Racine, Jean (1639-1699)
French dramatist, known for the effective simplicity of his poetic style and his psychological portrayals of the passions of his characters.
His works include La Thébaïde ( 1664); Alexandre ( 1665); Andromaque ( 1667); Les Plaideurs ( 1668), his sole comedy; Britannicus (1669); Bérénice (1670); Bajazet (1672); Mithridate (1674); Iphigénie ( 1674); Phédre ( 1677), regarded as the author's masterpiece; Esther (1688-1689); Athalie (1690), performed privately, called by some critics the author's greatest dramatic poem. The subjects of most of these dramas were derived from the tragedies of Euripides or historical accounts.
Racine was educated in a Jansenist school and at first intended for the priesthood; the influence of Jansenist doctrines of Original Sin combined with the classic Greek concept of Fate has been found in his tragedies. Moliére, La Fontaine, and Boileau were his friends in Paris, where his plays suffered through the enmity of partisans of his rivals, among whom was Corneille. Racine retired as a writer for the stage after the production of Phèdre. Esther was performed by the schoolgirl daughters of French nobles, and Athalie was not produced in Paris until 1716.
Rabelais, François (1494?-1553)
Rabelais, François (1494?-1553)
French scholar, humanist, physician, and satirist, early in his career a member first of the Franciscan order and then of the Benedictine order.
He is famous for his robust and outspoken burlesque Gargantua and Pantagruel, satirizing contemporary religion, pedantry, politics, and social institutions, exalting nature, empiricism, and characteristic Renaissance variety and richness, and showing evidence of derivations from numerous source-books of the author's day. This work was published as follows: Les Grandes et Inestimables Chroniques du Grand et Enorme Géant Gargantus ( 1532), a chapbook; Pantagruel ( 1533), later Book II of the work in its best-known form; La Vie Inestimable du Grand Gargantua, Père de Pantagruel ( 1534), later Book I; Book III (1546); Book IV (1552), condemned by the Sorbonne and prohibited from sale; Isle Sonnante ( 1562) and Le Cinquième et dernier Livre des Faits et Dits Héroïques du Bon Pantagruel ( 1564), constituting Book V and considered by some scholars to be of doubtful authenticity, although it is believed that an outline prepared by the author was used for it.
Rabelais took his Master's and Doctor's degrees in medicine and divided his time between his practice as a physician and a second profession of editing and publishing books. His great work contributed in an important degree to the development of the French language, more than 600 words having been added through it to the Vocabulary of the modern language of France. Rabelais is considered to have influenced most Montaigne, Moliere, Blaise Pascal, Anatole France, Jonathan Swift, and Laurence Sterne.
French scholar, humanist, physician, and satirist, early in his career a member first of the Franciscan order and then of the Benedictine order.
He is famous for his robust and outspoken burlesque Gargantua and Pantagruel, satirizing contemporary religion, pedantry, politics, and social institutions, exalting nature, empiricism, and characteristic Renaissance variety and richness, and showing evidence of derivations from numerous source-books of the author's day. This work was published as follows: Les Grandes et Inestimables Chroniques du Grand et Enorme Géant Gargantus ( 1532), a chapbook; Pantagruel ( 1533), later Book II of the work in its best-known form; La Vie Inestimable du Grand Gargantua, Père de Pantagruel ( 1534), later Book I; Book III (1546); Book IV (1552), condemned by the Sorbonne and prohibited from sale; Isle Sonnante ( 1562) and Le Cinquième et dernier Livre des Faits et Dits Héroïques du Bon Pantagruel ( 1564), constituting Book V and considered by some scholars to be of doubtful authenticity, although it is believed that an outline prepared by the author was used for it.
Rabelais took his Master's and Doctor's degrees in medicine and divided his time between his practice as a physician and a second profession of editing and publishing books. His great work contributed in an important degree to the development of the French language, more than 600 words having been added through it to the Vocabulary of the modern language of France. Rabelais is considered to have influenced most Montaigne, Moliere, Blaise Pascal, Anatole France, Jonathan Swift, and Laurence Sterne.
Swinburne, Algernon Charles (1837-1909)
Swinburne, Algernon Charles (1837-1909)
English poet, associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, known for his rebellion against Victorian social conventions and religion, his active sympathies with the movements and leaders of political revolution of his time, and the pagan spirit and amazing musical effects of his poetry.
