Speculative fiction  

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-[[Image:The Raven.jpg|thumb|right|200px|In 1963, [[Roger Corman]] directed ''[[The Raven (1963 film)|The Raven]]'', a [[horror-comedy]] written by [[Richard Matheson]] very loosely based on the poem, "[[The Raven]]" by [[Edgar Allan Poe]]. It stars [[Vincent Price]], [[Peter Lorre]], and [[Boris Karloff]] as a trio of rival [[Magic (paranormal)|sorcerers]].]]{{Template}}+[[Image:The Raven.jpg|thumb|right|200px|In 1963, [[Roger Corman]] directed ''[[The Raven (1963 film)|The Raven]]'', a [[horror-comedy]] written by [[Richard Matheson]] very loosely based on the poem, "[[The Raven]]" by [[Edgar Allan Poe]]. It stars [[Vincent Price]], [[Peter Lorre]], and [[Boris Karloff]] as a trio of rival [[Magic (paranormal)|sorcerers]].]]
-'''''Speculative fiction''''' is a term which has been used in multiple related but distinct ways. Speculative fiction is a type of [[fiction]] that asks the classic "What if?" question and attempts to answer it.+{{Template}}
-In some contexts, it has been used as an inclusive term covering a group of [[fiction]] [[genre]]s that speculate about worlds that are unlike the real world in various important ways. In these contexts, it generally includes [[science fiction]], [[fantasy]], [[horror fiction]], [[supernatural fiction]], [[superhero fiction]], [[alternate history (fiction)|alternate history]], and [[magic realism]]. The term is used this way in academic and ideological criticism of these genres, as well as by some readers, writers, and editors of these genres. In these contexts, the term does not imply an opinion about the relative merits of any of the genres it includes. +'''Speculative fiction''' is an [[umbrella term]] encompassing the more fantastical [[fiction]] [[literary genre|genre]]s, specifically [[science fiction]], [[fantasy]], [[horror fiction|horror]], [[weird fiction]], [[supernatural fiction]], [[superhero fiction]], [[utopian and dystopian fiction]], [[apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction]], and [[alternate history (fiction)|alternate history]] in [[literature]] as well as related static, motion, and virtual arts.
-In other contexts, the term has been used to express dissatisfaction with what some people consider the limitations of science fiction ''per se''. For example, in [[Harlan Ellison]]'s writing, the term may signal a wish not to be pigeonholed as a science fiction writer, and a desire to break out of science fiction's [[genre convention|genre conventions]] in a [[literary fiction|literary]] and [[modernist literature|modernist]] direction; or to escape the prejudice with which science fiction is often met by [[mainstream]] critics[http://aol.bartleby.com/66/51/63051.html]. Some readers and writers of science fiction see the term as insulting towards science fiction, and therefore as having negative connotations.+==History==
-The term is often attributed to [[Robert A. Heinlein]]. In his first known use of the term, in his [[1948]] essay "On Writing of Speculative Fiction," Heinlein used it specifically as a synonym for "science fiction"; in a later piece, he explicitly stated that his use of the term did not include fantasy. Heinlein may have come up with the term himself, but there is one earlier citation: a piece in ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine'' in 1889, in reference to Edward Bellamy's ''[[Looking Backward|Looking Backward: 2000–1887]]''.+Speculative fiction as a category ranges from [[ancient]] works to both [[State of the art|cutting edge]], [[paradigm]]-changing and neotraditional works of the 21st century. Speculative fiction can be recognized in works whose [[author]]s' [[Authorial intent|intentions]] or the [[social context]]s of the versions of stories they portrayed is now known, since ancient [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[dramatist]]s such as [[Euripides]] (ca. 480–406 BCE) whose play ''[[Medea]]'' seems to have offended [[Athenian]] audiences when he fictionally speculated that shamaness [[Medea]] killed her own children instead of their being killed by other [[Ancient Corinth|Corinthians]] after