Synopses & Reviews
From Jacques Derrida's différance to Henry James's ficelle, the vocabulary of literary theory and criticism can seem difficult if not opaque. To help remedy the average reader's bafflement, this new Third Edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms provides succinct and often witty explanations of almost twelve hundred terms, covering everything from the ancient dithyramb to the contemporary dub poetry, from the popular bodice-ripper to the aristocratic masque, and from the social realism of Stalin's era to the magic realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Shedding light on some of the most troublesome literary terms encountered by students and general readers, this gem of a book offers increased coverage of many new coinages from modern critical and theoretical movements. It also provides extensively updated coverage of traditional drama, rhetoric, literary history, and textual criticism. Throughout, the author's emphasis is on helping readers use these terms more confidently, whether in writing or in speaking (easy-to-use pronunciation guides clarify more than 200 potentially troublesome terms). In addition, the dictionary is thoroughly cross-referenced and now offers web links accessed via a regularly updated companion website. A model reference book, The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms will prove invaluable for both general readers and literature students at all levels.
Synopsis
Containing over 1,000 of the most troublesome literary terms encountered by students and general readers, this gem of a book gives clear and often witty explanations to terms such as hypertext, multi-accentuality, and postmodernism. The dictionary also provides extensive coverage of traditional drama, rhetoric, literary history, and textual criticism. It offers pronunciation guides and suggestions for further reading for many entries, and includes a new preface and terms that have become prominent in literature in the last few years, such as cyberpunk and antanaclasis. This second edition is the most up-to-date and accessible dictionary of literary terms available, popular with both students and teachers of literature at all levels.
Synopsis
From Jacques Derrida's différance to Henry James's ficelle, the vocabulary of literary theory and criticism can seem difficult if not opaque. To help remedy the average reader's bafflement, this new Third Edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms provides succinct and often witty explanations of almost twelve hundred terms, covering everything from the ancient dithyramb to the contemporary dub poetry, from the popular bodice-ripper to the aristocratic masque, and from the social realism of Stalin's era to the magic realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Shedding light on some of the most troublesome literary terms encountered by students and general readers, this gem of a book offers increased coverage of many new coinages from modern critical and theoretical movements. It also provides extensively updated coverage of traditional drama, rhetoric, literary history, and textual criticism. Throughout, the author's emphasis is on helping readers use these terms more confidently, whether in writing or in speaking (easy-to-use pronunciation guides clarify more than 200 potentially troublesome terms). In addition, the dictionary is thoroughly cross-referenced and now offers web links accessed via a regularly updated companion website. A model reference book, The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms will prove invaluable for both general readers and literature students at all levels.
About the Author
Chris Baldick is Professor of English at Goldsmiths' College, University of London. He edited The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (1992), and is the author of The Oxford English Literary History, Volume 10 (1910-1940): The Modern Movement (2004), In Frankenstein's Shadow (1987), Criticism and Literary Theory 1890 to the Present (1996), and other works of literary history. He has edited, with Rob Morrison, Tales of Terror from Blackwood's Magazine, and The Vampyre and Other Tales of the Macabre, and has written an introduction to Charles Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer (all available in the Oxford World's Classics series).
Table of Contents
Preface
Preface to second edition
Pronunciation guide
Main dictionary
Further reference