Magical Realism
Plenitude
There is a layering of elements or the marvelous: not meaning beautiful and pleasant, but extraordinary, strange, and excellent. Therefore, there will be a high use of imagery and symbolism.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings
Fantastical Elements
Fables, folk tales, and myths are old forms of fantastical writing, dating back to ancient civilizations. Magical realism portrays similarly fantastical events in an otherwise realistic tone, bringing fables, folk tales, and myths into contemporary social relevance.
Political Critique
Magic realism contains an "implicit criticism of society, particularly the elite". The writing often supports the geographically, socially and economically marginalized. Therefore, magic realism writings are subversive texts, revolutionary against socially dominant forces.
Heightened Awareness of Mystery
Magic realist literature tends to read at an intensified level. The reader must let go of preexisting ties to conventional exposition, plot advancement, linear time structure, scientific reason, etc., to strive for a state of heightened awareness of life's connectedness or hidden meanings
Authorial reticence, fantastical elements, heightened awareness of mystery, hybridity, plenitude, political critique, real world setting
The 7 elements of Magical Realism in alphabetical order
Dino Buzzati
The Columber
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World
Louise Erdrich
The Shawl
Real World Setting
The existence of fantasy elements in the real world provides the basis for magical realism. Writers do not invent new worlds but reveal the magical in this world.
Authorial Reticence
The narrator and characters are indifferent to the fantastic events. Magical events are presented as ordinary occurrences; therefore, the reader accepts the marvelous as normal and common.
Katie Cortese
Firebug
Hybridity
Magical realism plot lines characteristically employ hybrid multiple planes of reality. For instance, the story may distort time and switch narrative perspectives.