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oratorio

(Encyclopedia)oratorio ôrətôrˈēō [key], musical composition employing chorus, orchestra, and soloists and usually, but not necessarily, a setting of a sacred libretto without stage action or scenery. The imme...

Canadian art and architecture

(Encyclopedia)Canadian art and architecture, the various types and styles arts and structures produced in the geographic area that now constitutes Canada. For a discussion of the art of indigenous peoples of Canada...

Middle English literature

(Encyclopedia)Middle English literature, English literature of the medieval period, c.1100 to c.1500. See also English literature and Anglo-Saxon literature. The 15th cent. is not distinguished in English let...

continental drift

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Continental drift (arrows indicate the directions of motion of the landmasses) A. Proposed reconstruction of the supercontinent Pangaea indicating the major present landmasses B. Proposed recon...

Arnold, Matthew

(Encyclopedia)Arnold, Matthew, 1822–88, English poet and critic, son of the educator Dr. Thomas Arnold. Arnold was educated at Rugby; graduated from Balliol College, Oxford in 1844; and was a fellow of Oriel Coll...

Wilde, Oscar

(Encyclopedia)Wilde, Oscar (Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde), 1854–1900, Irish author and wit, b. Dublin. He is most famous for his sophisticated, brilliantly witty plays, which were the first since the come...

Wayne, Anthony

(Encyclopedia)Wayne, Anthony, 1745–96, American Revolutionary general, b. Chester co., Pa. Impetuous and hot-headed, Wayne was sometimes known as “mad Anthony,” but he was an able general. In 1783 he return...

Weld, Theodore Dwight

(Encyclopedia)Weld, Theodore Dwight, 1803–95, American abolitionist, b. Hampton, Conn. In 1825 his family moved to upstate New York, and he entered Hamilton College. While in college he became a disciple of the e...

Fenian movement

(Encyclopedia)Fenian movement fēˈnēən [key] or Fenians, secret revolutionary society organized c.1858 in Ireland and the United States to achieve Irish independence from England by force. It was known variously...

Hardy, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Hardy, Thomas, 1840–1928, English novelist and poet, b. near Dorchester, one of the great English writers of the 19th cent. The son of a stonemason, he derived a love of music from his father and a ...