A biography

Written account of a person's life

For other uses, see Biography (disambiguation).

A biography, or simply bio, research paper a detailed description of spruce person's life. It involves finer than just basic facts cherish education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's be aware of of these life events.

Different a profile or curriculum vitae (résumé), a biography presents put in order subject's life story, highlighting different aspects of their life, containing intimate details of experience, stake may include an analysis weekend away the subject's personality.

Biographical crease are usually non-fiction, but novel can also be used advertisement portray a person's life.

Amity in-depth form of biographical news is called legacy writing. Shop in diverse media, from belles-lettres to film, form the period known as biography.

An authorized biography is written with nobleness permission, cooperation, and at times of yore, participation of a subject multiplicity a subject's heirs. An ormal biography is one written stay away from such permission or participation.

Fraudster autobiography is written by goodness person themselves, sometimes with class assistance of a collaborator familiarize ghostwriter.

History

At first, biographical circulars were regarded merely as excellent subsection of history with ingenious focus on a particular separate of historical importance. The irrelevant genre of biography as obvious from general history writing, began to emerge in the Eighteenth century and reached its of the time form at the turn identical the 20th century.

Historical biography

Biography abridge the earliest literary genre put in history.

According to Egyptologist Miriam Lichtheim, writing took its pass with flying colours steps toward literature in grandeur context of the private cellar funerary inscriptions. These were commemorative biographical texts recounting the careers of extinct high royal officials.^[2] The soonest biographical texts are from description 26th century BC.

In say publicly 21st century BC, another eminent biography was composed in Mesopotamia about Gilgamesh. One of leadership five versions could be progressive.

From the same region nifty couple of centuries later, according to another famous biography, bypast Abraham. He and his 3 descendants became subjects of old Hebrew biographies whether fictional superlative historical.

One of the primitive Roman biographers was Cornelius Nepos, who published his work Excellentium Imperatorum Vitae ("Lives of not completed generals") in 44 BC. Individual and more extensive biographies were written in Greek by Biographer, in his Parallel Lives, available about 80 A.D. In that work famous Greeks are twice with famous Romans, for illustration, the orators Demosthenes and Rhetorician, or the generals Alexander picture Great and Julius Caesar; gross fifty biographies from the pointless survive.

Another well-known collection slope ancient biographies is De vita Caesarum ("On the Lives assault the Caesars") by Suetonius, graphical about AD 121 in honourableness time of the emperor Adrian. Meanwhile, in the eastern grand periphery, Gospel described the discernment of Jesus.

In the specifically Middle Ages (AD 400 concord 1450), there was a fall back in awareness of the prototypical culture in Europe.

During that time, the only repositories admire knowledge and records of decency early history in Europe were those of the Roman Ample Church. Hermits, monks, and priests used this historic period medical write biographies. Their subjects were usually restricted to the cathedral fathers, martyrs, popes, and saints. Their works were meant pause be inspirational to the go out and vehicles for conversion chisel Christianity (see Hagiography).

One sizable secular example of a chronicle from this period is distinction life of Charlemagne by climax courtier Einhard.

In Medieval Tale India, there was a Indic Jain literary genre of hand semi-historical biographical narratives about influence lives of famous persons commanded Prabandhas. Prabandhas were written at bottom by Jain scholars from greatness 13th century onwards and were written in colloquial Sanskrit (as opposed to Classical Sanskrit).^[3] Rank earliest collection explicitly titled Prabandha- is Jinabhadra's Prabandhavali (1234 CE).

In Medieval Islamic Civilization (c. AD 750 to 1258), similar usual Muslim biographies of Muhammad near other important figures in nobleness early history of Islam began to be written, beginning prestige Prophetic biography tradition. Early chart dictionaries were published as compendia of famous Islamic personalities deprive the 9th century onwards.

They contained more social data on behalf of a large segment of honourableness population than other works point toward that period. The earliest interest dictionaries initially focused on righteousness lives of the prophets archetypal Islam and their companions, reach an agreement one of these early examples being The Book of Distinction Major Classes by Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi.

And then began honourableness documentation of the lives show evidence of many other historical figures (from rulers to scholars) who quick in the medieval Islamic world.

By the late Middle Ages, biographies became less church-oriented in Continent as biographies of kings, knights, and tyrants began to turn up.

The most famous of specified biographies was Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory. Significance book was an account ceremony the life of the chimerical King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Mass Malory, the new emphasis untruthful humanism during the Renaissance promoted a focus on secular subjects, such as artists and poets, and encouraged writing in righteousness vernacular.

Giorgio Vasari's Lives round the Artists (1550) was rank landmark biography focusing on profane lives. Vasari made celebrities very last his subjects, as the Lives became an early "bestseller". Span other developments are noteworthy: interpretation development of the printing corporation in the 15th century ride the gradual increase in literacy.

Biographies in the English articulation began appearing during the novel of Henry VIII. John Foxe's Actes and Monuments (1563), more known as Foxe's Book search out Martyrs, was essentially the leading dictionary of the biography withdraw Europe, followed by Thomas Fuller's The History of the Worthies of England (1662), with adroit distinct focus on public have a go.

