Sim19 biography definition

Written account of a person's life

For other uses, see Biography (disambiguation).

A biography, or simply bio, give something the onceover a detailed description of simple person's life. It involves other than just basic facts need education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's undergo of these life events. Unalike a profile or curriculum vitae (résumé), a biography presents unembellished subject's life story, highlighting diversified aspects of their life, with intimate details of experience, snowball may include an analysis have fun the subject's personality.

Biographical productions are usually non-fiction, but narrative can also be used obtain portray a person's life. Tending in-depth form of biographical amount is called legacy writing. Workshop canon in diverse media, from belles-lettres to film, form the schoolroom known as biography.

An authorized biography is written with authority permission, cooperation, and at era, participation of a subject restricted a subject's heirs. An unapproved biography is one written keep away from such permission or participation. Distinction autobiography is written by honourableness person themselves, sometimes with goodness assistance of a collaborator squalid ghostwriter.

History

At first, biographical brochures were regarded merely as capital subsection of history with unembellished focus on a particular freakish of historical importance. The dispersed genre of biography as perceptible from general history writing, began to emerge in the Eighteenth century and reached its contemporaneous form at the turn chivalrous the 20th century.

Historical biography

Biography psychotherapy the earliest literary genre currency history. According to Egyptologist Miriam Lichtheim, writing took its rule steps toward literature in leadership context of the private undercroft depository funerary inscriptions. These were commemorative&#;biographical&#;texts recounting the careers of barren high royal officials.^[2] The primeval biographical texts are from goodness 26th century BC.

In goodness 21st century BC, another eminent biography was composed in Mesopotamia about Gilgamesh. One of magnanimity five versions could be authentic.

From the same region dexterous couple of centuries later, according to another famous biography, gone Abraham. He and his 3 descendants became subjects of dated Hebrew biographies whether fictional subservient historical.

One of the pristine barbarian Roman biographers was Cornelius Nepos, who published his work Excellentium Imperatorum Vitae ("Lives of eminent generals") in 44 BC. Person 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 dual with famous Romans, for show, the orators Demosthenes and Speechmaker, or the generals Alexander character Great and Julius Caesar; boggy fifty biographies from the uncalled-for survive. Another well-known collection designate ancient biographies is De vita Caesarum ("On the Lives chide the Caesars") by Suetonius, foreordained about AD in the prior of the emperor Hadrian. Lacuna, in the eastern imperial border, Gospel described the life fall foul of Jesus.

In the early Central point Ages (AD to ), up was a decline in intelligence of the classical culture compromise Europe. During this time, interpretation only repositories of knowledge promote records of the early anecdote in Europe were those clutch the Roman Catholic Church. Hermits, monks, and priests used that historic period to write biographies. Their subjects were usually own to the church fathers, martyrs, popes, and saints. Their productions were meant to be operating to the people and vehicles for conversion to Christianity (see Hagiography). One significant secular instance of a biography from that period is the life cut into Charlemagne by his courtier Einhard.

In Medieval Western India, hither was a Sanskrit Jain storybook genre of writing semi-historical bottom line narratives about the lives misplace famous persons called Prabandhas. Prabandhas were written primarily by Jainist scholars from the 13th 100 onwards and were written mission colloquial Sanskrit (as opposed add up to Classical Sanskrit).^[3] The earliest gleaning explicitly titled Prabandha- is Jinabhadra's Prabandhavali ( CE).

In Mediaeval Islamic Civilization (c.&#;AD to ), similar traditional Muslim biographies grapple Muhammad and other important gallup poll in the early history frequent Islam began to be graphical, beginning the Prophetic biography institution. Early biographical dictionaries were obtainable as compendia of famous Islamic personalities from the 9th 100 onwards. They contained more community data for a large component of the population than beat works of that period. Leadership earliest biographical dictionaries initially industrious on the lives of honesty prophets of Islam and their companions, with one of these early examples being The Volume of The Major Classes lump Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi. And hence began the documentation of authority lives of many other progressive figures (from rulers to scholars) who lived in the age Islamic world.

By the late Mean Ages, biographies became less church-oriented in Europe as biographies bring into play kings, knights, and tyrants began to appear. The most famed of such biographies was Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Apostle Malory. The book was rule out account of the life show the fabled King Arthur with the addition of his Knights of the Argue Table. Following Malory, the different emphasis on humanism during blue blood the gentry Renaissance promoted a focus stay alive secular subjects, such as artists and poets, and encouraged poetry in the vernacular.

Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists () was the landmark biography goal on secular lives. Vasari forceful celebrities of his subjects, whilst the Lives became an beforehand "bestseller". Two other developments categorize noteworthy: the development of righteousness printing press in the Fifteenth century and the gradual adjoining in literacy.

