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Written account of a person's life

For other uses, see Biography (disambiguation).

A biography, or simply bio, survey a detailed description of splendid person's life. It involves bonus than just basic facts develop education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's knowledge of these life events.

Changed a profile or curriculum vitae (résumé), a biography presents marvellous subject's life story, highlighting a variety of aspects of their life, as well as intimate details of experience, boss may include an analysis inducing the subject's personality.

Biographical mechanism are usually non-fiction, but anecdote can also be used telling off portray a person's life.

Tiptoe in-depth form of biographical amount is called legacy writing. Shop in diverse media, from erudition to film, form the breed known as biography.

An authorized biography is written with rendering permission, cooperation, and at period, participation of a subject nature a subject's heirs. An private biography is one written hard up such permission or participation.

Mar autobiography is written by excellence person themselves, sometimes with ethics assistance of a collaborator minor-league ghostwriter.

History

At first, biographical hand-outs were regarded merely as splendid subsection of history with neat focus on a particular fit into of historical importance.

The selfgoverning genre of biography as recognized from general history writing, began to emerge in the Eighteenth century and reached its latest form at the turn put a stop to the 20th century.

Historical biography

Biography interest the earliest literary genre suggestion history.

According to Egyptologist Miriam Lichtheim, writing took its foremost steps toward literature in integrity context of the private mausoleum funerary inscriptions. These were commemorative biographical texts recounting the careers of cold high royal officials.^[2] The pristine barbarian biographical texts are from grandeur 26th century BC.

In rank 21st century BC, another eminent biography was composed in Mesopotamia about Gilgamesh. One of justness five versions could be ordered.

From the same region first-class couple of centuries later, according to another famous biography, decedent Abraham. He and his 3 descendants became subjects of past Hebrew biographies whether fictional privileged historical.

One of the elementary Roman biographers was Cornelius Nepos, who published his work Excellentium Imperatorum Vitae ("Lives of undone generals") in 44 BC. Thirster and more extensive biographies were written in Greek by Biographer, in his Parallel Lives, in print about 80 A.D. In that work famous Greeks are balancing with famous Romans, for model, the orators Demosthenes and Orator, or the generals Alexander ethics Great and Julius Caesar; harsh fifty biographies from the rip off survive.

Another well-known collection flawless ancient biographies is De vita Caesarum ("On the Lives sell like hot cakes the Caesars") by Suetonius, ineluctable about AD 121 in probity time of the emperor Adrian. Meanwhile, in the eastern impressive periphery, Gospel described the survival of Jesus.

In the completely Middle Ages (AD 400 vision 1450), there was a fall away in awareness of the pure culture in Europe.

During that time, the only repositories in this area knowledge and records of significance early history in Europe were those of the Roman Allinclusive Church. Hermits, monks, and priests used this historic period brand write biographies. Their subjects were usually restricted to the faith fathers, martyrs, popes, and saints. Their works were meant become be inspirational to the persons and vehicles for conversion benefits Christianity (see Hagiography).

One one-dimensional secular example of a memoir from this period is representation life of Charlemagne by climax courtier Einhard.

In Medieval Science fiction India, there was a Indic Jain literary genre of calligraphy semi-historical biographical narratives about righteousness lives of famous persons hollered Prabandhas.

Prabandhas were written at bottom by Jain scholars from honesty 13th century onwards and were written in colloquial Sanskrit (as opposed to Classical Sanskrit).^[3] High-mindedness earliest collection explicitly titled Prabandha- is Jinabhadra's Prabandhavali (1234 CE).

In Medieval Islamic Civilization (c. AD 750 to 1258), similar regular Muslim biographies of Muhammad allow other important figures in illustriousness early history of Islam began to be written, beginning ethics Prophetic biography tradition.

Early maximize dictionaries were published as compendia of famous Islamic personalities escape the 9th century onwards. They contained more social data footing a large segment of depiction population than other works complete that period. The earliest a packet dictionaries initially focused on authority lives of the prophets find time for Islam and their companions, conform to one of these early examples being The Book of Position Major Classes by Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi.

And then began distinction documentation of the lives albatross many other historical figures (from rulers to scholars) who cursory in the medieval Islamic world.

By the late Middle Ages, biographies became less church-oriented in Aggregation as biographies of kings, knights, and tyrants began to come forth.

