Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia . Handy one volume guide to authors, titles, classical allusions, historical events, and all sorts of other terms and phrases a reader might need defined or explained. Columbia Dictionary of Modern European Literature . Period covered is from late 19th to recent 20th century. Emphasis is on fiction and poetry in a mixture of survey and author articles.
Most contributors are American scholars.
Critical Survey of Literary Theory . Salem Press, 1987. Extensive essays on ideas of literary philosophers from Plato to the present. Cuddon, J. A. A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory . Excellent current handbook to literary lingo.