Literature Portal | Britannica

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justify-content-center"> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> <a href="/" class="link-white">Home</a> </span> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> Literature </span> </nav> <h1 class="font-serif mt-30 mb-20">Literature</h1> <div class="font-serif grid"> <div class="col-sm-70 col-sm-offset-15"> With the development of language, the human imagination has found a way to create and communicate through the written word. A literary work can transport us into a fictional, fantastic new world, describe a fleeting feeling, or simply give us a picture of the past through novels, poems, tragedies, epic works, and other genres. Through literature, communication becomes an art, and it can bridge and bond people and cultures of different languages and backgrounds.</div> </div> <div class="text-hr text-hr-right border-navy label mt-30 ls-lg">Browse Subcategories</div> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 mt-20 category-snap-slider"> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex font-14 overflow-hidden text-nowrap mx-5"> <a href="/browse/Folk-Literature-Fable" class="link-white mr-20 mr-sm-30">Folk Literature & Fable</a> <a href="/browse/Fictional-Characters" class="link-white mr-20 mr-sm-30">Fictional Characters</a> <a href="/browse/Journalism" class="link-white mr-20 mr-sm-30">Journalism</a> <a href="/browse/Libraries-Reference-Work" class="link-white mr-20 mr-sm-30">Libraries & Reference Works</a> <a href="/browse/Literatures-of-the-World" class="link-white mr-20 mr-sm-30">Literatures of the World</a> <a href="/browse/Literary-Criticism" class="link-white mr-20 mr-sm-30">Literary Criticism</a> <a href="/browse/Literary-Terms" class="link-white mr-20 mr-sm-30">Literary Terms</a> <a href="/browse/Nonfiction" class="link-white mr-20 mr-sm-30">Nonfiction</a> <a href="/browse/Novels-Short-Stories" class="link-white mr-20 mr-sm-30">Novels & Short Stories</a> <a href="/browse/Oratory" class="link-white mr-20 mr-sm-30">Oratory</a> <a href="/browse/Plays" class="link-white mr-20 mr-sm-30">Plays</a> <a href="/browse/Poetry" class="link-white ">Poetry</a> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Previous"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> </div> <div class="container"> <h2 class="label my-30 text-center">Featured content, February 19, 2025</h2> <div class="qa-pinboard-items js-pinboard grid gy-20"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/why-do-we-say-a-pair-of-pants" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/74/190774-131-CC3FEB1F/jeans-denim-pants-clothing.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="jeans, denim, pants, clothing" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/why-do-we-say-a-pair-of-pants" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Why Do We Say “A Pair of Pants”?</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Well, there are more than a pair of answers. </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/is-sinclair-lewiss-most-famous-work-any-good" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/136289-131-15BF413D/Sinclair-Lewis.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="American novelist and social critic Sinclair Lewis, circa 1905-45. First American winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, 1930." class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/is-sinclair-lewiss-most-famous-work-any-good" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Is Sinclair Lewis’s Most Famous Work Any Good? </a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> <em>It Can’t Happen Here</em> has never received great reviews as literary art. So why is it Sinclair Lewis’s most famous... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/where-do-the-terms-nerd-and-geek-come-from" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/38/188938-131-96458DC5/Student-girl-writing-formulas-wall.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Student girl writing formulas on transparent wall" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/where-do-the-terms-nerd-and-geek-come-from" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">The Bizarre Origins of the Words <em>Nerd</em> and <em>Geek</em></a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> On the nature of nerdiness…or geekiness. </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/list/9-queer-writers-you-should-read" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/60/144760-131-5E258FAB/Rainbow-flag-Sign-diversity-Gilbert-Baker-hope-1978.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Rainbow flag. Sign of diversity, inclusiveness, hope, yearning. Gay pride flag popularized by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker in 1978. Inspired by Judy Garland singing Over the Rainbow. gay rights, homosexual, gays, LGBT community" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/list/9-queer-writers-you-should-read" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">13 LGBTQ Writers You Should Read</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Doesn’t matter whom you love. </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/biography-narrative-genre" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/82/46782-004-3E7303D3/Self-portrait-oil-canvas-Giorgio-Vasari-Uffizi-Gallery.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Giorgio Vasari" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/biography-narrative-genre" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">biography</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Biography, form of literature, commonly considered nonfictional, the subject of which is the life of an individual. One of... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Belgian-literature" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/6406-050-3BA3D75D/composition-Belgium.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="ethnic and linguistic composition of Belgium" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Belgian-literature" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Belgian literature</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Belgian literature, the body of written works produced by Belgians and written in Flemish, which is equivalent to the Standard... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/African-literature" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/04/68004-050-3CF39874/Athol-Fugard-actors-John-Kani-Winston-Ntshona-1973.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Athol Fugard with John Kani and Winston Ntshona" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/African-literature" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">African literature</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> African literature, the body of traditional oral and written literatures in Afro-Asiatic and African languages together with... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Turkish-literature" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/4789-050-B6176F52/Expansion-Ottoman-Empire.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="This map shows the territorial expansion of the Ottoman Empire from 1300 to its greatest extent in 1683-99, highlighting different periods under rulers such as Mehmed II, Selim I, and Süleyman the Magnificent, and marking key cities, seas, and geographical boundaries in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East." class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Turkish-literature" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Turkish literature</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Turkish literature, the body of written works in the Turkish language. The Orhon inscriptions represent some of the earliest... