Possible spoilers ahead for Robert E. Howard’s "A Witch Shall Be Born," The Happy Prince (2018), Salomé (2013), Conan the Barbarian (1982), the works of Clark Ashton Smith, Wilde’s Salome, and more.
Read MoreThe connection between Fantasy and Sword and Sorcery is easy enough to see, but what kind of sub-class of Fantasy should Sword and Sorcery call home? Should it fit closer to the Low or to the High Fantasy fields? And what is Fantasy on its own? Is there such a thing as a purely “Fantasy” work? Is Fantasy only a label for works that came after the 1600s?
Read MoreHow could understanding the differences between Romanticism and Dark Romanticism be of any benefit to the readers of Sword and Sorcery? Fantasy birthed Sword and Sorcery, but not alone, for it was Romanticism that spawned Dark Romanticism, and it also had a hand in the conception of Sword and Sorcery. These four genres might not appear to be related, but they absolutely do branch together, and understanding the similarities and differences between them can help pulp-readers better appreciate the legitimate literary value of works in these genres.
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