The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (Penguin Dictionary) [Paperback]

J. A. Cuddon (Author), C. E. Preston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0140513639 | ISBN-13: 978-0140513639 | Edition: 4th

The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory is firmly established as a key work of reference in the complex and varied field of literary criticism. Now in its fourth edition, it remains the most comprehensive and accessible work of its kind, and is invaluable for student, teachers and general readers alike.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The fourth edition of J.A. Cuddon's classic dictionary has been thoroughly revised and updated to maintain it as the most comprehensive and accessible work of its kind currently available, for students, teachers and general readers alike. Expanded to include many new entries, it has been improved throughout, in places rendered more concise, in others amended and extended, with both major and minor additions. The work of the third edition, to cover the schools and various terminologies of literary theory is continued, without compromising coverage afforded to more traditional critical terms and topics.

At this untimely death in 1996, Charles Cuddon, as he was known, had completed much of the revisory and updating work involved in preparing the edition. That work and other unfinished plans and outlines have since been overseen and developed by C.E. Preston of Sidney Sussex college, Cambridge, helped, as she acknowledges, by several of her academic colleagues. Among the entries extensively rewritten or newly contributed are:

• "CrimeFiction",
  
• "Dramatic Monologue",
  
• "Ellipsis",
  
• "Punctuation",
  
• "Rhyme",
  
• "Verse Novel", and
  
• "Sonnet Cycle".

After more than twenty years in print, Cuddon's Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory remains "a superlative work of reference that will be read for pleasure", just as it was acclaimed to be when first published in 1976. There is now no better memorial to its author's extraordinary polymathy and literary scholarship. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

J.A. Cuddon was a novelist, travel writer and academic. He died in 1996. The work of finishing off the fourth edition fell to C.E. Preston of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1024 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); 4th edition (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140513639
• ISBN-13: 978-0140513639
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Books & Reading > Reference

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bean Counters Literary Dream, December 24, 2002

By 

Robert Derenthal "bucherwurm" (California United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (Penguin Dictionary) (Paperback)

You get a lot of value for the money with this one. For a reasonable price you get almost 1000 pages of literary information. Every obscure literary term imaginable is here, but that's not why I am taking the time to praise this handy little volume. It's a browsers dream.

What I found most interesting were the lengthy sections on genres. There are pages devoted to specific types of novels, dramas, and poems. There are luxuriously long sections on science fiction novels, crime fiction, pastoral writings, short stories, gothic fiction, comic drama, and a host of other such topics. When you go to the short story section, for instance, you will find 12 pages dedicated to coverage of authors and their works dating from biblical times to the present (1998). I quickly found recommended writers that I hadn't known along with those I was well acquainted with. Although this book was inexpensive, I have spent many times its purchase price buying new books that I found referenced in this Dictionary. There are no individual entries for authors or their works in this book. For that you need to go to books like the Oxford, Cambridge, New York Public Library or Benet's literature reference works.

In poetry sections you will find examples of the type of verse being discussed. You will be amused at some of the entries provided under "light verse" and "limericks". There is even a heading for "shaggy dog story".

Any weaknesses to the book? Well there are a few. This book has a single author, unlike many reference works that have a group of contributors. This can lead to weak sections that are outside the solo author's expertise. Every reader will find a favorite author or two missing from the genre sections. I was appalled, for instance, to find no mention of Flannery O'Connor in the section on American short story authors. As the author is English, there may also be a slight bias toward English writers. I was also somewhat annoyed that Mr. Cuddon often -but not always- didn't take the time to give a foreign title its English translation. Would it have hurt him to list the Victor Hugo novel as "Toilers of the Sea" instead of "Les Travailleurs de le Mer"?

I am a hopeless book addict, and this little reference work really made my day(s).

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As fascinating as literature itself., May 12, 2000

By 

Piotr Szymczak - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (Penguin Dictionary) (Paperback)

This addictive dictionary can be (and frequently is, I believe) read from cover to cover. Hundreds of fascinating poetic forms, genres and movements are covered, the definitions are informative and often ironically detached (note the studiedly lapidary comments on Welsh poetry), virtually all major European literatures are taken into account, plus there are comments on Slavonic folklore, Korean poetry, Welsh prosody, and ancient Greek literary theory.

The wiring and plumbing of the book, its cross-referencing system, is admirably done and very helpful, luring the reader into a rollercoaster ride across centuries.

Another notable quality is the rich number of examples, especially of the titles of a legion of important / interesting / fascinating / demented literary works often buried in the sands of time. Unfortunately, however, many metric and strophic forms must go without illustration for reasons of space: a fact deplored by Cuddon himself in the preface.

But this does not detract from the book's worth: its logical structure and lucid explanations, combined with its author's awesome erudition, make this a priceless reference work.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for students and teachers of literature, September 23, 2003

By 

Debbie Lee Wesselmann (the Lehigh Valley, PA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (Penguin Dictionary) (Paperback)

This comprehensive dictionary of literary terms covers much, much more than any other book I've found. It concisely defines literary periods, critical schools, artistic movements, techniques, genres, structural elements, and the derivations of each. No term is too obscure for this volume. Want to know what a rime équivoquée is? Forget what is meant by post-modernism? What was the Florida Street group and with whom did the members identify? Need classic examples of a parody? How does the word "forensics" apply to poetry? You'll find it all in this book of nearly 1000 pages.

This is a highly valuable book for anyone deeply interested in literature and its expressions.