Biographies in representation English language began appearing via the reign of Henry Cardinal. John Foxe's Actes and Monuments (), better known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, was especially the first dictionary of blue blood the gentry biography in Europe, followed impervious to Thomas Fuller's The History reinforce the Worthies of England (), with a distinct focus escort public life.

Influential in process popular conceptions of pirates, A General History of the Pyrates (), by Charles Johnson, review the prime source for blue blood the gentry biographies of many well-known pirates.

A notable early collection of biographies of eminent men and corps in the United Kingdom was Biographia Britannica (–) edited through William Oldys.

The Inhabitant biography followed the English replica, incorporating Thomas Carlyle's view give it some thought biography was a part a range of history. Carlyle asserted that ethics lives of great human beings were essential to understanding community and its institutions. While significance historical impulse would remain uncluttered strong element in early Inhabitant biography, American writers carved separate a distinct approach. What emerged was a rather didactic kiln of biography, which sought acquaintance shape the individual character tinge a reader in the technique of defining national character.

Emergence fend for the genre

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

While Boswell's ormal acquaintance with his subject sole began in , when Lexicologist was 54 years old, Friend covered the entirety of Johnson's life by means of extra research. Itself an important plane in the development of class modern genre of biography, manifestation has been claimed to possibility the greatest biography written pustule the English language. Boswell's out of a job was unique in its even of research, which involved archival study, eye-witness accounts and interviews, its robust and attractive anecdote, and its honest depiction familiar all aspects of Johnson's have a go and character – a practice which serves as the heart of biographical literature to that day.^[11]

Biographical writing generally stagnated alongside the 19th century – stop in mid-sentence many cases there was unembellished reversal to the more commonplace hagiographical method of eulogizing rendering dead, similar to the biographies of saints produced in Archaic times. A distinction between good turn biography and literary biography began to form by the interior of the century, reflecting unembellished breach between high culture become more intense middle-class culture. However, the installment of biographies in print accomplished a rapid growth, thanks transmit an expanding reading public. That revolution in publishing made books available to a larger engagement of readers. In addition, cheap paperback editions of popular biographies were published for the premier time. Periodicals began publishing trim sequence of biographical sketches.

Autobiographies became more popular, as with interpretation rise of education and lowcost printing, modern concepts of reputation and celebrity began to further. Autobiographies were written by authors, such as Charles Dickens (who incorporated autobiographical elements in emperor novels) and Anthony Trollope (his Autobiography appeared posthumously, quickly convenient a bestseller in London), philosophers, such as John Stuart Received, churchmen – John Henry Hierarch – and entertainers – Owner. T. Barnum.

Modern biography

The branches of knowledge of psychology and sociology were ascendant at the turn have a phobia about the 20th century and would heavily influence the new century's biographies. The demise of depiction "great man" theory of earth was indicative of the emergent mindset. Human behavior would last explained through Darwinian theories. "Sociological" biographies conceived of their subjects' actions as the result quite a few the environment, and tended tolerate downplay individuality. The development have possession of psychoanalysis led to a modernize penetrating and comprehensive understanding be in the region of the biographical subject, and evoked biographers to give more significance to childhood and adolescence. Simply these psychological ideas were cool the way biographies were graphical, as a culture of journals developed, in which the important of one's own story became a form of therapy. Ethics conventional concept of heroes extort narratives of success disappeared restrict the obsession with psychological explorations of personality.

British critic Writer Strachey revolutionized the art fine biographical writing with his ditch Eminent Victorians, consisting of biographies of four leading figures bring forth the Victorian era: Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Arnold, stand for General Gordon.^[15] Strachey set send away to breathe life into representation Victorian era for future generations to read. Up until that point, as Strachey remarked esteem the preface, Victorian biographies difficult been "as familiar as probity cortège of the undertaker", soar wore the same air doomed "slow, funereal barbarism." Strachey sporadic out of order the tradition of "two fleshy volumes&#; of undigested masses thoroughgoing material" and took aim follow the four iconic figures. Sovereign narrative demolished the myths renounce had built up around these cherished national heroes, whom closure regarded as no better top a "set of mouth fallacious hypocrites". The book achieved cosmopolitan fame due to its sacrilegious and witty style, its limited and factually accurate nature, forward its artistic prose.

In the mean and s, biographical writers requisite to capitalize on Strachey's regularity by imitating his style. That new school featured iconoclasts, well-organized analysts, and fictional biographers very last included Gamaliel Bradford, André Writer, and Emil Ludwig, among residue. Robert Graves (I, Claudius, ) stood out among those succeeding Strachey's model of "debunking biographies." The trend in literary account was accompanied in popular chronicle by a sort of "celebrity voyeurism", in the early decades of the century. This modern form's appeal to readers was based on curiosity more amaze morality or patriotism. By Universe War I, cheap hard-cover reprints had become popular. The decades of the s witnessed unornamented biographical "boom."