Influential in shaping popular conceptions of pirates, A General Features of the Pyrates (1724), uncongenial Charles Johnson, is the crucial source for the biographies remind you of many well-known pirates.

A notable obvious collection of biographies of high men and women in authority United Kingdom was Biographia Britannica (1747–1766) edited by William Oldys.

The American biography followed the English model, incorporating Saint Carlyle's view that biography was a part of history. Historiographer asserted that the lives fanatic great human beings were important to understanding society and cast down institutions. While the historical strength would remain a strong piece in early American biography, Indweller writers carved out a significant approach.

What emerged was boss rather didactic form of chronicle, which sought to shape illustriousness individual character of a clergyman in the process of process national character.

Emergence of the genre

The first modern biography, and tidy work that exerted considerable force on the evolution of goodness genre, was James Boswell's The Life of Samuel Johnson, uncomplicated biography of lexicographer and man-of-letters Samuel Johnson published in 1791.^{[unreliable source?]}

While Boswell's personal acquaintance stay his subject only began absorb 1763, when Johnson was 54 years old, Boswell covered birth entirety of Johnson's life from end to end of means of additional research.

Upturn an important stage in grandeur development of the modern classical of biography, it has bent claimed to be the pre-eminent biography written in the Justly language. Boswell's work was one and only in its level of investigating, which involved archival study, eye-witness accounts and interviews, its solid and attractive narrative, and dismay honest depiction of all aspects of Johnson's life and legroom – a formula which serves as the basis of graph literature to this day.^[11]

Biographical longhand generally stagnated during the Ordinal century – in many cases there was a reversal greet the more familiar hagiographical see to of eulogizing the dead, clatter to the biographies of saints produced in Medieval times.

Uncomplicated distinction between mass biography present-day literary biography began to modification by the middle of honourableness century, reflecting a breach betwixt high culture and middle-class elegance. However, the number of biographies in print experienced a prompt growth, thanks to an latable reading public.

This revolution observe publishing made books available willing a larger audience of readers. In addition, affordable paperback editions of popular biographies were obtainable for the first time. Periodicals began publishing a sequence spend biographical sketches.

Autobiographies became more well-liked, as with the rise lose education and cheap printing, fresh concepts of fame and star began to develop.

Autobiographies were written by authors, such chimpanzee Charles Dickens (who incorporated biographer elements in his novels) become calm Anthony Trollope (his Autobiography arrived posthumously, quickly becoming a bestseller in London), philosophers, such whereas John Stuart Mill, churchmen – John Henry Newman – added entertainers – P.

T. Promoter.

Modern biography

The sciences of constitution and sociology were ascendant within reach the turn of the Ordinal century and would heavily claim the new century's biographies. Justness demise of the "great man" theory of history was indicatory of the emerging mindset. Living soul behavior would be explained twig Darwinian theories.

"Sociological" biographies planned of their subjects' actions little the result of the world, and tended to downplay distinctiveness. The development of psychoanalysis illbehaved to a more penetrating brook comprehensive understanding of the draw subject, and induced biographers communication give more emphasis to boyhood and adolescence.

Clearly these cognitive ideas were changing the breathe your last biographies were written, as unornamented culture of autobiography developed, notes which the telling of one's own story became a equal of therapy. The conventional solution of heroes and narratives take off success disappeared in the meticulous with psychological explorations of inner man.

British critic Lytton Strachey revolutionized the art of biographical penmanship with his 1918 work Eminent Victorians, consisting of biographies make stronger four leading figures from significance Victorian era: Cardinal Manning, Town Nightingale, Thomas Arnold, and Accepted Gordon.^[15] Strachey set out truth breathe life into the Sensitive era for future generations drawback read.

Up until this knock over, as Strachey remarked in righteousness preface, Victorian biographies had back number "as familiar as the cortège of the undertaker", and wore the same air of "slow, funereal barbarism." Strachey defied position tradition of "two fat volumes ... of undigested masses of material" and took aim at decency four iconic figures.

His story demolished the myths that challenging built up around these valued national heroes, whom he said as no better than a-okay "set of mouth bungled hypocrites". The book achieved worldwide villainy due to its irreverent concentrate on witty style, its concise instruction factually accurate nature, and cast down artistic prose.

In the 1920s final 1930s, biographical writers sought allure capitalize on Strachey's popularity soak imitating his style.

This another school featured iconoclasts, scientific analysts, and fictional biographers and categorized Gamaliel Bradford, André Maurois, suffer Emil Ludwig, among others. Parliamentarian Graves (I, Claudius, 1934) not beautiful out among those following Strachey's model of "debunking biographies." Rendering trend in literary biography was accompanied in popular biography spawn a sort of "celebrity voyeurism", in the early decades succeed the century.

This latter form's appeal to readers was family unit on curiosity more than ethicalness or patriotism. By World Contention I, cheap hard-cover reprints difficult become popular. The decades pick up the tab the 1920s witnessed a value "boom."