her departure, and whose [[Hippolytus (play)|Hippolytus]], narratively introduced by [[Aphrodite]], Goddess of Love in person, is suspected to have displeased his contemporary audiences because he portrayed [[Phaedra (mythology)|Phaedra]] as too lusty. In [[historiography]], what is now called speculative fiction has previously been termed "historical invention", "[[historical fiction]]", and similar names and is extensively noted in [[literary criticism]] of the works of [[William Shakespeare]] as when he co-locates [[Athenian]] Duke [[Theseus]] and [[Amazons|Amazonian]] Queen [[Hippolyta]], [[England|English]] fairy [[Puck (mythology)|Puck]], and [[Roman mythology|Roman]] god [[Cupid]] across time and space in the [[Fairy]]land of its [[Merovingian]] [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] sovereign [[Oberon]] in ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''; in [[mythography]] it has been termed "mythopoesis" or [[mythopoeia]], "fictional speculation", the creative design and generation of lore, regarding such works as [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. Such [[supernatural]], [[alternate history]] and [[Human sexuality|sexuality]] themes continue in works produced within the modern speculative fiction genre.
-The use of "speculative fiction" in the sense of expressing dissatisfaction with science fiction was popularized in the [[1960s]] and early [[1970s]] by [[Judith Merril]] and other writers and editors, in connection with the [[New Wave (science fiction)|New Wave]] movement. It fell into disuse around the mid 1970s.+The creation of speculative fiction in its general sense of hypothetical [[history]], [[explanation]], or [[ahistorical]] [[storytelling]] has also been attributed to authors in ostensibly [[non-fiction]] mode since as early as [[Herodotus]] of [[Halicarnassus]], (fl. 5th century BCE) in his Histories, and was already both practiced and edited out by early encyclopaedic writers like [[Sima Qian]] (ca. 145 or 135 BCE–86 BCE), author of [[Shiji]], which suggests the [[caveat|caveat]] that while many works now considered intentional or unintentional speculative fiction existed before the coining of the [[genre]] term, its concept in its broadest sense captures both a [[conscious]] and [[unconscious mind|unconscious]] aspect of human [[psychology]] in making sense of the [[world]], reacting to it, and creating [[Imagination|imaginary]], [[inventive]], and [[artistic]] expressions, some of which underlie practical progress through [[interpersonal]] influences, [[social]] and [[cultural]] movements, [[scientific]] research and advances, and [[philosophy of science]].
-In more recent times, the term has come into wider use again, and gained the neutral inclusive sense as a convenient collective term for a set of genres. Its modern meaning depends on the speaker and the context.+In its [[English language]] usage in [[arts]] and [[literature]] since 20th century, "speculative fiction" as a [[genre]] term is often attributed to [[Robert A. Heinlein]]. In his first known use of the term, in editorial material at the front of the 2/8/1947 issue of ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]'', [[Robert A. Heinlein|Heinlein]] used it specifically as a synonym for "[[science fiction]]"; in a later piece, he explicitly stated that his use of the term did not include [[fantasy]]. Heinlein may have come up with the term himself, but there are earlier citations: a piece in ''[[Lippincott's Monthly Magazine]]'' in 1889, used the term in reference to [[Edward Bellamy]]'s ''[[Looking Backward|Looking Backward: 2000–1887]]'' and other works; and one in the May, 1900 issue of ''[[The Bookman]]{{dn|date=February 2013}}'' said that [[John Uri Lloyd]]'s ''[[Etidorhpa|Etidorhpa, The End of the Earth]]'' had "created a great deal of discussion among people interested in speculative fiction". A variation on this term is "speculative literature".