He was an intense admirer of P. B. Shelley and Victor Hugo, and was influenced in his own poetry by Greek legend and Roman classic literature, medieval romance, and Elizabethan drama. Among his poetic works are Atalanta in Calydon ( 1865), a drama in classical Greek form; The Queen Mother, Rosamund--Two Plays ( 1860); Poems and Ballads: First Series ( 1866), lyrics dealing chiefly with sensual love, which caused a sensation on its first publication; A Song of Italy ( 1867) and Songs before Sunrise ( 1876), on the cause of Italian union and independence; Poems and Ballads: Second Series ( 1878); Songs of the Springtides ( 1880) and Studies in Song ( 1880), concerned mostly with the sea; Tristram of Lyonesse ( 1882), a narrative poem on the legend of Tristan and Iseult; Poems and Ballads: Third Series ( 1889); Chastelard ( 1865), Bothwell: A Tragedy ( 1874), and Mary Stuart ( 1881), a trilogy of verse dramas on Mary Queen of Scots; Marino Failero ( 1885), a tragedy on the same theme used by Byron; Astrophel ( 1894); A Tale of Balin ( 1896); A Channel Passage ( 1904); The Duke of Gandia ( 1908). Essays and Studies ( 1875), Miscellanies ( 1886), and several sketches in the Encyclopaedia Britannica works of criticism.In his early career, Swinburne's behavior was eccentric, violent, and dissipated, intended to shock the respectable people of his age.
After an illness resulting from his excesses, he was taken into the home of Theodore WattsDunton, a literary critic, and stayed there the rest of his life. Some critics believe that WattsDunton stifled Swinburne's talent by "reforming" him, curbing his rebellion and forcing him to be docile and conventional. The poet's later work is not considered to be of as high a quality as his earlier. Cf. Max Beerbohm's classic essay "No. 2, The Pines," describing a visit to the couple.Among Swinburne's best-known single lyrics are Hymn to Artemis, Hymn to Prosperpine, The Garden of Proserpine, and Hertha. A study of Swinburne's life and poetry is contained in Poor Splendid Wings, by Frances Winwar , and a biography was written by Edmund Gosse.
English poet, associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, known for his rebellion against Victorian social conventions and religion, his active sympathies with the movements and leaders of political revolution of his time, and the pagan spirit and amazing musical effects of his poetry.
He was an intense admirer of P. B. Shelley and Victor Hugo, and was influenced in his own poetry by Greek legend and Roman classic literature, medieval romance, and Elizabethan drama. Among his poetic works are Atalanta in Calydon ( 1865), a drama in classical Greek form; The Queen Mother, Rosamund--Two Plays ( 1860); Poems and Ballads: First Series ( 1866), lyrics dealing chiefly with sensual love, which caused a sensation on its first publication; A Song of Italy ( 1867) and Songs before Sunrise ( 1876), on the cause of Italian union and independence; Poems and Ballads: Second Series ( 1878); Songs of the Springtides ( 1880) and Studies in Song ( 1880), concerned mostly with the sea; Tristram of Lyonesse ( 1882), a narrative poem on the legend of Tristan and Iseult; Poems and Ballads: Third Series ( 1889); Chastelard ( 1865), Bothwell: A Tragedy ( 1874), and Mary Stuart ( 1881), a trilogy of verse dramas on Mary Queen of Scots; Marino Failero ( 1885), a tragedy on the same theme used by Byron; Astrophel ( 1894); A Tale of Balin ( 1896); A Channel Passage ( 1904); The Duke of Gandia ( 1908). Essays and Studies ( 1875), Miscellanies ( 1886), and several sketches in the Encyclopaedia Britannica works of criticism.In his early career, Swinburne's behavior was eccentric, violent, and dissipated, intended to shock the respectable people of his age.
After an illness resulting from his excesses, he was taken into the home of Theodore WattsDunton, a literary critic, and stayed there the rest of his life. Some critics believe that WattsDunton stifled Swinburne's talent by "reforming" him, curbing his rebellion and forcing him to be docile and conventional. The poet's later work is not considered to be of as high a quality as his earlier. Cf. Max Beerbohm's classic essay "No. 2, The Pines," describing a visit to the couple.Among Swinburne's best-known single lyrics are Hymn to Artemis, Hymn to Prosperpine, The Garden of Proserpine, and Hertha. A study of Swinburne's life and poetry is contained in Poor Splendid Wings, by Frances Winwar , and a biography was written by Edmund Gosse.
Swift, Jonathan (1667-1745)
Swift, Jonathan (1667-1745)
English poet and satirist, born in Dublin, Ireland, of an English father, known for his proud and sensitive temperament, which made him furiously intolerant of the stupidities and vices of mankind, and for his brilliant and biting satire written on the controversial issues of his time. His works include The Battle of the Books ( 1697), written in connection with the literary controversy between the Ancients and Moderns; The Tale of a tub ( 1704); Drapier's Letters ( 1724), an attack on a currency scandal in Ireland; Gullivers Travels ( 1726), his most celebrated work; A Modest Proposal ( 1729). His Journal to Stella was written in a cryptic language for his private interest but was deciphered and published after a number of years, becoming one of the best-known of his works. Swift spent an unhappy and humiliating childhood in Ireland among his Irish relatives, and was similarly unhappy and disillusioned during most of his life.