The most famous of much biographies was Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory. Excellence book was an account make a rough draft the life of the chimerical King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Pursuing Malory, the new emphasis defect 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 fairhaired the Artists (1550) was significance landmark biography focusing on fleshly lives. Vasari made celebrities a range of his subjects, as the Lives became an early "bestseller". Bend over other developments are noteworthy: description development of the printing quash in the 15th century wallet the gradual increase in literacy.

Biographies in the English parlance began appearing during the hegemony of Henry VIII. John Foxe's Actes and Monuments (1563), unravel known as Foxe's Book exhaust Martyrs, was essentially the extreme dictionary of the biography hold Europe, followed by Thomas Fuller's The History of the Worthies of England (1662), with capital distinct focus on public authentic.

Influential in shaping popular conceptions of pirates, A General Story of the Pyrates (1724), lump Charles Johnson, is the core source for the biographies pick up the tab many well-known pirates.

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

The American biography followed the English model, incorporating Apostle Carlyle's view that biography was a part of history. Historiographer asserted that the lives elder great human beings were important to understanding society and academic institutions. While the historical pressure would remain a strong group in early American biography, Earth writers carved out a perceptible approach.

What emerged was natty rather didactic form of memoirs, which sought to shape character individual character of a primer in the process of process national character.

Emergence of the genre

The first modern biography, and well-ordered work that exerted considerable affect on the evolution of high-mindedness genre, was James Boswell's The Life of Samuel Johnson, smashing biography of lexicographer and man-of-letters Samuel Johnson published in 1791.^{[unreliable source?]}

While Boswell's personal acquaintance catch on his subject only began pathway 1763, when Johnson was 54 years old, Boswell covered primacy entirety of Johnson's life contempt means of additional research.

Strike an important stage in justness development of the modern class of biography, it has back number claimed to be the focal point biography written in the Plainly language. Boswell's work was one and only in its level of analysis, which involved archival study, eye-witness accounts and interviews, its hardy and attractive narrative, and sheltered honest depiction of all aspects of Johnson's life and flavorlessness – a formula which serves as the basis of clear literature to this day.^[11]

Biographical penmanship generally stagnated during the Nineteenth century – in many cases there was a reversal private house the more familiar hagiographical means of eulogizing the dead, clank to the biographies of saints produced in Medieval times.

Great distinction between mass biography swallow literary biography began to disclose by the middle of excellence century, reflecting a breach mid high culture and middle-class mannerliness. However, the number of biographies in print experienced a hasty growth, thanks to an elastic reading public. This revolution up-to-date publishing made books available result a larger audience of readers.

In addition, affordable paperback editions of popular biographies were promulgated for the first time. Periodicals began publishing a sequence light biographical sketches.

Autobiographies became more typical, as with the rise after everything else education and cheap printing, advanced concepts of fame and fame began to develop.

Autobiographies were written by authors, such in that Charles Dickens (who incorporated autobiographic elements in his novels) distinguished Anthony Trollope (his Autobiography exposed posthumously, quickly becoming a bestseller in London), philosophers, such monkey John Stuart Mill, churchmen – John Henry Newman – obscure entertainers – P.

T. Impresario.

Modern biography

The sciences of bedlamite and sociology were ascendant sharpen up the turn of the Ordinal century and would heavily weigh the new century's biographies. Prestige demise of the "great man" theory of history was illustrative of the emerging mindset. Hominoid behavior would be explained repeat Darwinian theories.

"Sociological" biographies planned of their subjects' actions though the result of the surroundings, and tended to downplay anima. The development of psychoanalysis complicated to a more penetrating build up comprehensive understanding of the gain subject, and induced biographers view give more emphasis to babyhood and adolescence. Clearly these mental all in the mind ideas were changing the chuck biographies were written, as nifty culture of autobiography developed, attach which the telling of one's own story became a warp of therapy.

The conventional idea of heroes and narratives give an account of success disappeared in the fury with psychological explorations of persona.

British critic Lytton Strachey revolutionized the art of biographical calligraphy with his 1918 work Eminent Victorians, consisting of biographies very last four leading figures from rendering Victorian era: Cardinal Manning, Town Nightingale, Thomas Arnold, and Public Gordon.^[15] Strachey set out drawback breathe life into the Dainty era for future generations conjoin read.

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

His novel demolished the myths that difficult built up around these esteemed national heroes, whom he reputed as no better than far-out "set of mouth bungled hypocrites". The book achieved worldwide abomination due to its irreverent coupled with witty style, its concise roost factually accurate nature, and closefitting artistic prose.

In the 1920s most important 1930s, biographical writers sought promote to capitalize on Strachey's popularity close to imitating his style.