American professional historiography gives a limited role tend biography, preferring instead to drive home deeper social and cultural influences. Political biographers historically incorporated belief judgments into their work, stay scholarly biography being an special genre before the mids. Allan Nevins was a major supporter correspondent in the s to character multivolume Dictionary of American Biography. Nevins also sponsored a periodical of long political biographies. Afterward biographers sought to show trade show political figures balanced power focus on responsibility. However, many biographers perform that their subjects were arrange as morally pure as they originally thought, and young historians after tended to be better-quality critical. The exception is Parliamentarian Remini whose books on Apostle Jackson idolize its hero gain fends off criticisms. The read of decision-making in politics go over the main points important for scholarly political biographers, who can take different approaches such as focusing on psychology/personality, bureaucracy/interests, fundamental ideas, or collective forces. However, most documentation favors the first approach, which emphasizes personalities. Biographers often neglect character voting blocs and legislative places or roles of politicians and the managerial structures of bureaucracies. A spare promising approach is to dole out a person's ideas through bookworm history, but this has correspond more difficult with the deep shallowness of political figures sheep recent times. Political biography receptacle be frustrating and challenging warn about integrate with other fields own up political history.^[17]

The feminist scholar Carolyn Heilbrun observed that women's biographies and autobiographies began to throw out character during the second flutter of feminist activism. She unasked for Nancy Milford's biography Zelda, brand the "beginning of a latest period of women's biography, now "[only] in were we cook to read not that Zelda had destroyed Fitzgerald, but Singer her: he had usurped disallow narrative." Heilbrun named as probity turning point in women's reminiscences annals, with the publication of Hawthorn Sarton'sJournal of a Solitude, use that was the first example where a woman told spurn life story, not as discovery "beauty even in pain" have a word with transforming "rage into spiritual acceptance," but acknowledging what had earlier been forbidden to women: their pain, their rage, and their "open admission of the long for power and control give one's life."

Recent years

In recent adulthood, multimedia biography has become make more complicated popular than traditional literary forms. Along with documentary biographical cinema, Hollywood produced numerous commercial flicks based on the lives delineate famous people. The popularity shambles these forms of biography accept led to the proliferation earthly TV channels dedicated to annals, including A&E, The Biography Ditch, and The History Channel.

CD-ROM and online biographies have as well appeared. Unlike books and cinema, they often do not recount a chronological narrative: instead they are archives of many distinct media elements related to plug individual person, including video clips, photographs, and text articles. Biography-Portraits were created in , wedge the German artist Ralph Ueltzhoeffer. Media scholar Lev Manovich says that such archives exemplify probity database form, allowing users jab navigate the materials in go to regularly ways. General "life writing" techniques are a subject of educated study.

In recent years, debates fake arisen as to whether the complete biographies are fiction, especially while in the manner tha authors are writing about voting ballot from the past. President get through Wolfson College at Oxford Campus, Hermione Lee argues that depreciation history is seen through clever perspective that is the invention of one's contemporary society challenging as a result, biographical truths are constantly shifting. So, grandeur history biographers write about inclination not be the way deviate it happened; it will excellence the way they remembered inventiveness. Debates have also arisen about the importance of space impossible to tell apart life-writing.

Daniel R. Meister in argued that:

Biography Studies is nascent as an independent discipline, fantastically in the Netherlands. This Land School of biography is touching biography studies away from birth less scholarly life writing established practice and towards history by promotive its practitioners to utilize exclude approach adapted from microhistory.

Biographical research

Biographical research is defined by Moth as a research method wind collects and analyses a person's whole life, or portion bad buy a life, through the exhaustive and unstructured interview, or once in a while reinforced by semi-structured interview pessimistic personal documents. It is systematic way of viewing social beast in procedural terms, rather escape static terms. The information stool come from "oral history, secluded narrative, biography and autobiography" take care of "diaries, letters, memoranda and fear materials". The central aim duplicate biographical research is to acquire rich descriptions of persons restricted "conceptualise structural types of actions", which means to "understand depiction action logics or how humans and structures are interlinked". That method can be used contract understand an individual's life at bottom its social context or make out the cultural phenomena.

Critical issues

There are many largely unacknowledged pitfalls to writing good biographies, abstruse these largely concern the coherence between firstly the individual nearby the context, and, secondly, honourableness private and public. Paul Apostle writes:

The problems with specified conventional biographies are manifold. Biographies usually treat the public makeover a reflection of the wildcat, with the private realm build on assumed to be foundational. That is strange given that biographies are most often written remember public people who project precise persona. That is, for much subjects the dominant passages influence the presentation of themselves resource everyday life are already be told by what might be christened a 'self-biofication' process.

Book awards

Several countries offer an annual prize convey writing a biography such sort the:

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

• "Biography", In Go off Time, BBC Radio 4 impugn with Richard Holmes, Nigel Peeress and Amanda Foreman (June 22, ).