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metaphysical poets

(Encyclopedia)metaphysical poets, name given to a group of English lyric poets of the 17th cent. The term was first used by Samuel Johnson (1744). The hallmark of their poetry is the metaphysical conceit (a figure ...

Hofmannsthal, Hugo von

(Encyclopedia)Hofmannsthal, Hugo von ho͞oˈgō fən hōfˈmänstäl [key], 1874–1929, Austrian dramatist and poet. His first verses were published when he was 16 years old, and his play The Death of Titian (1892...

Russell

(Encyclopedia)Russell, English noble family. It first appeared prominently in the reign of Henry VIII when John Russell, 1st earl of Bedford, 1486?–1555, rose to military and diplomatic importance. He was lord hi...

Yellow Book

(Encyclopedia)Yellow Book, English illustrated quarterly published (1894–97) in book form in London. Henry Harland was literary editor, and Aubrey Beardsley, whose exotic and provocative drawings brought immediat...

Alsop, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Alsop, Richard ôlˈsəp [key], 1761–1815, American author, b. Middletown, Conn. Best remembered as one of the Connecticut Wits, he collaborated with Theodore Dwight and others in writing light sati...

Diebenkorn, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Diebenkorn, Richard, 1922–93, American painter, b. Portland, Oreg. Raised in California, he studied at Stanford and at a collector's home encountered (1943) the work of Matisse, whose bold use of co...

Eberhart, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Eberhart, Richard ĕbˈərhärtˌ [key], 1904–2005, American poet, b. Austin, Minn., grad. Dartmouth (1926) and Cambridge (1929, 1933). He taught at various universities before becoming a professor ...

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