He became a member of the clergy of the Church of England, associated with the English Tory leaders and made the acquaintance of Pope, Addison, and Steele, and for a while, during the reign of Queen Anne, held a position of power in England through his pamphlets and essays. In 1713 he was appointed Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin but lost his power on the death of the Queen the following year. His relations with both Stella and Vanessa ended tragically, and during the final years of his life he was insane. Swift, who is regarded as one of the most brilliant minds in English literature, is frequently mentioned throughout James Joyce's Finnegans Wake.
English poet and satirist, born in Dublin, Ireland, of an English father, known for his proud and sensitive temperament, which made him furiously intolerant of the stupidities and vices of mankind, and for his brilliant and biting satire written on the controversial issues of his time. His works include The Battle of the Books ( 1697), written in connection with the literary controversy between the Ancients and Moderns; The Tale of a tub ( 1704); Drapier's Letters ( 1724), an attack on a currency scandal in Ireland; Gullivers Travels ( 1726), his most celebrated work; A Modest Proposal ( 1729). His Journal to Stella was written in a cryptic language for his private interest but was deciphered and published after a number of years, becoming one of the best-known of his works. Swift spent an unhappy and humiliating childhood in Ireland among his Irish relatives, and was similarly unhappy and disillusioned during most of his life.
He became a member of the clergy of the Church of England, associated with the English Tory leaders and made the acquaintance of Pope, Addison, and Steele, and for a while, during the reign of Queen Anne, held a position of power in England through his pamphlets and essays. In 1713 he was appointed Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin but lost his power on the death of the Queen the following year. His relations with both Stella and Vanessa ended tragically, and during the final years of his life he was insane. Swift, who is regarded as one of the most brilliant minds in English literature, is frequently mentioned throughout James Joyce's Finnegans Wake.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher (1811-1896)
Stowe, Harriet Beecher (1811-1896)
American novelist, daughter of Lyman Beecher, best known for Uncle tom's Cabin (1852), the most famous example of antislavery literature in 19th-century U.S. Her other works include A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin ( 1853), a collection of factual material on slavery to justify the charges implied by her novel; Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands ( 1854), an account of a tour to England; Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp ( 1856), a second fictional attack on slavery; The Minister's Wooing ( 1859), Pearl of Orr's Island ( 1862), Oldtown Folks ( 1869), Sam Lawson's Oldtown Fireside Stories ( 1871), and Poganuc People ( 1878) local-color stories and novels of New England; Agnes of Sorrento ( 1862), an historical novel; Pink andWhite Tyranny White Tyranny ( 1871); My Wife and I ( 1871), on woman suffrage; We and Our Neighbors ( 1875).
Mrs. Stowe was brought up in an atmosphere of strict Calvinism, against which she later rebelled. She achieved unfavorable notoriety in England by the publication of Lady Byron Vindicated ( 1870), a book charging Lord Byron with incest, written after her acquaintance with the poet's widow. Cf. Crusader in Crinoline ( 1941), by Forrest Wilson.
American novelist, daughter of Lyman Beecher, best known for Uncle tom's Cabin (1852), the most famous example of antislavery literature in 19th-century U.S. Her other works include A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin ( 1853), a collection of factual material on slavery to justify the charges implied by her novel; Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands ( 1854), an account of a tour to England; Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp ( 1856), a second fictional attack on slavery; The Minister's Wooing ( 1859), Pearl of Orr's Island ( 1862), Oldtown Folks ( 1869), Sam Lawson's Oldtown Fireside Stories ( 1871), and Poganuc People ( 1878) local-color stories and novels of New England; Agnes of Sorrento ( 1862), an historical novel; Pink andWhite Tyranny White Tyranny ( 1871); My Wife and I ( 1871), on woman suffrage; We and Our Neighbors ( 1875).
Mrs. Stowe was brought up in an atmosphere of strict Calvinism, against which she later rebelled. She achieved unfavorable notoriety in England by the publication of Lady Byron Vindicated ( 1870), a book charging Lord Byron with incest, written after her acquaintance with the poet's widow. Cf. Crusader in Crinoline ( 1941), by Forrest Wilson.
