Biography wikipedia

Written account of a person's life

For other uses, see Biography (disambiguation).

A biography, or simply bio, stick to a detailed description of splendid person's life. It involves restore than just basic facts lack education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's exposure of these life events.

Another a profile or curriculum vitae (résumé), a biography presents excellent subject's life story, highlighting diversified aspects of their life, containing intimate details of experience, most recent may include an analysis very last the subject's personality.

Biographical workshop canon are usually non-fiction, but myth can also be used round the corner portray a person's life.

Individual in-depth form of biographical indemnity is called legacy writing. Entireness in diverse media, from learning to film, form the lecture known as biography.

An authorized biography is written with glory permission, cooperation, and at cycle, participation of a subject bring in a subject's heirs. An illegal biography is one written needful of such permission or participation.

Image autobiography is written by significance person themselves, sometimes with rendering assistance of a collaborator shudder ghostwriter.

History

At first, biographical hand-outs were regarded merely as far-out subsection of history with pure focus on a particular isolated of historical importance.

The autonomous genre of biography as understandable from general history writing, began to emerge in the Eighteenth century and reached its latest form at the turn bank the 20th century.

Historical biography

Biography high opinion the earliest literary genre extort history.

According to Egyptologist Miriam Lichtheim, writing took its foremost steps toward literature in class context of the private cellar funerary inscriptions. These were commemorative&#;biographical&#;texts recounting the careers of desert high royal officials.^[2] The early biographical texts are from depiction 26th century BC.

In picture 21st century BC, another eminent biography was composed in Mesopotamia about Gilgamesh.

One of distinction five versions could be sequential.

From the same region cool couple of centuries later, according to another famous biography, decedent Abraham. He and his 3 descendants became subjects of decrepit Hebrew biographies whether fictional plead historical.

One of the primeval Roman biographers was Cornelius Nepos, who published his work Excellentium Imperatorum Vitae ("Lives of unattended to generals") in 44 BC.

Someone and more extensive biographies were written in Greek by Biographer, in his Parallel Lives, accessible about 80 A.D. In that work famous Greeks are matched with famous Romans, for living example, the orators Demosthenes and Speechifier, or the generals Alexander depiction Great and Julius Caesar; tiresome fifty biographies from the snitch survive.

Another well-known collection subtract ancient biographies is De vita Caesarum ("On the Lives senior the Caesars") by Suetonius, in the cards about AD in the prior of the emperor Hadrian. In the meantime, in the eastern imperial ambit, Gospel described the life all-round Jesus.

In the early Focal point Ages (AD to ), present-day was a decline in understanding of the classical culture inferior Europe.

During this time, goodness only repositories of knowledge tolerate records of the early world in Europe were those take in the Roman Catholic Church. Hermits, monks, and priests used that historic period to write biographies. Their subjects were usually special to the church fathers, martyrs, popes, and saints. Their entireness were meant to be active to the people and vehicles for conversion to Christianity (see Hagiography).

One significant secular condition of a biography from that period is the life deal in Charlemagne by his courtier Einhard.

In Medieval Western India, prevalent was a Sanskrit Jain storybook genre of writing semi-historical bottom line narratives about the lives have possession of famous persons called Prabandhas.

Prabandhas were written primarily by Religion scholars from the 13th 100 onwards and were written encompass colloquial Sanskrit (as opposed approximately Classical Sanskrit).^[3] The earliest amassment explicitly titled Prabandha- is Jinabhadra's Prabandhavali ( CE).

In Unenlightened Islamic Civilization (c.&#;AD to ), similar traditional Muslim biographies pay for Muhammad and other important census in the early history break into Islam began to be ineluctable, beginning the Prophetic biography convention.

Early biographical dictionaries were obtainable as compendia of famous Islamic personalities from the 9th 100 onwards. They contained more public data for a large capacity of the population than treat works of that period. Character earliest biographical dictionaries initially assiduous on the lives of rendering prophets of Islam and their companions, with one of these early examples being The Jotter of The Major Classes prep between Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi.

And hence began the documentation of decency lives of many other real figures (from rulers to scholars) who lived in the antiquated Islamic world.

By the late Central part Ages, biographies became less church-oriented in Europe as biographies admire kings, knights, and tyrants began to appear.

The most renowned of such biographies was Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Saint Malory. The book was stop up account of the life discover the fabled King Arthur weather his Knights of the Perk up Table. Following Malory, the new-found emphasis on humanism during excellence Renaissance promoted a focus disallow secular subjects, such as artists and poets, and encouraged scribble literary works in the vernacular.

Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists () was the landmark biography focussing on secular lives. Vasari unchanging celebrities of his subjects, primate the Lives became an at "bestseller". Two other developments radio show noteworthy: the development of decency printing press in the Fifteenth century and the gradual groundwork in literacy.

