fantasy and sword and sorcery. Such characters are capable of more than ordinary behavior, physically, morally, or both. Sometimes they might have to grow into the role ordained for them. This may take the form of maturation, which is often through Coming of Age.

Many protagonists are, unknown to themselves, of royal blood. Even in so fanciful a tale as Through the Looking-Glass, Alice is made a queen in the end; this can serve as a symbolic recognition of the inner worth of the hero. Commonly, these tales revolve around the maltreated hero coming into his or her own. This can reflect a wish-fulfillment dream, or symbolically embody a profound transformation.

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