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Racine, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Racine, Jean zhäN räsēnˈ [key], 1639–99, French dramatist. Racine is the prime exemplar of French classicism. The nobility of his Alexandrine verse, the simplicity of his diction, the psychologi...

Racine

(Encyclopedia)Racine rəsēnˈ [key], industrial city (1990 pop. 84,298), seat of Racine co., SE Wis., on Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Root River; inc. 1848. It is a port of entry, and its manufactures includ...

Beyazid

(Encyclopedia)Beyazid, 1612–1638?, Ottoman prince; brother of Sultan Murad IV. Considering Beyazid a dangerous rival, Murad ordered his execution. Beyazid's death is treated in Jean Racine's tragedy, Bajazet (167...

Corneille, Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Corneille, Pierre pyĕr kôrnāˈyə [key], 1606–84, French dramatist, ranking with Racine as a master of French classical tragedy. Educated by Jesuits, he practiced law briefly in his native Rouen ...

Andromache

(Encyclopedia)Andromache ăndrŏˈməkē [key], in Greek mythology, Trojan princess, wife of Hector and mother of Astyanax. After the Trojan War she was carried away by Neoptolemus, whose father, Achilles, had slai...

Hippolytus

(Encyclopedia)Hippolytus, in Greek mythology, son of Theseus and Antiope (or Hippolyte). After the death of Antiope, Theseus married Phaedra, daughter of Minos. Because Hippolytus worshiped only Artemis, the jealou...

Caylus, Marie Marguerite, comtesse de

(Encyclopedia)Caylus, Marie Marguerite, comtesse de kālüsˈ [key], 1673–1729, French writer and actress. A noted beauty and wit, she was lauded for her performance at Saint-Cyr in Racine's Esther. Her Souvenir...

La Harpe, Jean François de

(Encyclopedia)La Harpe, Jean François de lä ärp [key], 1739–1803, French critic. He was the author of the monumental Cours de littérature ancienne et moderne, lectures he delivered after his appointment (178...

Philips, Ambrose

(Encyclopedia)Philips, Ambrose, 1674–1749, English author. After resigning his fellowship from Cambridge in 1708, he moved to London and became known in the literary Whig coterie of Addison. He is principally rem...

Otway, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Otway, Thomas, 1652–85, English dramatist, educated at Winchester and at Oxford. After failing as an actor, Otway wrote his first play, Alcibiades, produced in 1675. Later plays include the rhymed h...
 

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