A Glossary of Literary Terms - Ninth Edition - Reference for Literary Analysis

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Finn

A Glossary of Literary Terms (Ninth Edition) presents succinct, essay-based definitions of critical terms, theories, and points of view used to classify, analyze, interpret, and write the history of literary works. Entries are organized in alphabetic order and cross-reference related or subsidiary terms within the same essay. The new edition updates discussions to reflect innovations in critical views, methods, and recent publications in literature, criticism, and scholarship, supported by guides to further reading.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages408

Reading Time10 h 28 min

AccessFree to download

Preface

About the Authors

Contents

How to Use This Glossary

Literary Terms

Index of Authors

✵ A Glossary of Literary Terms NI NT H ED IT IO N M. H. ABRAMS Cornell University Geoffrey Galt Harpham National Humanities Center Australia • Brazil • Japan • Korea • Mexico • Singapore • Spain United Kingdom • United States A Glossary of Literary Terms, Ninth Edition M. H. Abrams, Geoffrey Galt Harpham Publisher: Michael Rosenberg Managing Development Editor: Karen Judd Senior Editorial Assistant: Megan Garvey Content Project Manager: Jessica Rasile Production Technology Analyst: Jamison MacLachlan Senior Art Director: Cate Rickard Barr Senior Print Buyer: Betsy Donaghey Text Permissions Editor: Margaret Chamberlain-Gaston Production Service/Compositor: Newgen Cover Design: Ross Carron Design © 2009, 2005 Wadsworth Cengage Learning ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced, transmitted, stored, or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, scanning, digitizing, taping, Web distribution, information networks, or information storage and retrieval systems, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For product information and technology assistance, contact us at Cengage Learning Academic Resource Center, 1-800-423-0563 For permission to use material from this text or product, submit all requests online at [www.cengage.com/permissions](www.cengage.com/permissions). Further permissions questions can bee-mailed to [permissionrequest@cengage.com](permissionrequest@cengage.com). Library of Congress Control Number: 2008924505 ISBN-13: 978-1-4130-3390-8 ISBN-10: 1-4130-3390-3 Wadsworth Cengage Learning 25 Thomson Place Boston, MA 02210 USA Cengage Learning products are represented in Canada by Nelson Education, Ltd. For your course and learning solutions, visit [academic.cengage.com](academic.cengage.com). Purchase any of our products at your local college store or at our preferred online store [www.ichapters.com](www.ichapters.com). Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 12 11 10 09 08 ✵ To Ruth This page intentionally left blank ✵ About the Authors M. H. Abrams, Class of 1916 Professor of English at Cornell University, Emeritus, is a distinguished scholar who has written prize-winning books on eighteenth-and nineteenth-century literature, literary theory and criticism, European Romanticism, and Western intellectual history. His A Glossary of Literary Terms is a series of succinct essays on the chief terms and concepts used in discussing literature, literary history and movements, and literary criticism. Since first published in 1957, the Glossary has become an indispensable handbook for all students of English and other literatures. Geoffrey Galt Harpham is president and director of the National Humanities Center in North Carolina. He has written extensively in the fields of intellectual history and critical theory, and on the work of Joseph Conrad. Among his books are The Character of Criticism, Shadows of Ethics: Criticism and the Just Society, and Language Alone: The Critical Fetish of Modernity. This page intentionally left blank ✵ Contents PREFACE ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi HOW TO USE THIS GLOSSARY xii LITERARY TERMS 1 INDEX OF AUTHORS 383 This page intentionally left blank ✵ Preface This book defines and discusses terms, critical theories, and points of view that are commonly applied in classifying, analyzing, interpreting, and writing the history of works of literature. The component entries, together with the guides to further reading included in most of them, are oriented especially toward undergraduate students of English, American, and other literatures. Over the decades, however, the book has proved to be a useful and popular work of reference for advanced students, as well as for the

FAQs

What is the purpose of this glossary in studying literature?

It defines and discusses terms, critical theories, and points of view used to classify, analyze, interpret, and write the history of literary works.

How are the glossary entries organized?

Entries are presented in alphabetic order by the title word or phrase, and related subsidiary terms are discussed under the primary or generic term heading.

What does the ninth edition change or update?

It keeps entries current with innovations in critical views and methods, incorporates important new publications, and includes suggested improvements and additions.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Finn