[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-134133-en":3,"doc-seo-134133-105":31,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":28,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":29,"read_time":30},134133,1099523882182,"Alex Sinclair","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8",2,"Literature","Introduction to Magical Realism - Overview","Magical realism is a literature approach that fuses fantasy and myth into everyday life, making the ordinary feel extraordinary and the magical feel routine. The text explains how the term relates to realistic art and questions the nature of reality beyond a fixed genre. It traces the concept through artistic and literary movements, highlights key contributors such as Alejo Carpentier and Angel Flores, and outlines six characteristics distinguishing it from fairy tales, horror, science fiction, and other adjacent forms.","Introduction to Magical Realism  \nDaily life turns magical in these books and stories  \nby Jackie Craven  \nUpdated February 05, 2019  \nMagical realism, or magic realism, is an approach to literature that weaves fantasy and myth into everyday life. What’s real? What’s imaginary? In the world of magical realism, the ordinary becomes extraordinary and the magical becomes commonplace.  \nAlso known as “marvelous realism,” or “fantastic realism,” magical realism is not a style or a genre so much as a way of questioning the nature of reality. In books, stories, poetry, plays, and film, factual narrative, and far-flung fantasies combine to reveal insights about society and human nature. The term \"magic realism\" is also associated with realistic and figurative artworks — paintings, drawings, and sculpture —that suggest hidden meanings. Lifelike images, such as the Frida Kahlo portrait shown above, take on an air of mystery and enchantment.  \nStrangeness Infused Into Stories  \nThere’s nothing new about infusing strangeness into stories about otherwise ordinary people. Scholars have identified elements of magical realism in Emily Brontë's passionate, haunted Heathcliff ( Wuthering Heights, 1848) and Franz Kafka’s unfortunate Gregor, who turns into a giant insect (The Metamorphosis, 1915) . However, the expression “magical realism” grew out of specific artistic and literary movements that emerged during the mid-twentieth century.  \nArt From a Variety of Traditions  \nIn 1925, critic Franz Roh (1890–1965) coined the term Magischer Realismus (Magic Realism) to describe the work of German artists who depicted routine subjects with eerie detachment. By the 1940s and 1950s, critics and scholars were applying the label to art from a variety of traditions. The enormous floral paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986), the psychological self-portraits of Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), and the brooding urban scenes by Edward Hopper (1882–1967) all fall within the realm of magic realism.  \nA Separate Movement in Literature  \nIn literature, magical realism evolved as a separate movement, apart from the quietly mysterious magic realism of visual artists. Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier (1904-1980) introduced the concept of “lo real maravilloso\" (\"the marvelous real\") when he published his 1949 essay,“On the Marvelous Real in Spanish America.” Carpentier believed that Latin America, with its dramatic history and geography, took on an aura of the fantastic in the eyes of the world. In 1955, literary critic Angel Flores (1900-1992) adopted the term magical realism (as opposed to magic realism) to describe the writings of Latin American authors who transformed “the common and the everyday into the awesome and the unreal.\"  \nLatin American Magical Realism  \nAccording to Flores, magical realism began with a 1935 story by Argentine writer Jorge Luís Borges (1899- 1986) . Other critics have credited different writers for launching the movement. However, Borges certainly helped lay the groundwork for Latin American magical realism, which was seen as unique and distinct from the work of European writers like Kafka. Other Hispanic authors from this tradition include Isabel Allende, Miguel Ángel Asturias, Laura Esquivel, Elena Garro, Rómulo Gallegos, Gabriel García Márquez, and Juan Rulfo.  \nExtraordinary Circumstances Were Expected  \n\"Surrealism runs through the streets,\" Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014) said in an interview with The Atlantic. García Márquez shunned the term “magical realism” because he believed that extraordinary circumstances were an expected part of South American life in his native Columbia. To sample his magicalbut-real writing, begin with the short “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings\" and “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World.”  \nAn International Trend  \nToday, magical realism is viewed as an international trend, finding expression in many countries and cultures. Book reviewers, booksellers, literary agents, publicists, and authors themselves","cbCaidWIK9WdMpon","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaidWIK9WdMpon","pdf",740489,7,1,3,"English","en",105,"# Introduction to Magical Realism\n## Strangeness Infused Into Stories\n## Art From a Variety of Traditions\n## A Separate Movement in Literature\n## Latin American Magical Realism\n## Extraordinary Circumstances Were Expected\n## An International Trend\n## 6 Key Characteristics of Magical Realism\n### Situations and Events That Defy Logic\n### Myths and Legends\n### Historic Context and Societal Concerns","[{\"question\":\"What makes magical realism different from other imaginative genres?\",\"answer\":\"Magical realism blends fantasy into realistic everyday settings and relies on a set of defining characteristics. It is distinct from fairy tales, horror, ghost stories, science fiction, dystopian fiction, paranormal fiction, absurdist literature, and sword-and-sorcery fantasy.\"},{\"question\":\"Where did the term “magical realism” originate?\",\"answer\":\"The text links the concept to critic Franz Roh, who coined Magischer Realismus in 1925 for German art depicting routine subjects with eerie detachment. Later, literary critics applied the label to Latin American writing.\"},{\"question\":\"Who helped shape Latin American magical realism?\",\"answer\":\"Alejo Carpentier introduced the idea of “lo real maravilloso” in a 1949 essay, while Angel Flores adopted “magical realism” in 1955. Jorge Luís Borges is credited with laying groundwork, along with other influential authors from the tradition.\"}]","Introduction to Magical Realism - Overview | PDF",1787234706,5,{"code":4,"msg":32,"data":33},"ok",{"site_id":25,"language":24,"slug":34,"title":13,"keywords":35,"description":14,"schema_data":36,"social_meta":86,"head_meta":88,"extra_data":90,"updated_unix":29},"introduction-to-magical-realism-overview","",{"@graph":37,"@context":85},[38,53,68],{"@type":39,"itemListElement":40},"BreadcrumbList",[41,45,48,50],{"item":42,"name":43,"@type":44,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":46,"name":47,"@type":44,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":44,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",{"item":51,"name":13,"@type":44,"position":52},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/introduction-to-magical-realism-overview/134133/",4,{"url":51,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":24,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":62,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":63,"interactionStatistic":64},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":42,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-03","2026-08-20",true,{"@type":65,"interactionType":66,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":67},"ViewAction",{"@type":69,"mainEntity":70},"FAQPage",[71,77,81],{"name":72,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":74},"What makes magical realism different from other imaginative genres?","Question",{"text":75,"@type":76},"Magical realism blends fantasy into realistic everyday settings and relies on a set of defining characteristics. It is distinct from fairy tales, horror, ghost stories, science fiction, dystopian fiction, paranormal fiction, absurdist literature, and sword-and-sorcery fantasy.","Answer",{"name":78,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":79},"Where did the term “magical realism” originate?",{"text":80,"@type":76},"The text links the concept to critic Franz Roh, who coined Magischer Realismus in 1925 for German art depicting routine subjects with eerie detachment. Later, literary critics applied the label to Latin American writing.",{"name":82,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":83},"Who helped shape Latin American magical realism?",{"text":84,"@type":76},"Alejo Carpentier introduced the idea of “lo real maravilloso” in a 1949 essay, while Angel Flores adopted “magical realism” in 1955. Jorge Luís Borges is credited with laying groundwork, along with other influential authors from the tradition.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":51,"og:type":87,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":58,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":89,"canonical":51},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":25},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":92},[93,97,100,104,108,113,117,122,127,130,134],{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":94,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":96},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},80,"literature",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":30,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":109,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":114,"show_sort_weight":115,"slug":116},"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":119,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":126},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":129},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":132,"show_sort_weight":131,"slug":133},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":135,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":136,"show_sort_weight":30,"slug":137},19,"General","general"]