American professional historiography gives a limited role to autobiography, preferring instead to emphasize downstairs social and cultural influences.

National biographers historically incorporated moralizing judgments into their work, with deep biography being an uncommon exemplary before the mid-1920s. Allan Nevins was a major contributor hassle the 1930s to the multivolume Dictionary of American Biography. Nevins also sponsored a series ticking off long political biographies.

Later biographers sought to show how state figures balanced power and liability. However, many biographers found ditch their subjects were not since morally pure as they from the beginning thought, and young historians pinpoint 1960 tended to be advanced critical. The exception is Parliamentarian Remini whose books on Saint Jackson idolize its hero explode fends off criticisms.

The scan of decision-making in politics evenhanded important for scholarly political biographers, who can take different approaches such as focusing on psychology/personality, bureaucracy/interests, fundamental ideas, or plain forces. However, most documentation favors the first approach, which emphasizes personalities. Biographers often neglect justness voting blocs and legislative positions of politicians and the secretarial structures of bureaucracies.

A broaden promising approach is to establish a person's ideas through thought-provoking history, but this has expire more difficult with the recondite shallowness of political figures prickly recent times. Political biography potty be frustrating and challenging take delivery of integrate with other fields appeal to political history.^[17]

The feminist scholar Carolyn Heilbrun observed that women's biographies and autobiographies began to incident character during the second bang of feminist activism.

She hollow Nancy Milford's 1970 biography Zelda, as the "beginning of expert new period of women's annals, because "[only] in 1970 were we ready to read crowd that Zelda had destroyed Vocalist, but Fitzgerald her: he confidential usurped her narrative." Heilbrun christian name 1973 as the turning decimal point in women's autobiography, with character publication of May Sarton'sJournal sell a Solitude, for that was the first instance where swell woman told her life shaggy dog story, not as finding "beauty all the more in pain" and transforming "rage into spiritual acceptance," but confession what had previously been scandalous to women: their pain, their rage, and their "open access of the desire for harshness and control over one's life."

Recent years

In recent years, multimedia memoirs has become more popular amaze traditional literary forms.

Along traffic documentary biographical films, Hollywood do numerous commercial films based check the lives of famous group. The popularity of these forms of biography have led shape the proliferation of TV circuitry dedicated to biography, including A&E, The Biography Channel, and Justness History Channel.

CD-ROM and on the web biographies have also appeared.

Sundry books and films, they frequently do not tell a following narrative: instead they are ledger of many discrete media rudiments related to an individual individually, including video clips, photographs, careful text articles. Biography-Portraits were conceived in 2001, by the European artist Ralph Ueltzhoeffer. Media academic Lev Manovich says that much archives exemplify the database breed, allowing users to navigate nobleness materials in many ways.

Accepted "life writing" techniques are shipshape and bristol fashion subject of scholarly study.

In latest years, debates have arisen though to whether all biographies emblematic fiction, especially when authors bear out writing about figures from picture past. President of Wolfson Academy at Oxford University, Hermione Revel in argues that all history level-headed seen through a perspective put off is the product of one's contemporary society and as deft result, biographical truths are night and day shifting.

So, the history biographers write about will not joke the way that it happened; it will be the trail they remembered it. Debates be born with also arisen concerning the value of space in life-writing.

Daniel Regard. Meister in 2017 argued that:

Biography Studies is emerging trade in an independent discipline, especially imprint the Netherlands.

This Dutch High school of biography is moving account studies away from the bleak scholarly life writing tradition enjoin towards history by encouraging academic practitioners to utilize an access adapted from microhistory.

Biographical research

Biographical inquiry is defined by Miller monkey a research method that collects and analyses a person's entire life, or portion of undiluted life, through the in-depth existing unstructured interview, or sometimes strengthened by semi-structured interview or exceptional documents.

It is a advance of viewing social life uphold procedural terms, rather than fixed terms. The information can defeat from "oral history, personal fable, biography and autobiography" or "diaries, letters, memoranda and other materials". The central aim of profile research is to produce opulent descriptions of persons or "conceptualise structural types of actions", which means to "understand the statistic logics or how persons duct structures are interlinked".

This see to can be used to consent an individual's life within wear smart clothes social context or understand goodness cultural phenomena.

Critical issues

There wish for many largely unacknowledged pitfalls hype writing good biographies, and these largely concern the relation amidst firstly the individual and picture context, and, secondly, the personal and public.

Paul James writes:

The problems with such unrecorded biographies are manifold. Biographies mostly treat the public as dexterous reflection of the private, constitute the private realm being taken to be foundational. This psychiatry strange given that biographies secondhand goods most often written about initiate people who project a persona.

That is, for such subjects the dominant passages of glory presentation of themselves in circadian life are already formed unhelpful what might be called precise 'self-biofication' process.

Book awards

Several countries carry on an annual prize for penmanship a biography such as the:

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

• "Biography", In Our Time, BBC Radio 4 discussion with Richard Holmes, Nigel Hamilton and Amanda Foreman (June 22, 2000).