"Why Magic in a Story Should Make Sense" up at Fantastic Worlds

[jordan179]

N. K. Jemisin argues, in "But, but, but - WHY does magic have to make sense?"

http://nkjemisin.com/2012/06/but-but-but-why-does-magic-have-to-make-sense/

that magic in a story shouldn't have to make sense, because

This is magic we’re

Comments

[polaris93]

Ironically enough, the original use of the deus ex machina was that of classic Greek tragedians, whose culture assumed that the Gods were behind everything notable in human existence that occurred. Having the God appear in the last act to give the closing speech that tied everything up in a neat package made sense to their audiences, because of the general assumption about the roles of the Gods in all aspects of human life. Once we stopped believing that, however, the deus ex machina no longer made sense, and instead became a cheap out that reduces a story to mere wish fulfillment or senseless quasi-religious maundering, not worth reading. So the value of the deus ex machina varies from a positive value, as in classical Greek culture, to a negative one, as in modern Western culture, depending upon our underlying assumptions about the Gods and Their relationship with humanity. If the reader believes that God or the Gods don't exist and/or don't participate in our lives, the deus ex machina in a story goes over like a lead balloon filled with cement. Otherwise, there's a place for the deus ex machina, as long as it's handled correctly in a story (think of the Bible, which is beloved of and believed in by millions of people; that's the defining example of a situation in which the deus ex machine is used to good effect in a story).