Magical Musicking: Musical Communication in Contemporary Fantasy Literature

Abstract

This dissertation considers the role of magical music in contemporary fantasy novels through a thematic comparative study of nine texts. It slots into a gap in the literature regarding the intermedial, ekphrastic depiction of music in the written word, as previous studies have largely focused on realist texts and ignored speculative fiction, as well as looking at a more diverse selection of texts than has been standard in the field of fantasy literature studies. I coin the term ‘magical musicking’, extending Christopher Small’s (2012) concept of musicking, denoting music as an active human encounter that confirms and affirms the relationships of the living world, to the magic-enhanced forging of connections in fantasy literature. Drawing on musicological theory, I consider research questions of how different fantasy texts portray the magic of music and why music is particularly suited for inclusion in the fantasy genre, how and why musical communication fails or succeeds in these texts, and why music is an effective tool to show both authorial and in-text diversity. Despite the profoundly communicative agency inherent in magical musicking found in these texts, I also conclude that any intimation of a romanticised universality of music is limited by listeners’ individual wills and agencies as well as the magic systems in place. The fantasy genre is a space where beliefs in the power of music can be explored and defined beyond western scientific theory.