Chris Glock
Science fiction has arguably existed since the first recorded fiction, while others believe it wasn’t later until 5th century BC. “Why isn’t there a clear start to science fiction?” you might ask. Well, because there is no easy way to say something is or isn’t science fiction, many of these older stories only include one or two parts relating to science fiction, but for some people that’s enough to classify the whole story as sci-fi. The only common consensus seems to be the term “Science fiction” was an invention of the 20th century.
Since its creation, it has changed drastically, going through several eras and forms. Today it’s one of the largest genres with many other stories from other genres having science fiction within them. No two works are alike; some focus more on the science while others more on the stories resulting in a broad genre containing thousands of stories.
The first fictional story was the Sumerian The Epic of Gilgamesh. While many agree it isn’t science fiction, it is however argued by a few well-known science fiction writers such as Lester Del Rey and Pierre Versins to be the first science fiction novel based on its quest for immortality. Other early works argued to be the first include the Hindu epic Ramayana (5th to 4th century BC) based on its inclusion of flying machines. The Syrian-Greek “True History,” due to its many science fiction themes such as travel to outer space, encounters with alien life, interplanetary warfare, creatures as products of human technology, and worlds working by a set of alternate physical laws, also makes a case for the earliest science fiction work.
As many new scientific theories were being discovered, a new type of literature rose to popularity. Due to the yearning to discover new scientific advances people begin fantasizing about the endless possibilities science had to offer in life. Thomas More wrote Utopia about a society that had perfected their society technologically and politically. This not only led to the utopia motif but also coined the word itself.
During the Age of Reason, many science fiction stories were released about space travel. Johannes Kepler’s Somnium depicts a journey to the moon. Both Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov believe this is the first true science fiction story. Shakespeare’s The Tempest, while not a science fiction story, creates a template for the mad-scientist archetype.
These trends continued to grow into the 19th century. Most notably from this time was Marry Shelley’s Frankenstein, which features the mad-scientist archetype and popularized it as a sub-genre. Jules Verne and H.G. Wells both wrote many novels in this genre considered classics. H.G. Wells wrote novels like The Time Machine, in which he attempts to explain his views on society during his time. Verne, however, wrote more fantastical adventure novels that sought to tell a story. Journey to the Center of the Earth and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea are examples of his works.
The period of the 1940s through 1950s is referred to as the Golden Age. During this time science fiction began to be taken as a more serious form of literature. John W. Campbell became famed in the genre as an editor and publisher of science fiction magazines. With his guidance, the focus shifted away from the technology to the characters, from hard to soft science fiction. During this time, the space opera rose to popularity, which has nothing to do with opera itself but is a play on the term soap opera. In the Golden age many stories began to contain deeper psychological focus with writers putting their own ideologies into the writing.
As the Golden Age slowly died off, “new wave” science fiction began to surface. The ’60s and ’70s were full of experimentation in both style and content. It focused even less on scientific accuracy than the previous Golden Age. Writers also began to tackle more controversial topics like sexuality and political issues away from which writers had previously stayed.
Works Referenced
More, Thomas. Utopia. 1516. Print.
Shakespeare, Wlliam. The Tempest. 1610/11. Print.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. London: Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones, 1818. Print.
Verne, Jules. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Paris: Pierre-Jules Hetzel, 1870. Print.
Wells, Herbert G. The Time Machine. London: William Heinemann, 1895. Print.
—. The War of the Worlds. London: William Heinemann, 1898. Print.
Redeeming Pandora 