J. A. Cuddon 
A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory 

With new entries and sensitive edits, this fifth edition places
J.A. Cuddon’s indispensable dictionary firmly in the 21st
Century.

* Written in a clear and highly readable style

* Comprehensive historical coverage extending from ancient times
to the present day

* Broad intellectual and cultural range

* Expands on the previous edition to incorporate the most recent
literary terminology

* New material is particularly focused in areas such as gender
studies and queer theory, post-colonial theory, post-structuralism,
post-modernism, narrative theory, and cultural studies.

* Existing entries have been edited to ensure that topics receive
balanced treatment

Table of Content

Preface to the Fifth Edition by M. A. R. Habib vi

Preface to the Fourth Edition by C. E. Preston viii

Preface to the Third Edition by J. A. Cuddon x

Acknowledgements xvi

List of Abbreviations xvii

A-Z of Entries 1-784

About the author

Author

J. A. Cuddon was a renowned academic, essayist, novelist,
playwright, and travel writer. He died in March 1996.

Editor

M. A. R. Habib, Professor of English, Rutgers
University, Camden. His books include the highly acclaimed A
History of Literary Criticism: From Plato to the Present
(Blackwell, 2005), Modern Literary Criticism and Theory: A
History (2008), Literary Criticism from Plato to the
Present: An Introduction (2011), and the Cambridge History
of Literary Criticism: Vol. VI: the Nineteenth Century (ed.,
2012).

Associate Editors

Matthew Birchwood, Senior Lecturer in English Literature at
Kingston University, London

Vedrana Velickovic, Lecturer in English Literature at the
University of Brighton

Martin Dines, Senior Lecturer in English Literature at Kingston
University, London

Shanyn Fiske, Associate Professor of English at Rutgers
University, Camden.