On Drawings of Dragons

Fantasy functions in a strange ebb and flow—constantly negotiating with truth, reality, history, and culture. This essay interrogates visual material which largely accompanies literature within the fantasy genre, a subgenre of speculative fiction typically set in magical worlds apart from our own. It situates the historical and potential roles of fantasy illustration and imagery in the cultural landscape by setting the ideas of visual culture scholars, fantasy historians and theorists, and essential fantasy and science fiction authors J.R.R. Tolkien and Ursula K. LeGuin in conversation with visual and contextual examination of examples of popular fantasy imagery including the work Howard Pyle (1853-1911) and the 2022 debut work of author-illustrator duo Nadia Shammas and Sara Alfageeh. Ultimately, it argues that fantasy imagery—a basic and essential mode of human cultural expression—is capable of providing both escape from and conversation with historical and modern issues. This essay argues for the necessity of critically examination not only of the historical sources of fantasy tropes and imagery, but the understanding of its unique staying power and very tangible influence on our world, our culture, and ourselves.