Saint George and the Dragon as fantasy literatureSet "in the time when monsters, giants and fairies lived", Margaret Hodges' tale, Saint George and the Dragon, brings Edmund Spenser's classic Faerie Queene to the world of children. Told in children's format in 1984, Saint George and the Dragon is based on the 16th-century English legend of Spenser. By examining the characteristics that describe fantasy and magical realist literature, a more concise understanding of magical realism can be obtained. In Saint George and the Dragon, many “magical” elements exist throughout the text. The setting, during the time when “monsters, giants, and fairies lived in England,” lays the foundation for many other mysterious elements (Hodges 7). The Red Cross Knight, the main character of the story, was "out on a great adventure, sent by the Fairy Queen to test his strength against a mortal enemy, a sinister and horrible dragon" (Hodges 7). Red Cross Knight, accompanied by a princess and a dwarf, set off in search of the dragon. On his way, “there, against the evening sky, they saw a mountain peak that touched the highest heavens. He was crowned with a glorious palace sparkling like stars and surrounded by walls and towers of pearls and precious stones” (Hodges 11). Finally, they saw the dragon. Despite the Red Cross Knight's attempts to kill the dragon, he failed. The “half-flying, half-running” beast threw him to the ground, flapping its wings in victory (15). “But he had fallen under a beautiful apple tree, with spreading branches covered with red fruits, and from this tree fell a healing dew which the mortal dragon dared not approach” (Hodges 16). When drawing...... middle of paper ...... realistic features, but they work differently in magical realist mode than in Saint George and the Dragon. Although Saint George and the Dragon is not true fantasy literature, many elements are the same. By examining the elements that characterize fantasy literature, the boundaries of what can be considered magical realist literature narrow. Works Cited Faris, Wendy. “Scheherazade’s Children: Magical Realism and Postmodern Fiction.” Magical realism: theory, history, community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 1995. 125-144. Hodges, Margaret. Saint George and the Dragon. Boston, MA: Little Brown and Company, 1984. Todorov, Tzvetan. The Fantastic: a structural approach to literary literature. Cleveland: Case Western Reserve University Press, 1973. 168-174.