carol, popular hymn, of joyful nature, in celebration of an occasion such as May Day, Easter, or Christmas. The earliest English carols date from the 15th cent. The carol is characterized by simplicity of thought and expression. Many are thought to be adaptations of pagan songs. Despite the folk-song character of true carols, many Christmas hymns composed in the 19th cent. have been called carols. The oldest printed carol is the Boar's Head Carol, printed in 1521 by Wynkyn de Worde. Carols of French origin are called noels.

Reed, Sir Carol, 1906-76, English film director, b. London. He acted and directed on the stage before turning to films in the mid-1930s. Reed powerfully portrayed characters at the end of their tethers, frequently in a postwar environment, in films such as Odd Man Out (1946), The Fallen Idol (1948), The Third Man (1949), Outcast of the Islands (1951), Our Man in Havana (1959), and Oliver! (1968), for which he won an Academy Award.

Oates, Joyce Carol, 1938-, American author, b. Lockport, N.Y., grad. B.A., Syracuse Univ., 1960, M.A., Univ. of Wisconsin, 1961. She taught English at the Univ. of Detroit and the Univ. of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and has been affiliated with Princeton Univ. since 1978. Oates writes about contemporary American life, which she sees as often defined by violence. She is particularly concerned with the connection between violence and love. Her characters are mainly ordinary, inarticulate people who sublimate the terrible things that happen to them. Although some of her novels have been labeled gothic, the violence in them is neither mysterious nor necessarily dramatic; it occurs randomly as in everyday life.

Extraordinarily prolific, Oates has published more than 100 books in a variety of genres, among them dozens of novels. These include With Shuddering Fall (1964); a trilogy: A Garden of Earthly Delights (1967, rev. ed. 2003), Expensive People (1968), and them (1969); Wonderland (1971); Childwold (1976); Cybele (1979); Bellefleur (1980); Solstice (1985); Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart (1990); What I Lived For (1994); My Heart Laid Bare (1998); Blonde (2000), a fictional work based on the life of Marilyn Monroe; and The Falls (2004). Oates's numerous short stories are collected in such volumes as Wheel of Love (1970), A Sentimental Education (1981), Heat (1991), Will You Always Love Me? (1996), Faithless (2001), and Wild Nights! (2008). Oates also has written thrillers under the name Rosamond Smith, plus poems, plays, children's fiction, essays, literary criticism, and a book on boxing (1988).

Carol II, 1893-1953, king of Romania, son of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie. While crown prince, he contracted a morganatic marriage with Zizi Labrino but divorced her to marry (1921) Princess Helen of Greece. He soon formed a liaison with Magda Lupescu, with whom he lived in Paris after being forced (1925) to renounce his right of succession. On the death (1927) of King Ferdinand, Carol's son Michael became king, but Carol, having divorced Queen Helen in 1928, returned to Romania in 1930, supplanted his son, and had himself proclaimed king de jure since 1927. A turbulent period began (see Romania). In 1938, Carol formed a royal dictatorship. A contest between the king and the fascist Iron Guard ensued, with assassinations and massacres on both sides. Forced to call on Ion Antonescu to form a government (1940), Carol was deposed and fled abroad with Lupescu, whom he finally married in Brazil in 1947. Michael once more became king. Carol died in Portugal, but his remains were returned to Romania in 2003.

Carol I, 1839-1914, prince (1866-81) and first king (1881-1914) of Romania, of the house of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. He is also called Charles I. A Prussian officer, he was elected to succeed the deposed Alexander John Cuza as prince of Romania. He reformed the Romanian constitution and laid the groundwork for the country's monetary system, military organization, and railroad network. Exploitation of Romanian oil fields began in his reign. Economic development, however, did not improve the lot of the peasants, and an uprising in 1907 was cruelly suppressed. Carol sided with Russia in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 and obtained at the Congress of Berlin (see Berlin, Congress of) full independence for Romania, which he declared a kingdom in 1881. Carol's wife was Princess Elizabeth of Wied. He was succeeded by his nephew Ferdinand.

Carol City, uninc. residential city (1990 pop. 53,331), Miami-Dade co., SE Fla., between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. It is a growing middle-class suburb. Pro Player (formerly Joe Robbie) Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins football team, is here.

