# Secondary world

- Term: Literature term
- Date: 1939
- Canonical: https://www.lanternhall.org/lexicon/secondary-world/

> An invented world with its own consistent laws, which the reader enters imaginatively and believes in while inside. Tolkien contrasted it with the Primary World of real life and argued that making one well is a genuine art.

An invented world with its own consistent laws, which the reader enters imaginatively and believes in while inside. Tolkien contrasted it with the Primary World of real life and argued that making one well is a genuine art.

**Origin:** Named by J. R. R. Tolkien in his essay On Fairy-Stories, based on a 1939 lecture.

## Quick answers

**What does "Secondary world" mean?**
An invented world with its own consistent laws, which the reader enters imaginatively and believes in while inside. Tolkien contrasted it with the Primary World of real life and argued that making one well is a genuine art.

**Where does the term "Secondary world" come from?**
Named by J. R. R. Tolkien in his essay On Fairy-Stories, based on a 1939 lecture.

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From The Lantern Hall (https://www.lanternhall.org/), a museum of fantasy literature and roleplaying games.