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="qa-quizzes"> <h2 class="h3 mt-30 mb-20 font-weight-bold">Literature Quizzes</h2> <div class="m-n10 "> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 card-snap-slider col-100"> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex col-100"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/quiz/famous-poets-and-poetic-form" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/76/168476-131-42654A68/letter-Sun-Rose-Dickinson-Emily-A-Life.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/quiz/famous-poets-and-poetic-form" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Famous Poets and Poetic Form</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Who wrote the long poem <em>The Waste Land</em>? What is the most common meter in English poetry? 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Stories such as these circulated long before systems of writing were developed; ballads, folktales, poems, and the like were transmitted exclusively by word of mouth before written languages took over, and they continue to captivate listeners and readers to this day.</div> <div class="label mt-20">Articles</div> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/oral-literature">oral literature</a> <div class="font-serif"></div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/folk-literature">folk literature</a> <div class="font-serif"></div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bjornstjerne-Bjornson">Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson</a> <div class="font-serif">Norwegian author</div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <a href="/browse/Fictional-Characters"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/38/182838-050-F71E4278/image-Fantastic-Four.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Fantastic Four" class="col-100 mb-20" /> </a> <a href="/browse/Fictional-Characters" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Fictional Characters</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 line-clamp clamp-3">Here you'll find some of your favorite fictional characters from literature, film, television, and the like, whether it's the analytical mastermind Sherlock Holmes and his endearing associate Dr. Watson or the menacing and helmeted Darth Vader, the ill-tempered Donald Duck, or the teenage sleuth Nancy Drew.</div> <div class="label mt-20">Articles</div> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Superman-fictional-character">Superman</a> <div class="font-serif">fictional character</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Panther-comic-book-character">Black Panther</a> <div class="font-serif">fictional character</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Doctor-Strange-fictional-character">Doctor Strange</a> <div class="font-serif">fictional character</div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <a href="/browse/Journalism"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/resources/encyclopedia-placeholder.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="subcategory placeholder" class="col-100 mb-15" /> </a> <a href="/browse/Journalism" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Journalism</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 line-clamp clamp-3">Extra, extra! Although the content and style of journalism and the medium through which it is delivered have varied significantly over the years, journalism has always given us a way to keep up with current events, so that we always have our fingers on the pulse.</div> <div class="label mt-20">Articles</div> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barbara-Walters">Barbara Walters</a> <div class="font-serif">American journalist</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-Cronkite">Walter Cronkite</a> <div class="font-serif">American journalist</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dan-Rather">Dan Rather</a> <div class="font-serif">American newscaster</div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <a href="/browse/Libraries-Reference-Work"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/75/116775-050-D926A56E/Edward-O-Wilson-2007.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="E.O. Wilson" class="col-100 mb-20" /> </a> <a href="/browse/Libraries-Reference-Work" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Libraries & Reference Works</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 line-clamp clamp-3">Looking to impress your friends with your expansive knowledge of historical events, philosophical concepts, obscure words, and more? We may be biased, but it seems fair enough to say that reference works such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and textbooks have provided such a service for years (in some cases, hundreds or even thousands of years). You can look for them at your local public library, which likely stores books, manuscripts, journals, CDs, movies, and other sources of information and entertainment.</div> <div class="label mt-20">Articles</div> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Newberry-Library">Newberry Library</a> <div class="font-serif">library, Chicago, Illinois, United States</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-D-Dana">James D. Dana</a> <div class="font-serif">American geologist and mineralogist</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Claude-Bernard">Claude Bernard</a> <div class="font-serif">French scientist</div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <a href="/browse/Literatures-of-the-World"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/98/136198-050-C1956D88/wine-bottle-fritware-half-Iran-Los-Angeles.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="wine bottle" class="col-100 mb-20" /> </a> <a href="/browse/Literatures-of-the-World" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Literatures of the World</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 line-clamp clamp-3">Literature knows no geographical bounds; authors can be found in nearly all corners of the globe. Find out more about regional literary styles and forms.</div> <div class="label mt-20">Articles</div> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/African-American-literature">African American literature</a> <div class="font-serif"></div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/African-literature">African literature</a> <div class="font-serif"></div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/German-literature">German literature</a> <div class="font-serif"></div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <a href="/browse/Literary-Criticism"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/resources/encyclopedia-placeholder.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="subcategory placeholder" class="col-100 mb-15" /> </a> <a href="/browse/Literary-Criticism" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Literary Criticism</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 line-clamp clamp-3">Everyone's a critic. But not all literary criticism involves judging the quality of a text; it can also focus on interpreting the meaning of a work or evaluating an author's place in literary history.