Stevenson, Robert Louis Balfour (18501894)
Stevenson, Robert Louis Balfour (18501894)
Scotch novelist, essayist, and poet, known for his tales of fantasy and adventure and his romantic essays in the personal vein. His fiction includes The New Arabian Nights ( 1882), fantastic tales; Treaure Island ( 1883); The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ( 1886); Kidnapped ( 1886); The Master of Ballantrae ( 1889); The Wrecker ( 1892); Catriona (called in the U.S. David Balfour; 1893), a sequel to Kidnapped. Among his volumes of essays are An Inland Voyage ( 1878); Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes ( 1879); The Amateur Emigrant; The Silverado Squatters ( 1883); Familiar Studies of Men and Books ( 1881); Virginibus Puerisque ( 1881). A Child's Garden of Verses ( 1885) and Underwoods ( 1887) are books of poetry, and he collaborated with W. E. Henley on the following dramas: Deacon Brodie ( 1882), Beau Austin ( 1890), and Admiral Guinea ( 1897). A Lodging for the Night, Markheim, and The Sire de Maletroit's Door are among his best-known short stories.
Stevenson, although seriously ill all his life with tuberculosis, lived adventurously, vagabonding through Belgium, France, California, and the Pacific islands. He spent his last years in Samoa, known among the natives as Tusitala, "teller of tales." He died while working on Weir of Hermiston, an unfinished novel which promised to be one of his best.
Scotch novelist, essayist, and poet, known for his tales of fantasy and adventure and his romantic essays in the personal vein. His fiction includes The New Arabian Nights ( 1882), fantastic tales; Treaure Island ( 1883); The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ( 1886); Kidnapped ( 1886); The Master of Ballantrae ( 1889); The Wrecker ( 1892); Catriona (called in the U.S. David Balfour; 1893), a sequel to Kidnapped. Among his volumes of essays are An Inland Voyage ( 1878); Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes ( 1879); The Amateur Emigrant; The Silverado Squatters ( 1883); Familiar Studies of Men and Books ( 1881); Virginibus Puerisque ( 1881). A Child's Garden of Verses ( 1885) and Underwoods ( 1887) are books of poetry, and he collaborated with W. E. Henley on the following dramas: Deacon Brodie ( 1882), Beau Austin ( 1890), and Admiral Guinea ( 1897). A Lodging for the Night, Markheim, and The Sire de Maletroit's Door are among his best-known short stories.
Stevenson, although seriously ill all his life with tuberculosis, lived adventurously, vagabonding through Belgium, France, California, and the Pacific islands. He spent his last years in Samoa, known among the natives as Tusitala, "teller of tales." He died while working on Weir of Hermiston, an unfinished novel which promised to be one of his best.
Stendhal. Pseudonym of Henri Beyle (1783-1842)
Stendhal. Pseudonym of Henri Beyle (1783-1842)
French novelist, known as one of the first outstanding authors of the psychological novel in France, represented by his studies, considered to be partly autobiographical, of the proud and egotistic nature involved in love and war. His chief works are De l'Amour ( 1822), a series of notes on the effects of four types of love on a variety of temperaments; Armance ( 1827); Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black; 1830), regarded as one of the most important works in the development of the 19th-century novel; La Chartreuse de Parme ( 1839). He also wrote Racine et Shakespeare ( 1823), criticism, and Histoire de la Peinture en Italie.
Stendhal, who participated in several campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars and thought of both Byron and Napoleon as his heroes, disliked France and lived for a number of years in Italy. His books were not widely read during his lifetime, but later in the 19th century he was hailed as a precursor of Balzac in his studies of the strong-willed, self-made man, and he influenced Bourget, Taine, and Zola, among others. Cf. Stendhal, by Matthew Josephson ( 1946).
French novelist, known as one of the first outstanding authors of the psychological novel in France, represented by his studies, considered to be partly autobiographical, of the proud and egotistic nature involved in love and war. His chief works are De l'Amour ( 1822), a series of notes on the effects of four types of love on a variety of temperaments; Armance ( 1827); Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black; 1830), regarded as one of the most important works in the development of the 19th-century novel; La Chartreuse de Parme ( 1839). He also wrote Racine et Shakespeare ( 1823), criticism, and Histoire de la Peinture en Italie.
Stendhal, who participated in several campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars and thought of both Byron and Napoleon as his heroes, disliked France and lived for a number of years in Italy. His books were not widely read during his lifetime, but later in the 19th century he was hailed as a precursor of Balzac in his studies of the strong-willed, self-made man, and he influenced Bourget, Taine, and Zola, among others. Cf. Stendhal, by Matthew Josephson ( 1946).
Stein, Gertrude (1874-1946)
Stein, Gertrude (1874-1946)
American poet, novelist, and author of miscellaneous prose, for a number of years one of the leading expatriate American residents of Paris and the subject of wide literary controversy during the 1920's. Her unique and celebrated style, in the development of which she is considered to have been influenced by the psychological theories of William James and 20th-century French painting, is characterized by a use of words for their associations and their sound rather than solely for their literal meaning, an intricate system of repetition and variation on a single verbal theme, an avoidance of conventional punctuation and syntax, an emphasis on the presentation of impressions and a particular state of mind rather than the telling of a story, and concreteness and extreme simplicity in diction, preference for the commonplace and the monosyllabic.
