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From the earliest times, Native Americans developed a strong oral tradition. In the shift towards literacy, they began telling their stories through the medium of the written word. This text provides coverage of literature written by Native Americans from the 18th century to 1998.

Impassioned social protest writers inspire readers to relive injustice, empathize with its victims, and take action. The more than 450 entries in this volume survey the most important protest works of our time as well as the classics of the past.

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.

Offers brief summaries of utopian novels, discusses concepts related to utopias and dystopias, and offers profiles of utopian writers.

Fable is one of the most interesting genres of world literature. From ancient times to the present, fabulists have sought to convey moral points through tales which typically involve animals. This text presents a guide to the subject, covering major works, characters, situations and creators.

Identifies people, places, things, and myths found in the world's epic literature.

The Encyclopedia of Frontier Literature surveys 400 years of North American frontier literature. Within this literary context, the roles of women and minorities are given special attention, as is the expansion of the American West. The sheer scope of frontier literature is striking; this genre belongs as much to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and James Fenimore Cooper as it does to Willa Cather and Jessamyn West. From novels, short stories, and poetry to theater, oratory, outdoor dramas, songs, biographies, diaries, journals, and logbooks, frontier literature is characterized and unified by its rich expression of human experience. In the 94 alphabetized entries in this volume, readers will find dozens of authors and hundreds of works represented, as well as biographies, key concepts, terms, geographic locations, literary motifs, and dominant themes, including Explorers of the Frontier, Law and Order, Native Americans in Literature, Naturalists, and Poetry of the Frontier.

From Romeo and Juliet to Rebecca, entries treat scores of the most memorable novels and plays, providing information on authors, works, characters, and themes.

This book surveys major environmental writings on a wide range of subjects, from the origin and evolution of plants and animals to such recent environmental philosophies as deep ecology and the Gaia hypothesis.