The 2nd edition of THE HARPER HANDBOOK TO LITERATURE, edited by Northrop Frye, Sheridan Baker, George Perkins, and Barbara Perkins (Longman, 1997) was revised to meet changing interests and emphases in the field of literary study. Among the more than 100 entries new to the edition are QUEER THEORY, READER-RESPONSE THEORY, CULTURAL STUDIES, ANXIETY OF INFLUENCE. LOGOCENTRISM, ORIENTALISM, and SAUSSUREAN LINGUISTICS. Entries range from a few words to summary essays with accompanying bibliographies. The work is generously cross-referenced; the entry on STANZA, for example, helps a reader to identify a stanza without knowing its name. Listing common names according to the usual number of lines in each, from ALCAIC STROPHE to QUARTORZAIN, the entry then sends readers to the proper alphabetic places to find definitions and examples. A "Chronology of Literature and World Events" presents a timeline from the earliest cities in Mesopotamia to contemporary events, names, and titles.
