- Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
- Publisher: OUP Oxford; 2 edition (10 Nov 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0198609191
- ISBN-13: 978-0198609193
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 3.6 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 814,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk 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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
UNEDITED UK REVIEW: "A brilliantly organized handbook of names, places and phrases...A highly readable text"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Abaddon Abaddon, whose name is Hebrew for 'destruction' or 'abyss', is described in the book of Revelation as 'the angel of the bottomless pit' who presides over a swarm of tormenting locusts that 'have tails like scorpions, and stings' (Rev. 9: 10-11). Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Abaddon Abaddon, whose name is Hebrew for 'destruction' or 'abyss', is described in the book of Revelation as 'the angel of the bottomless pit' who presides over a swarm of tormenting locusts that 'have tails like scorpions, and stings' (Rev. 9: 10-11). Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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3 reviews
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
References, NOT Allusions
7 Sep 2008
Format:Mass Market Paperback
While this book has many interesting tidbits of information that may make their way into writing, they are most definitely not allusions. At best they are simply literary REFERENCES and therefore this book provides little beyond what you would find in a typical encyclopedia entry about the keyword. Who was Ahab, Frodo, Medusa, etc. Where is hell, olympus, or Narnia. What was manna and so on. Unfortunately, the examples follow the same pattern. Whereas an allusion is indirect and subtle, the examples in this book are direct and explicit references to the keywords (ie "He was crazy like Ahab," instead of something like a subtle quotation from Moby Dick suggesting the character of Ahab). I got this book mainly for the examples in order to see the different ways allusions have been used, but all the examples are simply examples of literary references, not allusions.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
waking our language
22 Mar 2008
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The day the Oxford Dictionary of Allusions arrived, I unwrapped it, poured a cup of coffee, and took it and my cup of coffee out to the patio where I opened it randomly. The first entry I saw was Worzel Gummidge. Now, I can use that. I am working on a character sketch of a locally known celeb of sorts, and have been searching for just the right word... the picture to put in the reader's mind. And there it is. Perfect. Never heard of it before.
Another entry that caught my eye as I flipped through the pages was Mrs. Malaprop. I have been teased for years. "Turn off the cat and put out the light", I said once when the family was going out the door. Nobody ever told me I was making malapropisms. I love our language, but sometimes it gets stale, repetitious . We become lazy, use the same old expressions, and forget the countless colorful idioms that can dance in our imaginations.
You cannot put this book down. You will find old favorite words you've forgotten and many new ones you may never have known. Your heart will be happier, your conversations more inspiring.
I'm going to get another cup of coffee and go back to painting the Forth Bridge. If you want to know what that means, buy this book and look it up.
Another entry that caught my eye as I flipped through the pages was Mrs. Malaprop. I have been teased for years. "Turn off the cat and put out the light", I said once when the family was going out the door. Nobody ever told me I was making malapropisms. I love our language, but sometimes it gets stale, repetitious . We become lazy, use the same old expressions, and forget the countless colorful idioms that can dance in our imaginations.
You cannot put this book down. You will find old favorite words you've forgotten and many new ones you may never have known. Your heart will be happier, your conversations more inspiring.
I'm going to get another cup of coffee and go back to painting the Forth Bridge. If you want to know what that means, buy this book and look it up.
8 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Limited
20 Oct 2002
Format:Hardcover
The Oxford Dictionary of Allusions is limited in content. I would have preferred something more complete.
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