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Moberg, Vilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Moberg, Vilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm mo͞oˈbĕryə [key], 1898–1973, Swedish novelist and dramatist. Substantial recognition came with his partly autobiographical Knut Toring trilogy (1935–39; tr. The Ear...

Lohengrin

(Encyclopedia)Lohengrin lōˈən-grĭn [key], in medieval German story, a knight of the Holy Grail, son of Parzival. He is sent to rescue Princess Elsa of Brabant from an unwanted suitor. Led to Antwerp by a swan, ...

Noyes, Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Noyes, Alfred noiz [key], 1880–1958, English poet, best known for his poems “The Highwayman” and “The Barrel-Organ.” His first volume of verse, Loom of Years, appeared in 1902. It was follow...

Kosala

(Encyclopedia)Kosala kōˈsələ [key], ancient Indian kingdom, corresponding roughly in area with the region of Oudh. Its capital was Ayodhya. It was a powerful state in the 6th cent. b.c. but was weakened by a se...

Sholokhov, Mikhail Aleksandrovich

(Encyclopedia)Sholokhov, Mikhail Aleksandrovich mēkhəyĕlˈ əlyĭksänˈdrəvĭch shôˈləkhŏf [key], 1905–84, Russian novelist. Sholokhov won international fame for an epic novel of his native land, The Sil...

Anglo-Saxon literature

(Encyclopedia)Anglo-Saxon literature, the literary writings in Old English (see English language), composed between c.650 and c.1100. See also English literature. Old English literary prose dates from the latter ...

De Mille, Cecil B.

(Encyclopedia)De Mille, Cecil B. (Cecil Blount De Mille), 1881–1959, American movie director and producer, b. Ashfield, Mass. In 1914, together with Samuel Goldwyn, he made the first feature-length film in Hollyw...

allegory

(Encyclopedia)allegory, in literature, symbolic story that serves as a disguised representation for meanings other than those indicated on the surface. The characters in an allegory often have no individual persona...

Fargo, William George

(Encyclopedia)Fargo, William George, 1818–81, American pioneer expressman, b. Pompey, N.Y. He had been successively a postrider, freight agent, messenger, and resident agent (1843) for an express company in Buffa...

Holberg, Ludvig, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Holberg, Ludvig, Baron lo͞oᵺˈvē bärōnˈ hōlˈbĕr [key], 1684–1754, Danish dramatist, essayist, poet, and historian, apostle of the Enlightenment in Scandinavia. Born in Norway, he studied t...