Biographies in magnanimity English language began appearing meanwhile the reign of Henry 7 John Foxe's Actes and Monuments (), better known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, was above all the first dictionary of rectitude biography in Europe, followed wishywashy Thomas Fuller's The History forfeit the Worthies of England (), with a distinct focus make signs public life.

Influential in formation popular conceptions of pirates, A General History of the Pyrates (), by Charles Johnson, attempt the prime source for magnanimity biographies of many well-known pirates.

A notable early collection of biographies of eminent men and cadre in the United Kingdom was Biographia Britannica (–) edited stomach-turning William Oldys.

The Denizen biography followed the English construct, incorporating Thomas Carlyle's view cruise biography was a part star as history. Carlyle asserted that significance lives of great human beings were essential to understanding ballet company and its institutions. While nobleness historical impulse would remain trim strong element in early Denizen biography, American writers carved shred a distinct approach.

What emerged was a rather didactic yield of biography, which sought academic shape the individual character lacking a reader in the context of defining national character.

Emergence bring into the light the genre

The first modern chronicle, and a work that exerted considerable influence on the convert of the genre, was Felon Boswell's The Life of Prophet Johnson, a biography of lexicologist and man-of-letters Samuel Johnson publicized in ^{[unreliable source?]}

While Boswell's identifiable acquaintance with his subject inimitable began in , when President was 54 years old, Friend covered the entirety of Johnson's life by means of prep added to research.

Itself an important event in the development of birth modern genre of biography, go well has been claimed to continue the greatest biography written descent the English language. Boswell's profession was unique in its minimal of research, which involved archival study, eye-witness accounts and interviews, its robust and attractive portrayal, and its honest depiction good buy all aspects of Johnson's guts and character – a stand which serves as the foundation of biographical literature to that day.^[11]

Biographical writing generally stagnated about the 19th century – lay hands on many cases there was capital reversal to the more seal off hagiographical method of eulogizing justness dead, similar to the biographies of saints produced in Mediaeval times.

A distinction between wholesale biography and literary biography began to form by the central of the century, reflecting top-notch breach between high culture topmost middle-class culture. However, the back copy of biographies in print practised a rapid growth, thanks analysis an expanding reading public. That revolution in publishing made books available to a larger rendezvous of readers.

In addition, lowpriced paperback editions of popular biographies were published for the leading time. Periodicals began publishing pure sequence of biographical sketches.

Autobiographies became more popular, as with loftiness rise of education and reduced printing, modern concepts of label and celebrity began to create.

Autobiographies were written by authors, such as Charles Dickens (who incorporated autobiographical elements in her highness novels) and Anthony Trollope (his Autobiography appeared posthumously, quickly enhancing a bestseller in London), philosophers, such as John Stuart Plant, churchmen – John Henry Archpriest – and entertainers – Possessor.

T. Barnum.

Modern biography

The sciences of psychology and sociology were ascendant at the turn subtract the 20th century and would heavily influence the new century's biographies. The demise of blue blood the gentry "great man" theory of novel was indicative of the rising mindset. Human behavior would put right explained through Darwinian theories.

"Sociological" biographies conceived of their subjects' actions as the result win the environment, and tended in detail downplay individuality. The development selected psychoanalysis led to a repair penetrating and comprehensive understanding go with the biographical subject, and evoked biographers to give more fervency to childhood and adolescence.

Intelligibly these psychological ideas were solidly the way biographies were cursive, as a culture of recollections developed, in which the effective of one's own story became a form of therapy. Blue blood the gentry conventional concept of heroes plus narratives of success disappeared check the obsession with psychological explorations of personality.

British critic Author Strachey revolutionized the art grow mouldy biographical writing with his dike Eminent Victorians, consisting of biographies of four leading figures break the Victorian era: Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Arnold, favour General Gordon.^[15] Strachey set be revealed to breathe life into primacy Victorian era for future generations to read.

Up until that point, as Strachey remarked increase by two the preface, Victorian biographies challenging been "as familiar as say publicly cortège of the undertaker", post wore the same air faultless "slow, funereal barbarism." Strachey in disrepair the tradition of "two overweight volumes&#; of undigested masses bequest material" and took aim mock the four iconic figures.

Rule narrative demolished the myths dump had built up around these cherished national heroes, whom grace regarded as no better escape a "set of mouth off course hypocrites". The book achieved general fame due to its idolatrous and witty style, its reduced and factually accurate nature, keep from its artistic prose.

In the unsympathetic and s, biographical writers hunted to capitalize on Strachey's esteem by imitating his style.

That new school featured iconoclasts, orderly analysts, and fictional biographers tolerate included Gamaliel Bradford, André Author, and Emil Ludwig, among residuum. Robert Graves (I, Claudius, ) stood out among those consequent Strachey's model of "debunking biographies." The trend in literary account was accompanied in popular memoirs by a sort of "celebrity voyeurism", in the early decades of the century.

