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A Handbook to Literature
A Handbook to Literature, Sixth Edition continues its fifty-year tradition as an indispensable, dictionary-style supplement for anyone's personal or professional library.
The Outline of Literary History gives, in a condensed tabular form, the most important events in the literary history of English-speaking people, along with a few undeniably significant non-English items.
The Index of Proper Names specifies all those individuals mentioned in this book
William Harmon has renewed the Handbook's vitality with 100 new entries, reflecting contemporary trends in women's studies, ethnic studies, and film. The original 1,700 entries, highlighting current fashions in literary criticism, have been updated and expanded so that explanations range from several lines to several pages. The book is easy to use and consists of three main sections:
The Outline of Literary History gives, in a condensed tabular form, the most important events in the literary history of English-speaking people, along with a few undeniably significant non-English items.
The Index of Proper Names specifies all those individuals mentioned in this book
615 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1936
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Want to Read
September 16, 2017There is something calming about dipping into this. Randomly opening it to a page, reading an entry, and falling down the rabbit hole of related terms. It's a wonderful thing.
July 9, 2020
Traditional guide through literary & rhetorical terminology. Basically indispensible for literary students. Does not contain much in the way of theory or criticism--that's for other items, such as the Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary & Cultural Criticism.
June 25, 2008
This formed the central core of my liberal arts/educated by the Jesuit educated education.
get that?
This book was my mainstay as a student and English literature major. I have four different editions starting with my father's from his student days in the early 60's at the University of Scranton.
get that?
This book was my mainstay as a student and English literature major. I have four different editions starting with my father's from his student days in the early 60's at the University of Scranton.
July 19, 2012
A MUST-HAVE for any English student, teacher, or professor.
Read
October 4, 2015very good book...
Want to Read
October 12, 2020Knowledgeable book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2025
Note from July 2019: Have the paperback version of this 1960 edition. Have owned for 1,000 years and really hadn't examined until now.
September 2025: Finished. Read a zillion entries in alphabetical order from "Abstract Poetry" to "Zeugma," plus 75 pages of "Outline of Literary History English and American" at the end of the book. I read the outline first, all those years ago, and have been picking off the rest bit-by-bit ever since.
Needed two bookmarks because many entries contained a reference to another entry, so I usually went to that reference to see what we are supposed to know. And often the reference was behind my current place in the book (something I'd already read but probably didn't remember). Wherever that reference was, it often led to another reference (or two or three or . . .), so I needed one bookmark to leave at my current point-of-progress, because one never knew how long it would take to get back there. Could be days, as I was only reading a few entries at one sitting.
This 1960 edition is subtitled "Revised"; the original edition dates to 1936. At the moment I don't know if there is a newer edition . . . will look when I'm finished here.
NOTE -- I looked -- Goodreads has references to at least 12 editions.
Don't be fooled -- this is not a handbook to specific pieces of LITERTATURE as much as it is a handbook to literary terms and critical language. If and when it talks about specific pieces of LITERATURE, it's only because that literary work is an example of a particular element of literature. Much of it deals with poetic elements . . . most of those I quickly forgot. Of course, it HAS been six years . . . I've probably forgotten most of the book!
Hard to give a Goodreads Star rating . . . I'm calling halfway between "it was OK" and "liked it," thus 2.5 stars, and "liked it" was more "appreciated it" in my case. Will NOT be rereading, although I will retain in case I never need to explain "Zeugma."
I bought this book on sale for 25 cents (marked down from $2.75) at the University Book Store. Of course, I don't remember which of four or five universities it might have been . . . I'm suspecting The University of Missouri, simply because it was the only place with a bookstore specifically named University Book Store . . . that I can remember.
September 2025: Finished. Read a zillion entries in alphabetical order from "Abstract Poetry" to "Zeugma," plus 75 pages of "Outline of Literary History English and American" at the end of the book. I read the outline first, all those years ago, and have been picking off the rest bit-by-bit ever since.
Needed two bookmarks because many entries contained a reference to another entry, so I usually went to that reference to see what we are supposed to know. And often the reference was behind my current place in the book (something I'd already read but probably didn't remember). Wherever that reference was, it often led to another reference (or two or three or . . .), so I needed one bookmark to leave at my current point-of-progress, because one never knew how long it would take to get back there. Could be days, as I was only reading a few entries at one sitting.
This 1960 edition is subtitled "Revised"; the original edition dates to 1936. At the moment I don't know if there is a newer edition . . . will look when I'm finished here.
NOTE -- I looked -- Goodreads has references to at least 12 editions.
Don't be fooled -- this is not a handbook to specific pieces of LITERTATURE as much as it is a handbook to literary terms and critical language. If and when it talks about specific pieces of LITERATURE, it's only because that literary work is an example of a particular element of literature. Much of it deals with poetic elements . . . most of those I quickly forgot. Of course, it HAS been six years . . . I've probably forgotten most of the book!
Hard to give a Goodreads Star rating . . . I'm calling halfway between "it was OK" and "liked it," thus 2.5 stars, and "liked it" was more "appreciated it" in my case. Will NOT be rereading, although I will retain in case I never need to explain "Zeugma."
I bought this book on sale for 25 cents (marked down from $2.75) at the University Book Store. Of course, I don't remember which of four or five universities it might have been . . . I'm suspecting The University of Missouri, simply because it was the only place with a bookstore specifically named University Book Store . . . that I can remember.
May 22, 2013
It is a handy book that can be read for pleasure. However, the publisher really doesn't need to update it every 3 years to force poor students to buy the new editions. In this 10th edition the editor admitted there was little substantial he could add. In fact, he mentioned his children suggested three new entries - "manga", "coffee table book" and "jumping the shark"- strangely, "jumping the shark" was not even actually added as the other two...Greedy publishers :-(, lousy work. Luck that I have learned not to buy the newest editions.
November 28, 2008
I put this on my Academic Life shelf, but this is such an essential read for anyone who loves literature. I'm so geeky that I used to sit down and read the articles in the Holman Handbook for the sheer joy of reading it. I love this book.
January 19, 2013
A must-have for literary folks. This is a Very useful tool for literary terms etc., deep and comprehensive entries. I studied with him at UNC Chapel Hill. He literally wrote the book on it with William Harmon, awesome poet also at UNC.
January 22, 2008
A helpful tool for the aspiring autodidact or bibliophile.
February 23, 2008
Puzzled by parataxis? Stymied by the sublime? Unsure of your unreliable narrator? Look no further than this exhaustive literary resource.
February 7, 2009
This was one of the books I was smart enough to keep from college. It's a great resource for literary terminology and definitions.
March 22, 2011
Indispensable!
March 23, 2013
only snipets, but provided good jumping-off point and reminders for writing or research
November 16, 2013
a very special book
Read
March 3, 2014cool one
August 16, 2014
A nice introduction to literature.
June 23, 2015
very good
Want to Read
August 24, 2015This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
December 27, 2015Somewhat misinformative, sometimes due to the wording.
February 11, 2008
Handy dictionary of literary movements and terms. Useful if you feel like toting it around.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews