The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Quotations [Hardcover]

Peter Kemp (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 22, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0198662815 | ISBN-13: 978-0198662815 | Edition: 2

This newly expanded edition of the acclaimed Oxford Dictionary of Literary Quotations illuminates the world of the writer, from Shakespeare to Stephen King, from the quill to the PC. Covering all aspects of literary life, this edition is now enriched with new themes and memorable quotations from recent favorites such as Jonathan Franzen, J.K. Rowling, and Donna Tartt.
Celebrating over 3,000 years of writing, the dictionary's 4,000 quotations are arranged thematically and chronologically by author within each topic. Full keyword and author indexes ensure that a favorite quotation or author can be located quickly. From "Tools of the Trade" to "Writer's Block", from "Fables and Fairy Tales" to "Earning a Living," The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Quotations brings us the wittiest, most profound, most surprising, and most memorable words of the world's greatest writers on all aspects of their lives and work.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What is literature? Depending on whom one asks, it's "a drug" (George Borrow); "the question minus the answer" (Roland Barthes); "the orchestration of platitudes" (Thornton Wilder); or "a splendid mistress, but a bad wife" (Rudyard Kipling). These bon mots and over 4,400 others (one-fifth of them new to this edition) are gathered here by Kemp, the fiction editor of the (London) Sunday Times. The quotes, as before, are organized by theme, which include Writer's Block, Morality and Tools of the Trade; Collaboration, Graffiti and Epitaphs are among several themes also new to this edition. An author index makes it easy to find out what Nabokov said about art ("Beauty plus pity-that is the closest we can get to a definition of art") or what Barbara Pym thought of poetry anthologies ("What a bad sign it is to get the Oxford Book of Victorian Verse out of the library"). All in all, this is an edifying and highly diverting resource for any student of writing and language.
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Review

"Celebrating over 3000 years of writing, this expanded edition is chock-full of literary gems. Open it anywhere, and vignettes of literary life in different eras spring into view....Recommended."--Library Journal

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (January 22, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198662815
• ISBN-13: 978-0198662815
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,155,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Educational, March 8, 2006

By 

Robert J. Bizjak "Bobzy" (Missoula, MT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Quotations (Hardcover)

I found this book exceptionally educational and inviting. I recommend this book to any English major interested in literary quotations. The book is organized, concise and easy to follow. This purchase was well worth it!

4.0 out of 5 stars As far as a book on Literary Quotations goes,this one is pretty good., December 4, 2011

By 

J. Guild (Toronto,Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Quotations (Oxford Paperback Reference) (Paperback)

When thinking about buying a book on quotations,one has a choise in buying one that is limited to one field such as Military,Science,Humor,Art,Music,Leadership,hit & Wisdom,Ethnics& Cultures,Lawyers,Doctors, etc.such as this one is;or one of a general nature.So,if your aim is to limit yourself to Literary quotes,this is ideal,but would disappoint if it is to be used for quotes in general.

One must also keep in mind ,that this an "Oxford" dictionary and the quotations are heavily weighted in favor of British Literature.

As with all quotation compilations;it is always a problem in organizing them or for the user finding them in the book.This book is good in that it has an Index that lists the quotations by Author and another one that lists them by Keyword.To further assist the user the quotations are organized in themes ,alphabetically.

There is also a short section o "How to Use the Dictionary".

For example;under "themes you get Thomas Carlyle,Lewis Carroll Catullus,Censorship,Cerventas,Raymond Chandler,etc.Now, if you look under Lewis Carroll,you will find 2 quotes;one by Ellen Terry,and one by Walter de la Mare.However under "Authors" you will find 15 listed by Lewis Carroll,one being about literature on page 203:5.Now under Themes,Literature has has 95 listings,but doesn't include the one on 203:5.

The point being,even with this much indexing,trying to find or refind a quote can be difficult,so if you find one you might go searching for later ,you'd better have your own method of "tagging it".