The Lord of the Rings is considered an epic high fantasy saga. Recent screen versions of The Lord of the Rings have contributed to the subgenre's continuing popularity. In the beginning of the storyline, there is one important twist or event in the life of the character, and he is threatened by an unknown force.

Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is considered the groundwork of the genre.

"High" fantasy does not denote difference in quality or in literary relevance as compared to "low" fantasy; rather, it is an indicator of the amount of fantastic concepts used; there is a 'high' amount of fantasy in The Lord of the Rings.