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criticism

(Encyclopedia)criticism, the interpretation and evaluation of literature and the arts. It exists in a variety of literary forms: dialogues (Plato, John Dryden), verse (Horace, Alexander Pope), letters (John Keats),...

mystery

(Encyclopedia)mystery or mystery story, literary genre in which the cause (or causes) of a mysterious happening, often a crime, is gradually revealed by the hero or heroine; this is accomplished through a mixture o...

nutrition

(Encyclopedia)nutrition, study of the materials that nourish an organism and of the manner in which the separate components are used for maintenance, repair, growth, and reproduction. Nutrition is achieved in vario...

Elizabeth I, queen of England

(Encyclopedia)Elizabeth I, 1533–1603, queen of England (1558–1603). After the Armada, Elizabeth's popularity began to wane. Parliament became less tractable and began to object to the abuse of royally grante...

novel

(Encyclopedia)novel, in modern literary usage, a sustained work of prose fiction a volume or more in length. It is distinguished from the short story and the fictional sketch, which are necessarily brief. Although ...

Henry VIII, king of England

(Encyclopedia)Henry VIII, 1491–1547, king of England (1509–47), second son and successor of Henry VII. Henry was a supreme egotist. He advanced personal desires under the guise of public policy or moral rig...

South Dakota

(Encyclopedia)CE5 South Dakota dəkōˈtə [key], state in the N central United States. It is bordered by North Dakota (N), Minnesota and Iowa (E), Nebraska (S), and Wyoming and Montana (W). ...

English literature

(Encyclopedia)English literature, literature written in English since c.1450 by the inhabitants of the British Isles; it was during the 15th cent. that the English language acquired much of its modern form. For the...

Nobel Prizes (table)

(Encyclopedia)Nobel Prizes

drama, Western

(Encyclopedia)drama, Western, plays produced in the Western world. This article discusses the development of Western drama in general; for further information see the various national literature articles. During ...