Review by Choice Review
Based openly on M. H. Abrams's A Glossary of Literary Terms (8th ed., 2005; 6th ed., CH, Sep'93, 31-0002), this volume wants to establish itself as " ... a competitor as well as a companion." Far from striving for pure objectivity, Mikics (Univ. of Houston) is more "essayistic," "expansive and opinionated," while employing "the occasional wisecrack." Reading that Emerson is "more cosmic and less gossipy" than Montaigne demonstrates Mikics's tone. J. A. Cuddon's The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (4th ed., 1999) is a closer comparison, notwithstanding the author's comment about Cuddon being too lengthy for the college classroom.The introduction is especially useful for its list of other similar reference works for interested students. The closing paragraph cleanly delineates the current trend for literary theory, listing entries that encapsulate the field--from "hermeneutics, reception theory" to "gender studies." This reveals the book's focus of being more suited to literary theory than strict literary vocabulary. Although any book will omit certain terms, there are specific, fundamental terms that ought to be included in a basic reference work--e.g., "ibid" is missing from these pages.Books like this, which profess to include comparative literature, should also include "Weltanschauung" (or even "Zeitgeist") as an entry. But this, too, is missing. Discussion of the poetic "foot" is hidden under the entry for "meter"; confusingly, "free verse" looks to be cross-referenced, but has no separate entry. This handbook is an important contribution to the field, but not an essential one--more a bellwether for literary theory than an exhaustive collection of terminology. Entries vary in length from a few lines to a few pages. Cross-references are in capital letters, with numerous examples and suggestions for further reading at the end of each. Summing Up: Recommended. Most lower-/upper-level undergraduate collections. S. J. Shaw Prairie View A&M University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Author Mikics stakes a claim in what he acknowledges is a crowded field with this collection of literary terms that are crucial for students to know. Entries cover forms, genres, movements, periods, and theories, among other topics. Especially useful are the bibliographical examples and suggestions contained in most entries. For instance, Gothic refers to examples ranging from Horace Walpole's Castle of Otranto to the movie Psycho and the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer in addition to several important critical works on the genre. Emphasis is on the European tradition.--Quinn, Mary Ellen Copyright 2007 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Offering more commentary than that found in standard literary dictionaries, this portable, easily read, abridged literary dictionary restricts its selections to those terms that Mikics (English, Univ. of Houston; The Limits of Moralizing: Pathos and Subjectivity in Spenser and Milton) believes are "crucial" for students to know. He also includes personal opinion along with snippets of literary criticism to clarify a definition. For "grotesque," for example, he states that "In Plato's Symposium, the image of Socrates as a Silenus, or foul satyr, is a grotesque. And the traditional figure of the fool offers a defense of the grotesque, signaled by a deformed physique and the distorted perspective that goes along with it, but allied to wisdom." Approximately 600 entries range in length from eight lines (e.g., "agitprop") to three and a half pages (e.g., "comedy"). Drawn primarily from European literature, they include major literary movements and genres as well as brief historical reviews. Most entries feature a minimum of one example plus one resource for additional reading, but there is no formal bibliography. A few entries have See or See also references. Bottom Line While Mikics's book works nicely with such standard titles as Collins's Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (2006. 17th ed.) and Thomson-Wadsworth's A Glossary of Literary Terms (2005. 8th ed.), it is not a replacement. Recommended for public and academic libraries.-Laurie Selwyn, formerly with Grayson Cty. Law Lib., Lamar, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Library Journal Review
