A Dictionary Of Literary And Thematic Terms

A D I C T I O N A R Y O F Li te ra ry Thema tic Te rms and Second Edition E D WA R D Q U I NN A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition Copyright © 2006 by Edward Quinn All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Facts On File, Inc. An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Quinn, Edward, 1932– A dictionary of literary and thematic terms / Edward Quinn—2nd ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-8160-6243-9 (hc : alk. paper) 1. Criticism—Terminology. 2. Literature— Terminology. 3. Literature, Comparative—Themes, motives, etc.—Terminology. 4. English language—Terms and phrases. 5. Literary form—Terminology. I. Title. PN44.5.Q56 2006 803—dc22 2005029826 Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at http://www.factsonfile.com Text design by Sandra Watanabe Cover design by Cathy Rincon Printed in the United States of America MP FOF 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Co n te n ts Preface v Literary and Thematic Terms 1 Index 453 Pr e fa c e This book offers the student or general reader a guide through the thicket of literary terms. Unlike traditional books of this type, however, it takes an expanded view of the term literary. One cause of this expansion is the new way of talking about and teaching literature that has emerged since the late 1960s under the general heading of “theory.” Theory often deals with subjects that seem at best only peripherally related to what we think of as literature, but some of its insights have provided us with new tools to understand the processes of reading, writing, interpreting, and (alas, to a relatively insignificant extent) enjoying literature. This book provides discussions of the major terms begotten by theory, always with the goal of relating them to literary study. Another form of expansion is reflected in the title word thematic. This is the first book of literary terms to include within it discussions of major literary themes, such as death, love, and time, and also of themes that have a particular significance for our age, such as AIDS, alienation, and anti-Semitism. Still another expansion of “literature” is its extension to include film, television, and other forms of popular culture, thus the appearance of terms such as macguffin, sitcom, and rap. These updatings and innovations, however, should not obscure the fact that most of the entries in this book have been in existence for centuries, some of them— those relating to Aristotle—as old as 2,500 years. Like other living things, the literary tradition continues to evolve and expand, enriching the lives of all those lucky enough to come to know it. To that end, this book offers itself as a modest guide. The subtitle of this new edition might well be labeled, “From Academic Discourse to Zines” since these are the first and last new entries in the book. However, while these two appropriately suggest the ever expanding range of what constitutes “literary” terms, they also indicate the somewhat shifting, deceptive nature of these terms. At first glance, academic discourse appears to be a rusty relic of an ivory-towered past, while zines seems to embody the essence of a computergenerated future. But as the entries themselves indicate, academic discourse has recently become a h