Customer Reviews

A Handbook to Literature (Handbook to Literature)

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If you have a question about English or American literature, chances are you'll find the answer here. William Harmon, professor of English at the University of North Carolina has revised and updated this handbook, long popular in academia. He's added more than 100 entries which reflect current trends in literature and criticism.

If you don't have a student at home, get this book anyway. Read it. Just the outline of English and American literary history in the back of the book is worth the price. You undoubtedly will find books here you never knew existed. I thought I'd read all of Eudora Welty, for instance, but I found a "new" title listed here -- new to me, at least. I also discovered a James Gould Cozzens book I'd never heard of.

The handbook is actually an encyclopedia of words and phrases pertaining to the study of literature. Listings are defined, explained and often illustrated. There are cross references. Appendices include complete lists of Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize winners for fiction, poetry and drama. The index of proper names in the back lists over 2,300 authors and prominent literary figures.

This book is a must for the home library. Also, it's entertaining as well as informative reading. You may well find yourself curled up with it, unwilling to tear yourself away.

With the possible exception of my Roget's Thesaurus, this was the most useful reference in my pursuit of a BA in English Lit and Art History. This was recommended by one of my professors and it served me very well.

Easy-to-use alphabetical format allows reader to look up terms essential to the analysis of literature, and is highly useful to students of other humanities. The definitions are easy to digest but are quite thorough and supply sufficient context. Take this to college and use it often. An excellent tool for your research and writing.

I love this book because it has complete, concise definitions of every literary facet you can think of. I have used it as a study tool for my certification tests, as a quick look up tool before tests, and as a way to explain difficult literary terminology to my students. I cannot stress how badly English teachers (and anyone else who loves literature) needs this book!

This is the newest edition of the book I first used in sophomore lit. classes. I used it all the way through grad school and still use it constantly as a college professor. My old 1962 antique edition is falling apart. I'd never consider replacing it with anything besides this newer edition!

Recently received desk copy of 8th edition. Impressed by the fact book covers both traditional literary terms *and* terms from contemporary theory. Some gaps, but that's to be expected of any handbook. Highly recommended.

If your teacher/leader for the University Interscholastic League for literary criticism has not clued you in yet, this is the book to get! It's got everything you never knew you didn't know about English literature. The "Knowledge of Literary Terms and History" section of the exam is based on this text, so whether you're hitting the books or just expanding your horizons, be sure and check it out!

Easily one of the best handbooks on the market, and an indispensable reference for English teachers of literature and researchers at all levels. After thirty-seven years in teaching, I still make certain my copy of AHTL is readily accessible.

Very informative and expansive. It's handy and interesting because it goes past basic definitions to include historical background, etc.

Harmon and Holman have done a fantastic job editing this handbook. I had to pick it up for use in a poetry class (taught by Harmon, no less!) and have found it to be not only a useful study guide, but an entertaining read insofar as it is not dry as one might suspect such a book to be, but is at times quite humorous. From "amphimacer" to "homeoleuton" (and seemingly everything else related to literary style, rhetoric, rules, movements, and just plain interesting facts), the handbook is comprehensive and easy to follow.

The editors have cited -- and in many cases quoted -- passages from a wide variety of popular literary works in order to make each entry clear. Cross-referencing is extensive and definitions are very understandable.

The entries are alphabetized, and each time a new letter comes about, the editors give an example and a history of a different font.

Also included are a time-line of literary movements, both American and English, and listings of literary prize-winners and major publications and events in both American and English literary history.

In corresponding with friends whose interests run along the same vein as mine, I have enthusiastically recommended Harmon and Holman's handbook, and I extend that here, as well.

Daryl L. Houston (dhouston@email.unc.edu)

The original compiler/editor, Hugh Holman, had created a classic--probably the best handbook to literature (almost exclusively English and American) available. The latest edition (10th) has everything that Holman had, with some modifications and additions. One of best features of Handbook is its invaluable time-line at the end, covering every major book and author in every major period of English literature, side-by-side with a chronology of American literature.