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Pearl, The

(Encyclopedia)Pearl, The, one of four Middle English alliterative poems, all contained in a manuscript of c.1400, composed in the West Midland dialect, almost certainly by the same anonymous author, who flourished ...

Roman de la Rose, Le

(Encyclopedia)Roman de la Rose, Le lə rōmäNˈ də lä rōz [key], French poem of 22,000 lines in eight-syllable couplets. It is in two parts. The first (4,058 lines) was written (c.1237) by Guillaume de Lorris a...

Wilberforce, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Wilberforce, Samuel wĭlˈbərfôrs [key], 1805–73, English prelate; son of William Wilberforce. In 1845 he became bishop of Oxford. He did not support the Oxford movement; instead, he attempted to ...

Baretti, Giuseppe Marc'Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Baretti, Giuseppe Marc'Antonio jo͞ozĕpˈpā märkäntôˈnyō bärĕtˈtē [key], 1719–89, Italian writer and lexicographer. Baretti held various official positions in several Italian cities while...

Schaff, Philip

(Encyclopedia)Schaff, Philip shäf [key], 1819–93, biblical scholar and church historian in America, b. Switzerland. He went to the United States in 1844 to teach in the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Churc...

Prasad, Rajendra

(Encyclopedia)Prasad, Rajendra rəjĕnˈdrə prəsädˈ [key], 1884–1963, first president of India. Before entering politics, he taught English literature, history, economics, and law. In 1917 he began working wi...

Frisian language

(Encyclopedia)Frisian language, member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages). It has a number of dialects and is spoken by more than ...

Jiménez, Juan Ramón

(Encyclopedia)Jiménez, Juan Ramón hwän rämōnˈ hēmāˈnāth [key], 1881–1958, Spanish lyric poet, b. Andalusia, studied at the Univ. of Seville. In his youth Jiménez was influenced by the French symbolists...

Empson, William

(Encyclopedia)Empson, William, 1906–84, English critic and poet. His Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930), a study of the meanings of poetry, is a classic of modern literary criticism. It was followed by Some Versions...

Burton, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Burton, Robert, 1577–1640, English clergyman and scholar, b. Leicestershire, educated at Oxford. He served as librarian at Christ Church, Oxford, all his life; in addition he was vicar of St. Thomas...