All these elements combine to produce an appealing pattern of sound, occasional flashes of beauty, and frequent vivid, striking images, in a total effect of wit, humor, gaiety, and sensuous immediacy. Sherwood Anderson and Ernest Hemingway are considered to have been influenced by the Stein style. John Chamberlain once remarked that "Steinese" style is like "the Chinese water torture; it never stops and it is always the same."
Gertrude Stein's works include Three Lives ( 1909), a novel; Tender Buttons ( 1914), poetry; Geography and Plays ( 1922); The Making of americans ( 1925), a novel; Composition as Explanation ( 1926), lectures; Useful Knowledge ( 1928); Acquaintance with Description ( 1929); Ten Portaits ( 1930); Lucy Church Amiably ( 1930), a novel; Before the Flowers of Friendship Faded ( 1931); How to Write ( 1931); Operas and Plays ( 1932); A Long Gay Book ( 1932); Matisse, Picasso, and Gertrude Stein ( 1932); The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas ( 1933); Four Saints in Three Acts ( 1934), an opera, music for which was written by Virgil Thomson; Portraits and Prayers ( 1934); Narration ( 1935), lectures; Lectures in America ( 1915); Geographical History of America ( 1936); Everybody's Autobiography ( 1937); Picasso ( 1938); The World Is Round ( 1939), a book for children; Paris France ( 1940), a study of Parisian life before World War II; Ida ( 1941), a novel; Brewsie and Willy ( 1946).
Gertrude Stein, who came of a wealthy family, studied psychology under William James at Radcliffe College and received an M.D. degree from Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1902. In that year she went abroad, where, except for a lecture tour in America in 1933, she stayed until the defeat of France in World War II. In Paris she became the center of a group of outstanding painters and writers of the period, being especially interested in such artists as Matisse, Picasso and Juan Gris. Her brother, Leo Stein ( 1872-1947), was a leading art critic.
American poet, novelist, and author of miscellaneous prose, for a number of years one of the leading expatriate American residents of Paris and the subject of wide literary controversy during the 1920's. Her unique and celebrated style, in the development of which she is considered to have been influenced by the psychological theories of William James and 20th-century French painting, is characterized by a use of words for their associations and their sound rather than solely for their literal meaning, an intricate system of repetition and variation on a single verbal theme, an avoidance of conventional punctuation and syntax, an emphasis on the presentation of impressions and a particular state of mind rather than the telling of a story, and concreteness and extreme simplicity in diction, preference for the commonplace and the monosyllabic.
All these elements combine to produce an appealing pattern of sound, occasional flashes of beauty, and frequent vivid, striking images, in a total effect of wit, humor, gaiety, and sensuous immediacy. Sherwood Anderson and Ernest Hemingway are considered to have been influenced by the Stein style. John Chamberlain once remarked that "Steinese" style is like "the Chinese water torture; it never stops and it is always the same."
Gertrude Stein's works include Three Lives ( 1909), a novel; Tender Buttons ( 1914), poetry; Geography and Plays ( 1922); The Making of americans ( 1925), a novel; Composition as Explanation ( 1926), lectures; Useful Knowledge ( 1928); Acquaintance with Description ( 1929); Ten Portaits ( 1930); Lucy Church Amiably ( 1930), a novel; Before the Flowers of Friendship Faded ( 1931); How to Write ( 1931); Operas and Plays ( 1932); A Long Gay Book ( 1932); Matisse, Picasso, and Gertrude Stein ( 1932); The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas ( 1933); Four Saints in Three Acts ( 1934), an opera, music for which was written by Virgil Thomson; Portraits and Prayers ( 1934); Narration ( 1935), lectures; Lectures in America ( 1915); Geographical History of America ( 1936); Everybody's Autobiography ( 1937); Picasso ( 1938); The World Is Round ( 1939), a book for children; Paris France ( 1940), a study of Parisian life before World War II; Ida ( 1941), a novel; Brewsie and Willy ( 1946).
Gertrude Stein, who came of a wealthy family, studied psychology under William James at Radcliffe College and received an M.D. degree from Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1902. In that year she went abroad, where, except for a lecture tour in America in 1933, she stayed until the defeat of France in World War II. In Paris she became the center of a group of outstanding painters and writers of the period, being especially interested in such artists as Matisse, Picasso and Juan Gris. Her brother, Leo Stein ( 1872-1947), was a leading art critic.
