Bedford Glossary of Critical & Literary Terms

Fourth Edition

Publication Date: January 30, 2019

Paperback ISBN: 9781319035396

Pages: 560

An indispensable tool for literary study

Engaging, authoritative, and affordably priced, The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms is a comprehensive reference that clearly and accessibly defines hundreds of important literary and critical terms from classical times to the present, making them real and relevant...

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ISBN: 9781319035396
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Preface

A Note on References and Cross-References

List of Terms Defined in The Bedford Glossary

Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms

Index of Authors and Titles

Clear and lively definitions of more than 900 terms. The glossary presents the most up-to-date definitions of traditional literary terms, along with many new terms that reflect the new ways literature is being taught.

Examples from literature and popular culture. In addition to examples gathered from canonical and contemporary literature, the glossary uses hundreds of references to the popular culture that students know and enjoy.

A handy and simple reference. Arranged alphabetically, the entries are extensively cross-referenced. An index of authors and works allows quick access to examples cited in the entries.

An affordable price. With an affordable retail price, the Bedford Glossary is an inexpensive investment that students will use for years in their literature courses.

Thoroughly updated entries, plus seven substantial new entries covering contemporary genres and critical approaches. Up-to-date and revised coverage of critical approaches includes: expanded entries on ecocriticism and feminist criticism; substantial new entries on emerging fields and approaches such as digital humanities, intersectionality, posthumanism, and thing theory; current and expanded coverage of genres including new entries on flash fiction, manga, and steampunk.

Many more diverse and contemporary examples drawn from numerous genres. With illustrative examples drawn from novels such as Suzanne Collins’s trilogy The Hunger Games, television series including Homeland and Game of Thrones, and the lyrics of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, students can easily understand the definition and application of the terms.

Streamlined to reflect cultural shifts and emerging perspectives. Outdated discussions have been cut and definitions of traditional terms have been trimmed to make the fourth edition a more efficient and current reference.

Now available in print or an e-book
The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms is now available in both print and e-book formats. For details about our e-book partners, visit macmillanlearning.com/ebooks.

The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms combines the standard material that every student of literature should know with fresh and insightful examples that give a new shine to our shared critical vocabulary.
–James Morey, Emory University

With its clear, precise, and accessible presentation of literary terms and critical concepts, The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms is unmatched as a college reference resource.
– Sean Kelly, Wilkes University

The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms remains my book of choice because it can introduce beginners to the nuances of the discipline while helping them develop more complex readings, understandings, and ideas during the course of their entire career.
–Mark Willhardt, Monmouth College

Ross C. Murfin

Ross Murfin, E. A. Lilly Distinguished Professor of English and former provost at Southern Methodist University, has also taught at the University of Virginia, Yale University, and the University of Miami, where he was the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences until 1996. He is the author of Swinburne, Lawrence, Hardy, and the Burden of Belief (1978); The Poetry of D. H. Lawrence: Texts and Contexts (1983); Sons and Lovers: A Novel of Division and Desire (1987); and Lord Jim: After the Truth (1992); and the editor of Conrad Revisited: Essays for the Eighties (1983). The series editor of Bedford/St. Martins popular Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism, he has also edited two volumes in the series, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (Third Edition, 2011) and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (Second Edition, 2006).

Supryia M. Ray

Supryia M. Ray is an attorney, writer, and editor. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1998 and summa cum laude from the University of Miami in 1995. She has served in the U.S. federal court system for nine years, as a law clerk to three judges and as a staff attorney focusing on political asylum cases. She has also run her own business as a writer and editor; was in private practice as a litigator; and served as a public-interest environmental advocate, an ESL teacher, and a member of Literacy AmeriCorps. She assisted Ross Murfin in the research and preparation of more than a dozen volumes in the Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism series and authored “Contextual Documents and Illustrations” for the second edition of The Scarlet Letter.