Burnett, Carol, 1936-, American television performer, b. San Antonio, Tex. Beginning her show-business life as a singer, she soon turned to comedy. After starring in the off-Broadway play Once upon a Mattress (1959), Burnett achieved success on television as a regular on The Garry Moore Show (1959-62). Then, at a time when variety shows were disappearing, her own Carol Burnett Show (1967-79) with its regular group of players performing comedy sketches and musical numbers, proved highly successful and won five Emmy Awards. She also starred in a number of successful television specials. Her made-for-television movies include Friendly Fire (1979). Burnett has also appeared in such feature films as Pete 'n' Tillie (1972), The Four Seasons (1981), Annie (1982), and Noises Off (1992). She has returned to the stage many times, recently in the Broadway productions of Moon over Buffalo (1995) and Putting It Together (1999), a Stephen Sondheim revue.

Popular song, usually of religious joy, associated with a season, especially Christmas. It typically alternates verses with a repeated refrain or chorus. The carol originated in medieval England, with texts in English or Latin or both, and it was often associated with dancing and processions. The French noël, the German Weihnachtslied, and the Spanish villancico can also be regarded as carols.

Learn more about carol with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Dec. 30, 1906, London, Eng.—died April 25, 1976, London) British film director. He made his stage debut as an actor in 1924 and as a director in 1927, staging Edgar Wallace's detective thrillers. He began directing films in 1935, winning praise for The Stars Look Down (1939), Night Train (1940), and the wartime semidocumentary The True Glory (1945). Noted for his technical mastery of the suspense-thriller genre, he had great success with Odd Man Out (1947), The Fallen Idol (1948), and the classic The Third Man (1949). His later films include The Key (1958), Our Man in Havana (1959), and Oliver! (1968, Academy Award). He was the first British film director to be knighted.

Learn more about Reed, Sir Carol with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Dec. 30, 1906, London, Eng.—died April 25, 1976, London) British film director. He made his stage debut as an actor in 1924 and as a director in 1927, staging Edgar Wallace's detective thrillers. He began directing films in 1935, winning praise for The Stars Look Down (1939), Night Train (1940), and the wartime semidocumentary The True Glory (1945). Noted for his technical mastery of the suspense-thriller genre, he had great success with Odd Man Out (1947), The Fallen Idol (1948), and the classic The Third Man (1949). His later films include The Key (1958), Our Man in Havana (1959), and Oliver! (1968, Academy Award). He was the first British film director to be knighted.

Learn more about Reed, Sir Carol with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born June 16, 1938, Lockport, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. writer. Oates taught at the University of Windsor (1967–78) and Princeton University (from 1978). Beginning with the story collection By the North Gate (1963) and the novel With Shuddering Fall (1964), she wrote prolifically, often portraying people whose intensely experienced lives end in bloodshed and self-destruction owing to forces beyond their control. Her major novels include them (1969), Do with Me What You Will (1973), Foxfire (1993), and Beasts (2002). Also significant is a parodic gothic series including Bellefleur (1980), A Bloodsmoor Romance (1982), and Mysteries of Winterthurn (1984).

Learn more about Oates, Joyce Carol with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born June 16, 1938, Lockport, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. writer. Oates taught at the University of Windsor (1967–78) and Princeton University (from 1978). Beginning with the story collection By the North Gate (1963) and the novel With Shuddering Fall (1964), she wrote prolifically, often portraying people whose intensely experienced lives end in bloodshed and self-destruction owing to forces beyond their control. Her major novels include them (1969), Do with Me What You Will (1973), Foxfire (1993), and Beasts (2002). Also significant is a parodic gothic series including Bellefleur (1980), A Bloodsmoor Romance (1982), and Mysteries of Winterthurn (1984).

Learn more about Oates, Joyce Carol with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Oct. 15, 1893, Sinaia, Rom.—died April 4, 1953, Estoril, Port.) King of Romania (1930–40). He became crown prince on the death of his great uncle, Carol I, in 1914. Because of his scandalous affair with Magda Lupescu (1896?–1977), he was obliged to renounce his rights to the throne and go into exile in 1925, but he returned in 1930 and became king. He gradually undermined Romanian democracy and in 1938 proclaimed a corporatist dictatorship, but in 1940 he was forced to abdicate in favour of his son Michael.

Learn more about Carol II with a free trial on Britannica.com.

orig. Karl Eitel Friedrich, prince von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen

(born April 20, 1839, Sigmaringen, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen—died Oct. 10 1914, Sinaia, Rom.) King of Romania (1881–1914). Originally a German prince, he became prince of Romania in 1866, and when Romania gained full independence from the Ottoman Empire he was crowned its first king. He brought notable military and economic development along Western lines, but his neglect of festering rural problems led to the bloody peasant rebellion of 1907.

Learn more about Carol I with a free trial on Britannica.com.