Encyclopedia of Allegorical Literature - (Literary Companions (ABC)) by David Adams Leeming & Kathleen Drowne & Kathleen Morgan Drowne (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Entries cover the Western allegorical tradition, as well as selected Indian, Middle Eastern, South American, and African works.

From the Back Cover

In the Encyclopedia of Allegorical Literature, readers will find more than 400 concise articles covering all aspects of literary allegory: the device wherein characters, situations, and actions stand for ideas. Far-ranging in scope, the book covers the entire Western allegorical tradition during the vast sweep of time between the Old Testament Song of Songs and the postmodernist novels of Thomas Pynchon and Ishmael Reed. Selected Indian, Middle Eastern, South American, and African works are also included, as are works that are not, strictly speaking, allegories, yet contain allegorical aspects. In addition, the authors provide articles on allegory as it relates to film, music, psychoanalysis, and other fields. The A-to-Z entries include allegorical works, authors, characters, definitions, and literary devices and terms, all carefully cross-referenced to direct the reader to related topics. Essays on the works include a brief overview of the work itself as well as an analysis of how closely it adheres to the definition of allegory set out in the helpful introduction. Quick-reference appendixes list titles of works featured in the book both alphabetically and chronologically. An extensive bibliography refers readers to a wealth of background material. A subject index rounds out the volume.

Review Quotes

"The index is excellent. A solid reference resource for libraries supporting literary studies." --Library Journal

"The encyclopedia will enrich [students'] understanding as well as the potential of reference collections." --Rettig on Reference (Gale.com)

"It has no rivals and is recommended for secondary and lower-division college students, or others seeking an introduction to allegory." --Choice

"The broad coverage includes more than 400 articles, a diversity of art forms, and less widely known 20th-century allegories. A solid, if somewhat specialized, choice." --School Library Journal

"Those high schools, community colleges, and undergraduate colleges that emphasize literature studies will benefit from this work. Recommended." --The Book Report

About the Author

David A. Leeming is professor emeritus of English and comparative literature at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT.

Kathleen Morgan Drowne is assistant director of the Writers' Center at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. She is a doctoral candidate in English at the University of North Carolina.