</div> <div class="label mt-20">Articles</div> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Johnson">Samuel Johnson</a> <div class="font-serif">English author</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/textual-criticism">textual criticism</a> <div class="font-serif"></div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Virginia-Woolf">Virginia Woolf</a> <div class="font-serif">British writer</div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <a href="/browse/Literary-Terms"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/20/99420-050-A8C679CA/Dust-jacket-edition-Vanessa-Bell-Virginia-Woolf-1927.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="To the Lighthouse" class="col-100 mb-20" /> </a> <a href="/browse/Literary-Terms" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Literary Terms</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 line-clamp clamp-3">Want to be able to distinguish your limericks from your haikus and your paeans from your panegyrics? Dive deep into literary terms and forms.</div> <div class="label mt-20">Articles</div> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/nonfictional-prose">nonfictional prose</a> <div class="font-serif"></div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/tragedy-literature">tragedy</a> <div class="font-serif">literature</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/sonnet">sonnet</a> <div class="font-serif">poetic form</div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <a href="/browse/Nonfiction"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/resources/encyclopedia-placeholder.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="subcategory placeholder" class="col-100 mb-15" /> </a> <a href="/browse/Nonfiction" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Nonfiction</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 line-clamp clamp-3">The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth! Or that's the idea, at least. Nonfiction works center on facts and real events. Although there is some debate about which kinds of literature qualify as nonfiction, the genre typically includes books in the categories of biography, memoir, science, history, self-help, cooking, health and fitness, business, and more.</div> <div class="label mt-20">Articles</div> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/blog">blog</a> <div class="font-serif">Internet</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/essay">essay</a> <div class="font-serif">literature</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/diary-literature">diary</a> <div class="font-serif">literature</div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <a href="/browse/Novels-Short-Stories"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/27/178727-050-2AFD7411/Ann-Robinson-Gene-Barry-The-War-of.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="The War of the Worlds" class="col-100 mb-20" /> </a> <a href="/browse/Novels-Short-Stories" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Novels & Short Stories</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> novels and short stories have been enchanting and transporting readers for a great many years. There's a little something for everyone: within these two genres of literature, a wealth of types and styles can be found, including historical, epistolary, romantic, Gothic, and realist works, along with many more.</div> <div class="label mt-20">Articles</div> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Fall-of-the-House-of-Usher">The Fall of the House of Usher</a> <div class="font-serif">story by Poe</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Catcher-in-the-Rye">The Catcher in the Rye</a> <div class="font-serif">novel by Salinger</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/graphic-novel">graphic novel</a> <div class="font-serif">literature</div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <a href="/browse/Oratory"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/07/121107-050-65C4CC92/Saint-Augustine-oil-wood-panel-Joos-Ghent.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Justus of Ghent: Saint Augustine" class="col-100 mb-20" /> </a> <a href="/browse/Oratory" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Oratory</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> speech and Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, quoted above, are two iconic examples of successful oratory, as are Elizabeth I's speech to the troops at Tilbury and Winston Churchill's first speech as prime minister to the House of Commons.</div> <div class="label mt-20">Articles</div> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jacques-Benigne-Bossuet">Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet</a> <div class="font-serif">French bishop</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Honore-Gabriel-Riqueti-comte-de-Mirabeau">Honoré-Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau</a> <div class="font-serif">French politician and orator</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-Webster">Daniel Webster</a> <div class="font-serif">American politician</div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <a href="/browse/Plays"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/66/7266-004-50AA9C58/Kenneth-Branagh-Hamlet-Gertrude-film-version-Julie-1996.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Hamlet (1996)" class="col-100 mb-20" /> </a> <a href="/browse/Plays" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Plays</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 line-clamp clamp-3">; and the stage is where you'll find performances of works by such famed playwrights as Anton Chekhov, Eugene O'Neill, and the Bard himself, among many others.</div> <div class="label mt-20">Articles</div> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Our-Town-play-by-Wilder">Our Town</a> <div class="font-serif">play by Wilder</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Seagull-play-by-Chekhov">The Seagull</a> <div class="font-serif">play by Chekhov</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oedipus-Rex-play-by-Sophocles">Oedipus Rex</a> <div class="font-serif">play by Sophocles</div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <a href="/browse/Poetry"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/resources/encyclopedia-placeholder.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="subcategory placeholder" class="col-100 mb-15" /> </a> <a href="/browse/Poetry" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Poetry</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 line-clamp clamp-3">; sonnets, haikus, nursery rhymes, epics, and more are included.</div> <div class="label mt-20">Articles</div> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Leaves-of-Grass-by-Whitman">Leaves of Grass</a> <div class="font-serif">work by Whitman</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Rime-of-the-Ancient-Mariner">The Rime of the Ancient Mariner</a> <div class="font-serif">work by Coleridge</div> </li> <li class="mt-20"> <a class="font-weight-bold" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mahabharata">Mahabharata</a> <div class="font-serif">Hindu literature</div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <DIV class="marketing-CATEGORY_PAGE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="CATEGORY_PAGE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; 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