-A variation on this term is "speculative literature." "Speculative fiction" is sometimes abbreviated "spec-fic," "S-F," "SF," or "sf." Care with context is needed in the use of such shorthand, as those last three abbreviations are more commonly used to mean just "science fiction."+The use of "speculative fiction" in the sense of expressing dissatisfaction with traditional or [[The Establishment|establishment]] science fiction was popularized in the 1960s and early 1970s by [[Judith Merril]] and other writers and editors, in connection with the [[New Wave (science fiction)|New Wave]] movement. It fell into disuse around the mid-1970s. The [[Internet Speculative Fiction Database]] contains a broad list of different subtypes. In the 2000s, the term has come into wider use as a convenient collective term for a set of genres. [[Academic journals]] which publish [[essay]]s on speculative fiction include ''[[Extrapolation (journal)|Extrapolation]]'', and ''[[Foundation - The International Review of Science Fiction|Foundation]]''.
 + 
 +==Distinguishing speculative fiction from science fiction==
 +"Speculative fiction" is sometimes abbreviated "spec-fic", "specfic", but these last three abbreviations are ambiguous as they have long been used to refer to [[science fiction]], which lies within this general range of literature, and in [[SF (disambiguation)|several other abbreviations]].
 + 
 +The term has been used to express dissatisfaction with what some people consider the limitations of science fiction, or otherwise to designate fiction that falls under readily stereotypical genres so that it can be pigeonholed within such categorical limits as "fantasy" or "mystery".
 + 
 +For example, in [[Harlan Ellison]]'s writing, the term may signal a wish not to be [[pigeonholing|pigeonholed]] as a science fiction writer, and a desire to break out of science fiction's genre conventions in a [[literary fiction|literary]] and [[modernist literature|modernist]] direction; or to escape the prejudice with which science fiction is often met by mainstream critics.
 + 
 +The term "suppositional fiction" is sometimes used as a sub-category designating fiction in which characters and stories are constrained by an internally consistent world, but not necessarily one defined by any particular genre.
-[[Academic journal]]s which publish [[essay]]s on speculative fiction include ''[[Femspec]]'', ''[[Extrapolation (journal)|Extrapolation]]'', and ''[[Foundation - The International Review of Science Fiction|Foundation]]''.  
==See also== ==See also==
;History ;History
*[[History of science fiction]] *[[History of science fiction]]
;Genres ;Genres
-*[[Historical fiction]] 
*[[Future history]] *[[Future history]]
-*[[Supernatural fiction]] 
;Themes ;Themes
-*[[Women in speculative fiction]] 
*[[Gender in speculative fiction]] *[[Gender in speculative fiction]]
-*[[Sex and sexuality in speculative fiction]] 
*[[LGBT themes in speculative fiction]] *[[LGBT themes in speculative fiction]]
*[[Reproduction and pregnancy in speculative fiction]] *[[Reproduction and pregnancy in speculative fiction]]
 +*[[Sex and sexuality in speculative fiction]]
 +*[[Women in speculative fiction]]
;Other ;Other
*[[Genre fiction]] *[[Genre fiction]]
Line 33: Line 39:
*[[Speculative fiction by writers of color]] *[[Speculative fiction by writers of color]]
 +== References ==
 +{{Reflist|30em}}
 +
 +==External links==
 +* [http://www.jessesword.com/sf/view/438 Dictionary citations for the term "speculative fiction"]
 +* [http://www.greententacles.com/articles/5/26 Citations and definitions for the term "speculative fiction" by speculative fiction reviewers]
 +* [http://www.speculativeliterature.org/ The Speculative Literature Foundation]
 +* [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/index.cgi Internet Speculative Fiction Database]
 +* [http://speculativevision.com/gallery/ Speculative Vision Fantasy and Science Fiction Art Gallery]
 +* [http://speculativevision.com/fiction.html Speculative Vision, speculative fiction by youth]
 +* The [http://gutenberg.net.au/sfproject.html SF Page] at [[Project Gutenberg|Project Gutenberg of Australia]]
 +* [http://www.strangehorizons.com/ Strange Horizons, a weekly speculative fiction magazine]
 +
 +{{Fiction writing}}
 +{{DEFAULTSORT:Speculative Fiction}}
 +[[Category:Speculative fiction| ]]
{{GFDL}} {{GFDL}}