Staël, Mme de. Née Germaine Necker (1766-1817)
Staël, Mme de. Née Germaine Necker (1766-1817)
French author of Swiss parentage, daughter of the French Minister of Finance and wife of Baron de Staël-Holstein, ambassador to France from Sweden. She is known for her celebrated salons, which were attended by the leading literary and political figures of the day, for her sensibility and kindness in personal relations, her talent for conversation, her vigorous mind, and her influence on the movement of Romanticism in France. Among her works are Lettres sur les Écrits et le Caractère de Jean Jacques Rousseau ( 1788); De l'Influence des Passions ( 1796); Essai sur les Fictions; Delphine ( 1802) and Corinne ( 1807), called by some critics the first "modern" novels in their view of French society, anticipating the works of George Sand ; De la Littérature ( 1800), criticism, in which she was among the first to break away from neo-Classical principles and which caused a sensation on its publication; De l'Allemagne ( 1813), a study of German literature, which introduced German romanticism into France and was at first suppressed on orders by Napoleon; and Considérations sur la Révolution Française ( 1818).
Mme de Staël had an eventful career, being exiled from France after the Revolution of 1789, allowed to return in 1795, and banished again later by Napoleon, of whom she was an outspoken critic. She had several disappointing love affairs, the chief of which involved the Don Juan-like Swiss novelist Benjamin Constant; Chateausriand and she were rivals in the literary world. Her influence has been found in Lamartine, Victor Hugo, and Charles Nodier in poetry and criticism; Cousin, Ticknor, and Prescott in the study of the German language; and Guizot, Villemain, and Cousin in the study of English and German literature.
French author of Swiss parentage, daughter of the French Minister of Finance and wife of Baron de Staël-Holstein, ambassador to France from Sweden. She is known for her celebrated salons, which were attended by the leading literary and political figures of the day, for her sensibility and kindness in personal relations, her talent for conversation, her vigorous mind, and her influence on the movement of Romanticism in France. Among her works are Lettres sur les Écrits et le Caractère de Jean Jacques Rousseau ( 1788); De l'Influence des Passions ( 1796); Essai sur les Fictions; Delphine ( 1802) and Corinne ( 1807), called by some critics the first "modern" novels in their view of French society, anticipating the works of George Sand ; De la Littérature ( 1800), criticism, in which she was among the first to break away from neo-Classical principles and which caused a sensation on its publication; De l'Allemagne ( 1813), a study of German literature, which introduced German romanticism into France and was at first suppressed on orders by Napoleon; and Considérations sur la Révolution Française ( 1818).
Mme de Staël had an eventful career, being exiled from France after the Revolution of 1789, allowed to return in 1795, and banished again later by Napoleon, of whom she was an outspoken critic. She had several disappointing love affairs, the chief of which involved the Don Juan-like Swiss novelist Benjamin Constant; Chateausriand and she were rivals in the literary world. Her influence has been found in Lamartine, Victor Hugo, and Charles Nodier in poetry and criticism; Cousin, Ticknor, and Prescott in the study of the German language; and Guizot, Villemain, and Cousin in the study of English and German literature.
Spenser, Edmund (1552-1599)
Spenser, Edmund (1552-1599)
English poet of the Elizabethan age, known for the misty, languid quality of his poetry, its imaginative appeal, use of allegory, individual diction involving the use of archaic and coined words, and subtlety of sound effects through the combination of alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, etc., with controlled rhythm and meter.
His works include The Shepherd's Calendar ( 1579), a pastoral and allegorical poem; The Faerie Queene ( 1590, 1596), his most famous work, left incomplete at the time of his death; Complaints ( 1591), containing The Ruins of Time, The Tears of the Muses, Virgil's Gnat, Prosopopoeia, Or Mother Hubberd's Tales, Muiopotmos, Or The Tale of the Butterfly, and other shorter poems; Daphnaïda ( 1591), an elegy on the death of the daughter of Henry, Lord Howard; Colin Clout's Come Home Again ( 1595), an allegorical attack on artistic taste at Elizabeth's court; Astrophel ( 1595), an elegy on the death of Sir Philip Sidney; Amoretti, a sonnet sequence; Epithalamion ( 1595), a poem celebrating his own marriage to Elizabeth Boyle, considered his best lyric work; Four Hymns to Love and Beauty ( 1596); Prothalamion ( 1596), a poem celebrating the double wedding of the two daughters of the Earl of Worcester; A View of the Present State of Ireland, a prose defense of the repressive policy of Lord Grey de Wilton in Ireland, not published until 1633.
Spenser was in the service of the Earl of Leicester at Elizabeth's court and became a close friend of Sir Philip Sidney, to whom he dedicated The Shepherd's Calendar, and of Gabreil Harvey. In 1580 he went to Ireland as secretary to Lord Grey de Wilton, Lord Deputy of Ireland, and was later granted an estate, Kilcolman Castle, in Munster, where he wrote The Faërie Queene. In 1598 he was appointed Sheriff of Cork, but in an Irish rebellion soon afterwards Kilcolman Castle was burned, and Spenser and his family were forced to flee to England. Spenser admired Chaucer greatly, and the Chaucerian influence is evident in much of his work.
