A Contemporary Guide to Literary Termsis a brief, inexpensive, and accessible handbook of literary terms for a full range of courses, including introduction to literature, literature for composition, American literature, British literature, and Shakespeare. In clear, concise, and user-friendly language, the text highlights its entries with contemporary, multicultural examples. This edition features more terms and new entries for all periods of literary history. Clear, brief, reader-friendly entries, which don't assume extensive knowledge of literature, offer specific quotations from texts and commentary on the examples. Demonstrations of practical criticism illustrate literary terms, approaches, and theories and make individual entries useful for classroom discussion. No other literary handbook or glossary performs this task or employs this strategy.