J.R.R. Tolkien’s landmark lecture and essay defending fantasy literature is titled On Fairy-Stories.
Tolkien first delivered the work as the Andrew Lang Lecture at the University of St Andrews in 1938. It was later published in expanded form and became one of his most influential discussions of fairy stories, imagination, and literary value.
In the essay, Tolkien argues that fairy stories are not merely children’s entertainment. He describes important functions including recovery, escape, and consolation, and he develops the idea of “eucatastrophe,” a sudden joyful turn after disaster. The work is sometimes confused with Tolkien’s essay on Beowulf, another major piece of scholarship, but On Fairy-Stories directly addresses the nature and purposes of fantasy.