Because of a certain austerity and "coldness" Which some critics find in his own poetry, and because of its predominant formal perfection, Spenser is sometimes called a "poet's poet." John Keats was an especially enthusiastic admirer of The Faërie Quenne in his early career.
English poet of the Elizabethan age, known for the misty, languid quality of his poetry, its imaginative appeal, use of allegory, individual diction involving the use of archaic and coined words, and subtlety of sound effects through the combination of alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, etc., with controlled rhythm and meter.
His works include The Shepherd's Calendar ( 1579), a pastoral and allegorical poem; The Faerie Queene ( 1590, 1596), his most famous work, left incomplete at the time of his death; Complaints ( 1591), containing The Ruins of Time, The Tears of the Muses, Virgil's Gnat, Prosopopoeia, Or Mother Hubberd's Tales, Muiopotmos, Or The Tale of the Butterfly, and other shorter poems; Daphnaïda ( 1591), an elegy on the death of the daughter of Henry, Lord Howard; Colin Clout's Come Home Again ( 1595), an allegorical attack on artistic taste at Elizabeth's court; Astrophel ( 1595), an elegy on the death of Sir Philip Sidney; Amoretti, a sonnet sequence; Epithalamion ( 1595), a poem celebrating his own marriage to Elizabeth Boyle, considered his best lyric work; Four Hymns to Love and Beauty ( 1596); Prothalamion ( 1596), a poem celebrating the double wedding of the two daughters of the Earl of Worcester; A View of the Present State of Ireland, a prose defense of the repressive policy of Lord Grey de Wilton in Ireland, not published until 1633.
Spenser was in the service of the Earl of Leicester at Elizabeth's court and became a close friend of Sir Philip Sidney, to whom he dedicated The Shepherd's Calendar, and of Gabreil Harvey. In 1580 he went to Ireland as secretary to Lord Grey de Wilton, Lord Deputy of Ireland, and was later granted an estate, Kilcolman Castle, in Munster, where he wrote The Faërie Queene. In 1598 he was appointed Sheriff of Cork, but in an Irish rebellion soon afterwards Kilcolman Castle was burned, and Spenser and his family were forced to flee to England. Spenser admired Chaucer greatly, and the Chaucerian influence is evident in much of his work.
Because of a certain austerity and "coldness" Which some critics find in his own poetry, and because of its predominant formal perfection, Spenser is sometimes called a "poet's poet." John Keats was an especially enthusiastic admirer of The Faërie Quenne in his early career.
Socrates (ca. 469-399 B.C.)
Socrates (ca. 469-399 B.C.)
The great Greek philosopher, who was born and died at Athens. He used to call himself "the midwife of men's thoughts," and out of his intellectual school sprang those of Plato and the Dialectic system, Euclid and the Megaric, Aristippus and the Cyrenaic, Antisthenes and the Cynic. Cicero said of him that "he brought down philosophy from the heavens to earth." He was condemned to death for the corruption of youth by introducing new gods (thus being guilty of impiety) and drank hemlock in prison, surrounded by his disciples. Socrates is caricatured in Aristophanes' comedy The Clouds.
Socratic irony
Leading on your opponent in an argument by simulating ignorance, so that he "ties himself in knots" and eventually falls an easy prey--a form of procedure used with great effect by Socrates.
the Socratic method
The method of conducting an argument, imparting information, etc., by means of question and answer.
the English Socrates
Dr. Samuel Johnson, so called by Boswell.
The great Greek philosopher, who was born and died at Athens. He used to call himself "the midwife of men's thoughts," and out of his intellectual school sprang those of Plato and the Dialectic system, Euclid and the Megaric, Aristippus and the Cyrenaic, Antisthenes and the Cynic. Cicero said of him that "he brought down philosophy from the heavens to earth." He was condemned to death for the corruption of youth by introducing new gods (thus being guilty of impiety) and drank hemlock in prison, surrounded by his disciples. Socrates is caricatured in Aristophanes' comedy The Clouds.
Socratic irony
Leading on your opponent in an argument by simulating ignorance, so that he "ties himself in knots" and eventually falls an easy prey--a form of procedure used with great effect by Socrates.
the Socratic method
The method of conducting an argument, imparting information, etc., by means of question and answer.
the English Socrates
Dr. Samuel Johnson, so called by Boswell.
