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Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim

(Encyclopedia)Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim gôtˈhôlt āˈfräĭm [key], 1729–81, German philosopher, dramatist, and critic, one of the most influential figures of the Enlightenment. He was connected with the theat...

Settle, Elkanah

(Encyclopedia)Settle, Elkanah, 1648–1724, English dramatist and poet. Thanks to the patronage of the earl of Rochester, Settle's heroic dramas for a time rivaled those of Dryden. His most successful play, the ela...

Marlowe, Christopher

(Encyclopedia)Marlowe, Christopher, 1564–93, English dramatist and poet, b. Canterbury. Probably the greatest English dramatist before Shakespeare, Marlowe, a shoemaker's son, was educated at Cambridge and he wen...

Sedley, Sir Charles

(Encyclopedia)Sedley, Sir Charles, 1639?–1701, English dramatist and poet, b. London. Famous for his wit, he was a member of the intimate circle of young rakes at the court of Charles II. He wrote several plays, ...

Clemenceau, Georges

(Encyclopedia)Clemenceau, Georges zhôrzh klāmäNsōˈ [key], 1841–1929, French political figure, twice premier (1906–9, 1917–20), called “the Tiger.” He was trained as a doctor, but his republicanism br...

Maupassant, Guy de

(Encyclopedia)Maupassant, Guy de gē də mōpäsäNˈ [key], 1850–93, French novelist and short-story writer, of an ancient Norman family. He worked in a government office at Paris and became known c.1880 as the ...

Oxford, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Oxford. 1 Town (1990 pop. 12,588), Worcester co., S Mass.; settled 1687 by French Protestants, inc. 1693. It is chiefly residential, with some light manufacturing. Clara Barton was born in the town. 2...

Udall, Nicholas

(Encyclopedia)Udall, Nicholas, 1505–56, English dramatist, educated at Oxford. He was headmaster of Eton (1534–41) and of Westminster School (from 1554). His one extant play, Ralph Roister Doister (c.1545), is ...

Cowley, Hannah

(Encyclopedia)Cowley, Hannah, 1743–1809, English poet and dramatist. One of the Della-Cruscans, she contributed under the name Alma Matilda sentimental verse to the World. Her most successful comedy was The Belle...

Finnish literature

(Encyclopedia)Finnish literature. The first printed work in Finnish was the ABC book published c.1542 by Bishop Michael Agricola (1508–57). In 1642 the first complete translation of the Bible in Finnish appeared ...