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Seneca, the younger, c.3 b.c.–a.d. 65, Roman philosopher, dramatist, and statesman

(Encyclopedia)Seneca, the younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) lo͞oˈshəs ənēˈəs sĕnˈəkə [key], c.3 b.c.–a.d. 65, Roman philosopher, dramatist, and statesman, b. Corduba (present-day Córdoba), Spain. He was...

comedy

(Encyclopedia)comedy, literary work that aims primarily to provoke laughter. Unlike tragedy, which seeks to engage profound emotions and sympathies, comedy strives to entertain chiefly through criticism and ridicul...

Delacroix, Eugène

(Encyclopedia)Delacroix, Eugène (Ferdinand-Victor-Eugène Delacroix) fĕrdēnäNˈ-vēktôrˈ-özhĕnˈ dəläkrwäˈ [key], 1798–1863, French painter. Delacroix is considered the foremost painter of the romanti...

Goya y Lucientes, Francisco José de

(Encyclopedia)Goya y Lucientes, Francisco José de fränthēsˈkō hōsāˈ ᵺā gōˈyä ē lo͞othēānˈtās [key], 1746–1828, Spanish painter and graphic artist. Goya is generally conceded to be the greatest...

Pope, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Pope, Alexander, 1688–1744, English poet. Although his literary reputation declined somewhat during the 19th cent., he is now recognized as the greatest poet of the 18th cent. and the greatest verse...

Greek literature, modern

(Encyclopedia)Greek literature, modern, literature written in Greek in the modern era, primarily beginning during the period of rebellion against the rule of the Ottoman Empire. In general, 20th-century Greek lit...

Melville, Herman

(Encyclopedia)Melville, Herman, 1819–91, American author, b. New York City, considered one of the great American writers and a major figure in world literature. Like Moby-Dick, Pierre; or, The Ambiguities (18...

Shaw, George Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Shaw, George Bernard, 1856–1950, Irish playwright and critic. He revolutionized the Victorian stage, then dominated by artificial melodramas, by presenting vigorous dramas of ideas. The lengthy pref...

comic strip

(Encyclopedia)comic strip, combination of cartoon with a story line, laid out in a series of pictorial panels across a page and concerning a continuous character or set of characters, whose thoughts and dialogues a...

Danish literature

(Encyclopedia)Danish literature, the literature of Denmark. By 1900 a lyrical reaction was being led by the poet J. J. Jørgensen; impressionistic themes became important, but were never the sole fruit of Danish ...