Skelton, John (ca. 1460-1529)
Skelton, John (ca. 1460-1529)
English poet, known for his satire, his humorous and realistic verse, and his use of short, "breathless" lines and irregular rhyme-scheme, called "Skeltonic meter." His surviving works include A Garland of Laurel, an allegorical poem, dealing with the crowning of Skelton himself as a great poet; Philip Sparrow, a lyric mourning the death of a sparrow, the pet of a young girl; Colin Clout, a satire on the abuses of the Church; The Bowge of Court, a satire in allegory on life at the English court; Magnificence, a Morality Play; The Tunning of Elinor Rumming, a coarse and humorous work, giving a realistic picture of contemporary "low life"; Why Come Ye Not to Court? and Speak, Parrot, satires on Cardinal Wolsey. Skelton received the title of Poet Laureate from both Oxford and Cambridge Universities and held an unofficial position as Laureate under Henry VIII, to whom he had served as tutor.
He was ordained a priest but spent most of his time at court, making enemies by his outspokeness. As a result of the hostility between him and Cardinal Wolsey, he was forced to seek refuge with the Abbot of Westminster, with whom he stayed virtually as a prisoner until his death.
Skelton is considered a poet of the transition between England of the Middle Ages and the Elizabethan period, writing in the tradition of Chaucer, Gower, and Lydgate and the medieval Latin poets. Interest in his work was revived in the 20th century by Robert Graves, and Skeltonic meter is parodied in the early verse of W. H. Auden.
English poet, known for his satire, his humorous and realistic verse, and his use of short, "breathless" lines and irregular rhyme-scheme, called "Skeltonic meter." His surviving works include A Garland of Laurel, an allegorical poem, dealing with the crowning of Skelton himself as a great poet; Philip Sparrow, a lyric mourning the death of a sparrow, the pet of a young girl; Colin Clout, a satire on the abuses of the Church; The Bowge of Court, a satire in allegory on life at the English court; Magnificence, a Morality Play; The Tunning of Elinor Rumming, a coarse and humorous work, giving a realistic picture of contemporary "low life"; Why Come Ye Not to Court? and Speak, Parrot, satires on Cardinal Wolsey. Skelton received the title of Poet Laureate from both Oxford and Cambridge Universities and held an unofficial position as Laureate under Henry VIII, to whom he had served as tutor.
He was ordained a priest but spent most of his time at court, making enemies by his outspokeness. As a result of the hostility between him and Cardinal Wolsey, he was forced to seek refuge with the Abbot of Westminster, with whom he stayed virtually as a prisoner until his death.
Skelton is considered a poet of the transition between England of the Middle Ages and the Elizabethan period, writing in the tradition of Chaucer, Gower, and Lydgate and the medieval Latin poets. Interest in his work was revived in the 20th century by Robert Graves, and Skeltonic meter is parodied in the early verse of W. H. Auden.
Simms, William Gilmore (1806-1870)
Simms, William Gilmore (1806-1870)
American novelist, known for his romances dealing with Indians and frontier life and the Revolutionary War in South Carolina.
These include Guy Rivers ( 1834); THe Yemassee ( 1835), Richard Hurdis ( 1838), Border Beagles ( 1840), Beauchampe ( 1842), Charlemont ( 1856), The Cassique of Kiawah ( 1859), and others, all constituting the series known as the Border Romances; The Partisan ( 1835), Mellichampe ( 1836), and Katherine Walton ( 1851), a trilogy, the outstanding volumes in the series called the Revolutionary Romances, which also contains The Kinsmen ( 1841; later issued as The Scout, 1854), The Sword and the Distaff ( 1853; later appearing as Woodcraft, 1854), The Forayers ( 1855), and Eutaw ( 1856).
Simms' novels, which have been compared to those of James Fenimore Cooper, are characterized by melodrama, chiefly aristocratic heroes and heroines, and a consistent bias in favor of the society, culture, and politics of South Carolina, in keeping with the author's intense admiration for his native state.
American novelist, known for his romances dealing with Indians and frontier life and the Revolutionary War in South Carolina.
These include Guy Rivers ( 1834); THe Yemassee ( 1835), Richard Hurdis ( 1838), Border Beagles ( 1840), Beauchampe ( 1842), Charlemont ( 1856), The Cassique of Kiawah ( 1859), and others, all constituting the series known as the Border Romances; The Partisan ( 1835), Mellichampe ( 1836), and Katherine Walton ( 1851), a trilogy, the outstanding volumes in the series called the Revolutionary Romances, which also contains The Kinsmen ( 1841; later issued as The Scout, 1854), The Sword and the Distaff ( 1853; later appearing as Woodcraft, 1854), The Forayers ( 1855), and Eutaw ( 1856).
Simms' novels, which have been compared to those of James Fenimore Cooper, are characterized by melodrama, chiefly aristocratic heroes and heroines, and a consistent bias in favor of the society, culture, and politics of South Carolina, in keeping with the author's intense admiration for his native state.
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