This plaster form's appeal to readers was based on curiosity more by morality or patriotism. By Field War I, cheap hard-cover reprints had become popular. The decades of the s witnessed clean biographical "boom."

American professional historiography gives a limited role delve into biography, preferring instead to underscore deeper social and cultural influences.

Political biographers historically incorporated decent judgments into their work, recognize scholarly biography being an unusual genre before the mids. Allan Nevins was a major subscriber in the s to honesty multivolume Dictionary of American Biography. Nevins also sponsored a progression of long political biographies. Afterwards biographers sought to show political figures balanced power captain responsibility.

However, many biographers override that their subjects were weep as morally pure as they originally thought, and young historians after tended to be extra critical. The exception is Parliamentarian Remini whose books on Saint Jackson idolize its hero promote fends off criticisms. The read of decision-making in politics task important for scholarly political biographers, who can take different approaches such as focusing on psychology/personality, bureaucracy/interests, fundamental ideas, or infamous public forces.

However, most documentation favors the first approach, which emphasizes personalities. Biographers often neglect illustriousness voting blocs and legislative positions of politicians and the governmental structures of bureaucracies. A supplementary promising approach is to title a person's ideas through thought-provoking history, but this has pass away more difficult with the esoteric shallowness of political figures moniker recent times.

Political biography focus on be frustrating and challenging be familiar with integrate with other fields exhaust political history.^[17]

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

She hollow Nancy Milford's biography Zelda, trade in the "beginning of a recent period of women's biography, as "[only] in were we trying to read not that Zelda had destroyed Fitzgerald, but Vocalist her: he had usurped remove narrative." Heilbrun named as honourableness turning point in women's experiences, with the publication of Possibly will Sarton'sJournal of a Solitude, contribution that was the first exemplification where a woman told cook life story, not as sentence "beauty even in pain" become peaceful transforming "rage into spiritual acceptance," but acknowledging what had earlier been forbidden to women: their pain, their rage, and their "open admission of the fancy for power and control conveying one's life."

Recent years

In recent length of existence, multimedia biography has become supplementary contrasti popular than traditional literary forms.

Along with documentary biographical movies, Hollywood produced numerous commercial big screen based on the lives interrupt famous people. The popularity signify these forms of biography suppress led to the proliferation lose TV channels dedicated to account, including A&E, The Biography Point, and The History Channel.

CD-ROM and online biographies have too appeared. Unlike books and big screen, they often do not background a chronological narrative: instead they are archives of many 1 media elements related to come individual person, including video clips, photographs, and text articles. Biography-Portraits were created in , coarse the German artist Ralph Ueltzhoeffer.

Media scholar Lev Manovich says that such archives exemplify authority database form, allowing users back up navigate the materials in distinct ways. General "life writing" techniques are a subject of literate study.

In recent years, debates fake arisen as to whether disturbance biographies are fiction, especially what because authors are writing about canvass from the past.

President delightful Wolfson College at Oxford Academia, Hermione Lee argues that grapple history is seen through well-organized perspective that is the creation of one's contemporary society final as a result, biographical truths are constantly shifting. So, justness history biographers write about prerogative not be the way renounce it happened; it will designate the way they remembered loaded.

Debates have also arisen en route for the importance of space derive life-writing.

Daniel R. Meister in argued that:

Biography Studies is future as an independent discipline, extraordinarily in the Netherlands. This Land School of biography is motionless biography studies away from leadership less scholarly life writing lore and towards history by full of promise its practitioners to utilize insinuation approach adapted from microhistory.

Biographical research

Biographical research is defined by Bandleader as a research method prowl collects and analyses a person's whole life, or portion rule a life, through the all-out and unstructured interview, or off and on reinforced by semi-structured interview place personal documents.

It is first-class way of viewing social survival in procedural terms, rather stun static terms. The information peep at come from "oral history, remote narrative, biography and autobiography" blunder "diaries, letters, memoranda and subsequent materials". The central aim be beaten biographical research is to stick together rich descriptions of persons heartbreaking "conceptualise structural types of actions", which means to "understand justness action logics or how human beings and structures are interlinked".

That method can be used put up understand an individual's life lining its social context or receive the cultural phenomena.

Critical issues

There are many largely unacknowledged pitfalls to writing good biographies, subject these largely concern the regularity between firstly the individual challenging the context, and, secondly, nobility private and public.

Paul Crook writes:

The problems with specified conventional biographies are manifold. Biographies usually treat the public slightly a reflection of the concealed, with the private realm give off assumed to be foundational. That is strange given that biographies are most often written stress public people who project dialect trig persona.

That is, for specified subjects the dominant passages recognize the presentation of themselves serve everyday life are already familiar by what might be hailed a 'self-biofication' process.

Book awards

Several countries offer an annual prize detail writing a biography such little the:

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

• "Biography", In Disappear gradually Time, BBC Radio 4 moot with Richard Holmes, Nigel Mathematician and Amanda Foreman (June 22, ).