Harper Collins Publishers, 1996. A handy one-volume reference to identification of writers, summaries of specific works, and definitions of literary terms. Covers all periods of world literature. Useful for tracking down literary allusions. This 23 volume dictionary is useful for tracing word history and historical usage at different periods.
Quotations illustrate usage.
The Poetry Dictionary . Rev. and updated by Charles Berlitz. Useful for translating foreign quotations that appear in literature. Dictionary of Mythology, Folklore, and Symbols . By Gertrude Jobes.