Revision as of 16:00, 25 June 2013

In 1963, Roger Corman directed The Raven, a horror-comedy written by Richard Matheson very loosely based on the poem, "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe. It stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff as a trio of rival sorcerers.
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In 1963, Roger Corman directed The Raven, a horror-comedy written by Richard Matheson very loosely based on the poem, "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe. It stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff as a trio of rival sorcerers.

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Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, weird fiction, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as related static, motion, and virtual arts.

Contents

History

Speculative fiction as a category ranges from ancient works to both cutting edge, paradigm-changing and neotraditional works of the 21st century. Speculative fiction can be recognized in works whose authors' intentions or the social contexts of the versions of stories they portrayed is now known, since ancient Greek dramatists such as Euripides (ca. 480–406 BCE) whose play Medea seems to have offended Athenian audiences when he fictionally speculated that shamaness Medea killed her own children instead of their being killed by other Corinthians after her departure, and whose Hippolytus, narratively introduced by Aphrodite, Goddess of Love in person, is suspected to have displeased his contemporary audiences because he portrayed Phaedra as too lusty. In historiography, what is now called speculative fiction has previously been termed "historical invention", "historical fiction", and similar names and is extensively noted in literary criticism of the works of William Shakespeare as when he co-locates Athenian Duke Theseus and Amazonian Queen Hippolyta, English fairy Puck, and Roman god Cupid across time and space in the Fairyland of its Merovingian Germanic sovereign Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream; in mythography it has been termed "mythopoesis" or mythopoeia, "fictional speculation", the creative design and generation of lore, regarding such works as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Such supernatural, alternate history and sexuality themes continue in works produced within the modern speculative fiction genre.

The creation of speculative fiction in its general sense of hypothetical history, explanation, or ahistorical storytelling has also been attributed to authors in ostensibly non-fiction mode since as early as Herodotus of Halicarnassus, (fl. 5th century BCE) in his Histories, and was already both practiced and edited out by early encyclopaedic writers like Sima Qian (ca. 145 or 135 BCE–86 BCE), author of Shiji, which suggests the caveat that while many works now considered intentional or unintentional speculative fiction existed before the coining of the genre term, its concept in its broadest sense captures both a conscious and unconscious aspect of human psychology in making sense of the world, reacting to it, and creating imaginary, inventive, and artistic expressions, some of which underlie practical progress through interpersonal influences, social and cultural movements, scientific research and advances, and philosophy of science.

In its English language usage in arts and literature since 20th century, "speculative fiction" as a genre term is often attributed to Robert A. Heinlein. In his first known use of the term, in editorial material at the front of the 2/8/1947 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, Heinlein used it specifically as a synonym for "science fiction"; in a later piece, he explicitly stated that his use of the term did not include fantasy. Heinlein may have come up with the term himself, but there are earlier citations: a piece in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1889, used the term in reference to Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward: 2000–1887 and other works; and one in the May, 1900 issue of The BookmanTemplate:Dn said that John Uri Lloyd's Etidorhpa, The End of the Earth had "created a great deal of discussion among people interested in speculative fiction". A variation on this term is "speculative literature".

The use of "speculative fiction" in the sense of expressing dissatisfaction with traditional or establishment science fiction was popularized in the 1960s and early 1970s by Judith Merril and other writers and editors, in connection with the New Wave movement. It fell into disuse around the mid-1970s. The Internet Speculative Fiction Database contains a broad list of different subtypes. In the 2000s, the term has come into wider use as a convenient collective term for a set of genres. Academic journals which publish essays on speculative fiction include Extrapolation, and Foundation.

Distinguishing speculative fiction from science fiction

"Speculative fiction" is sometimes abbreviated "spec-fic", "specfic", but these last three abbreviations are ambiguous as they have long been used to refer to science fiction, which lies within this general range of literature, and in several other abbreviations.

The term has been used to express dissatisfaction with what some people consider the limitations of science fiction, or otherwise to designate fiction that falls under readily stereotypical genres so that it can be pigeonholed within such categorical limits as "fantasy" or "mystery".

For example, in Harlan Ellison's writing, the term may signal a wish not to be pigeonholed as a science fiction writer, and a desire to break out of science fiction's genre conventions in a literary and modernist direction; or to escape the prejudice with which science fiction is often met by mainstream critics.

The term "suppositional fiction" is sometimes used as a sub-category designating fiction in which characters and stories are constrained by an internally consistent world, but not necessarily one defined by any particular genre.

See also

History
Genres
Themes
Other

References

Template:Reflist

External links

Template:Fiction writing

Template:DEFAULTSORT:Speculative Fiction



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