The Oxford Dictionary of Allusions (Oxford Paperback Reference) - Softcover

Delahunty, Andrew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0198606826 ISBN 13: 9780198606826

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2003

Synopsis

Allusions form a colourful extension to the English language, drawing on our collective knowledge of literature, mythology, and the Bible to give us a literary shorthand for describing people, places, and events. So a miser is a Scrooge, a strong man is a Samson or a Hercules, a beautiful woman is a Venus or a modern-day Helen of Troy - we can suffer like Sisyphus, fail like Canute, or linger like the smile of the Cheshire Cat. This completely new reference work explains the meanings of the allusions in use in modern English, from Abaddon to Zorro, Tartarus to Tarzan, and Rubens to Rambo. This fascinating book is based on an extensive reading programme that has identified the most commonly-used allusions, and quotations are included at most entries to illustrate usage, from a range of authors and sources, from Thomas Hardy to Ben Elton, Charles Dickens to "Bridget Jones's Diary".

About this title

Review

The Oxford Dictionary of Allusions provides concise guidance to thousands of references to literature, mythology and the Bible. If you've ever been puzzled by one, it's a good book to have. The allusions are mostly grouped by theme, while a few key subjects are given extended treatment in their own special entries--Adam and Eve, Hercules and The Trojan War, for example. In most cases, the explanation of an allusion's meaning is accompanied by at least one example of its use. In addition, there's a note of guidance at the head of each theme, and there are plenty of cross-references linking related topics. The entry on Heathcliff, for example, is included under the theme "Beauty: male beauty" and declares: "Heathcliff is the passionate gypsy hero of Emily Bronte's romantic novel Wuthering Heights (1847). He has long, dark hair and a rugged, wild attractiveness." Two examples follow.

This book will be particularly useful to students, teachers and others whose work requires them to understand references to literature, mythology and the Bible. It is also fascinating to delve into for anyone whose reading brings them across such references. It makes a fit companion to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable and The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, complementing the areas of illumination offered by those two volumes. --David Pickering

Review

UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "Wonderfully conceived and extraordinarily useful" UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "an attractive addition to a writer's shelf of Reference works" UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "A brilliantly organized handbook of names, places and phrases...A highly readable text"

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198606826
• ISBN 13: 9780198606826
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 468