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MacBeth, George

(Encyclopedia)MacBeth, George, 1932–92, Scottish poet, grad. Oxford, 1955. He was until 1976 a producer for the BBC. His best poetry, such as The Broken Places (1963), often treats violent subjects in a combinati...

Pogodin, Mikhail Petrovich

(Encyclopedia)Pogodin, Mikhail Petrovich mēkhəyēlˈ pētrôˈvĭch pəgôˈdyĭn [key], 1800–1875, Russian historian and publisher. His conservative journal The Muscovite (1841–56) defended the policies of N...

AIDS, in medicine

(Encyclopedia)AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, fatal disease caused by a rapidly mutating retrovirus that attacks the immune system and leaves the victim vulnerable to infections, malignancies, and neuro...

Gezelle, Guido

(Encyclopedia)Gezelle, Guido gēˈdō khĕzĕlˈə [key], 1830–99, Flemish poet, b. Bruges, a Roman Catholic priest. A forerunner of the Flemish literary revival, he was the leading poet of the Flemings. In six v...

Schnittke, Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Schnittke, Alfred, 1924–98, Russian composer. He studied music in Vienna (1946–48) and at the Moscow Conservatory (1953–58), where he later (1962–72) taught instrumentation. Thereafter, he ear...

Hadad, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Hadad hāˈdăd [key], in the Bible. 1 Son of Ishmael. An alternate form is Hadar. 2 King of Edom. 3 Last king of Edom. Hadar is an alternate form. 4 Scion of the kings of Edom, who escaped Joab's mas...

Krüdener, Juliana, Baroness von

(Encyclopedia)Krüdener, Juliana, Baroness von fən krüdˈənər [key], 1764–1824, Russian novelist and mystic. Born a Livonian aristocrat, she married a Russian diplomat. She left her husband (1801) for the ple...

Narcissus, in Greek mythology

(Encyclopedia)Narcissus närsĭsˈəs [key], in Greek mythology, beautiful youth who refused all offers of love, including that of Echo. As punishment for his indifference he was made to fall in love with his own i...

Leda, in Greek mythology

(Encyclopedia)Leda lēˈdə [key], in Greek mythology, daughter of Thestios, king of Aetolia, and wife of Tyndareus, king of Sparta. According to most legends, she was seduced by Zeus, who visited her in the form o...

Bernardes, Diogo

(Encyclopedia)Bernardes, Diogo dyōˈgō bərnärˈdĭsh [key], c.1530–c.1600, Portuguese poet. A follower of Sá de Miranda, he wrote melodious pastoral verse, and was one of the chief poets of the Portuguese Re...