The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (Oxford Paperback Reference) - Softcover

Baldick, Chris

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0192828932 ISBN 13: 9780192828934

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1992

Synopsis

This dictionary provides succinct and often witty explanations of over one thousand potentially troublesome terms encountered in the study of literature, from absurd to zeugma, from the ancient dithyramb to the contemporary dub poetry, from the popular bodice-ripper to the aristocratic masque. While it is fully up to date with the terminologies of deconstruction and other modern schools of literary theory, it also offers extensive coverage of traditional drama, versification, rhetoric, and literary history. Literary schools from Alexandrianism to Transcendentalism are included, along with dozens of terms from languages other than English. Adjectival forms and other derived words are displayed, and simple pronunciation guides are given for over two hundred difficult terms, making this thoroughly cross-referenced dictionary the most helpful of its kind for all readers of literature.

About this title

About the Author

About the Author:
Chris Baldick is Senior Lecturer in English at Edge Hill College of Higher Education in Ormskirk, Scotland.

From Library Journal

Of the many recent dictionaries of literary terms, Baldick's is the one most likely to satisfy today's student. Rejecting "encyclopaedic completeness," it omits commonly understood general terms that are not specifically literary (e.g., art, culture, etc.). Included instead are "many terms generated by the growth of academic literary theory in recent years." The explanations are clear and succinct, and often employ illustrative examples. An uncommon feature of this work is its pronunciation guide, applied to some 200 of the 1000 terms here defined. In addition to the attention paid to the terminology of classical rhetoric, there is a distinct emphasis on French deconstructionist terms derived from Derrida, Barthes, et al. Baldick's chief rival is Northrop Frye's Harper Handbook to Literature (1985), which is more comprehensive but lacks Baldick's currency. For larger libraries and academic collections.
- Jeffrey R. Luttrell, Youngstown State Univ., Ohio
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0192828932
• ISBN 13: 9780192828934
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256