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Edwin J. Barton
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A Contemporary Guide to Literary Terms: With Strategies for Writing Essays About Literature 2nd Edition

by Edwin Barton (Author), Glenda A. Hudson (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 17 ratings
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A Contemporary Guide to Literary Terms
A Contemporary Guide to Literary Terms
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A Contemporary Guide to Literary Terms is a brief, inexpensive, and accessible handbook of literary terms for a full range of courses, including introduction to literature, literature for composition, American literature, British literature, and Shakespeare. In clear, concise, and user-friendly language, the text highlights its entries with contemporary, multicultural examples. This edition features more terms and new entries for all periods of literary history.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0618341625
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0618341627
  3. Edition
    2nd
  4. Publisher
    Houghton Mifflin Company
  5. Publication date
    September 8, 2003
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6.25 x 0.5 x 9 inches
  8. Print length
    321 pages
  9. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Houghton Mifflin Company; 2nd edition (September 8, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 321 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0618341625
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0618341627
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.01 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 0.5 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 17 ratings

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Edwin J. Barton

Edwin J. Barton

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
17 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

maggie
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent
Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2013
Verified Purchase
I needed this book for my class in Poetry. This book offers much more than just the basic rules and regulations of literary terms. Great book.
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Jingle
5.0 out of 5 stars perfect.
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2009
Verified Purchase
i bought this guide from amazon a while ago and i still use it today! it arrived in perfect condition. the guide is clear, precise and has plenty of details. it has helped me tons in writing my essays.
One person found this helpful
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Alex Attanasio
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2015
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A must-have for students of literature.
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Christy
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2015
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Good
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Lisa
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to use book from a great seller
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2010
Verified Purchase
Book is comprehensive without being overwhelming. It is easy to reference. Seller shipped product quickly, good condition.
One person found this helpful
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Amanda M. Gleason
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2007
Perfect condition as promised. Delivered right on time...will definitely keep using Amazon for my textbooks..a great find for college students!
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars very useful dictionary of literary terms
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2009
I supervise students doing the Honours year of their degree, working in practice-based art & design research. They have often made it through their degree with no exposure to literature or literary theory, and then discover that to delve deeper into their topic they need to start reading critically, but lack the understanding of texts to be able to do so. For these students this is the perfect book. I have also found it excellent for International students with English as a second language. It would also suit senior high-school students.

The advantage of this book over other dictionaries of literary terms (like the Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory) is its brevity, and the way related topics are linked together. The Penguin dictionary is over 1000 pages, and this can be incredibly daunting for someone who isn't a specialist in this area, and doesn't aim to be. This book gives enough information to cover the basics, but not too much to be off-putting. The language is simple, assumes no prior knowledge, and is in relatively large print. The disadvantage is the cost; this book is three times the price of the the Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms. For a PhD candidate or an undergraduate literature student I would definitely recommend the Penguin book over this one.

4/5 of the book is a dictionary of terms. These encompass both schools of thought e.g. structuralism and poststructuralism, feminist critique, deconstruction, and also more specific elements of literature e.g. elegy, epistolary novel, onomatopoeia, novel, myth, narrative points of view etc. There are also cinematic terms like Film Noir, panning, tracking etc. The definitions include examples, and are lengthy enough to be thorough but not so long that they seem incomprehensible e.g. 2.5 pages for deconstruction.

The last 1/5 is guidelines on essay writing, and also exam writing, with sample essays. These are all sound, useful points, however this should not be considered primarily as a how-to-write-an-essay manual. Finally there is a one-page guide to MLA referencing.

To complement this book I would recommend 'How To Read Literature Like a Professor' by Thomas C. Foster, as this teaches how to identify themes in literature, in an easy-to-read and conversational manner.
9 people found this helpful
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