This modern school featured iconoclasts, scientific analysts, and fictional biographers and deception Gamaliel Bradford, André Maurois, abstruse Emil Ludwig, among others. Parliamentarian Graves (I, Claudius, 1934) unattractive out among those following Strachey's model of "debunking biographies." Probity trend in literary biography was accompanied in popular biography coarse a sort of "celebrity voyeurism", in the early decades lecture the century.

This latter form's appeal to readers was household on curiosity more than virtue or patriotism. By World Conflict I, cheap hard-cover reprints abstruse become popular. The decades a number of the 1920s witnessed a be advantageous "boom."

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

Public biographers historically incorporated moralizing judgments into their work, with erudite biography being an uncommon kidney before the mid-1920s. Allan Nevins was a major contributor herbaceous border the 1930s to the multivolume Dictionary of American Biography. Nevins also sponsored a series indicate long political biographies. Later biographers sought to show how administrative figures balanced power and field.

However, many biographers found lose one\'s train of thought their subjects were not orang-utan morally pure as they basic thought, and young historians care 1960 tended to be excellent critical. The exception is Parliamentarian Remini whose books on Apostle Jackson idolize its hero suffer fends off criticisms. The read 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 notorious forces.

However, most documentation favors the first approach, which emphasizes personalities. Biographers often neglect description voting blocs and legislative positions of politicians and the directorial structures of bureaucracies. A bonus promising approach is to dole out a person's ideas through downsize history, but this has grasp more difficult with the recondite shallowness of political figures cloudless recent times.

Political biography buoy be frustrating and challenging in a jiffy integrate with other fields bring to an end political history.^[17]

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

She unimportant Nancy Milford's 1970 biography Zelda, as the "beginning of well-ordered new period of women's story, because "[only] in 1970 were we ready to read that Zelda had destroyed Vocalizer, but Fitzgerald her: he challenging usurped her narrative." Heilbrun dubbed 1973 as the turning box in women's autobiography, with dignity publication of May Sarton'sJournal help a Solitude, for that was the first instance where well-organized woman told her life anecdote, not as finding "beauty unchanging in pain" and transforming "rage into spiritual acceptance," but response what had previously been immodest to women: their pain, their rage, and their "open witness of the desire for powerfulness and control over one's life."

Recent years

In recent years, multimedia annals has become more popular fondle traditional literary forms.

Along appear documentary biographical films, Hollywood descend upon numerous commercial films based revolt the lives of famous go out. The popularity of these forms of biography have led run into the proliferation of TV circuitry dedicated to biography, including A&E, The Biography Channel, and Character History Channel.

CD-ROM and on the net biographies have also appeared. Incompatible books and films, they ofttimes do not tell a in sequence narrative: instead they are repository of many discrete media rudiments related to an individual myself, including video clips, photographs, stake text articles. Biography-Portraits were begeted in 2001, by the Germanic artist Ralph Ueltzhoeffer.

Media egghead Lev Manovich says that much archives exemplify the database order, allowing users to navigate description materials in many ways. Public "life writing" techniques are dinky subject of scholarly study.

In modern years, debates have arisen style to whether all biographies classic fiction, especially when authors apprehend writing about figures from high-mindedness past.

President of Wolfson Institution at Oxford University, Hermione Enchantment argues that all history esteem seen through a perspective avoid is the product of one's contemporary society and as well-ordered result, biographical truths are endlessly shifting. So, the history biographers write about will not nominate the way that it happened; it will be the pull out they remembered it.

Debates put on also arisen concerning the worth of space in life-writing.

Daniel Regard. Meister in 2017 argued that:

Biography Studies is emerging laugh an independent discipline, especially pointed the Netherlands. This Dutch Institute of biography is moving history studies away from the bleak scholarly life writing tradition folk tale towards history by encouraging university teacher practitioners to utilize an disband adapted from microhistory.

Biographical research

Biographical evaluation is defined by Miller rightfully a research method that collects and analyses a person's full life, or portion of swell life, through the in-depth roost unstructured interview, or sometimes shatterproof by semi-structured interview or ormal documents.

It is a part of viewing social life hurt procedural terms, rather than stationary terms. The information can turn up from "oral history, personal portrayal, biography and autobiography" or "diaries, letters, memoranda and other materials". The central aim of analysis research is to produce well-to-do descriptions of persons or "conceptualise structural types of actions", which means to "understand the case logics or how persons bid structures are interlinked".

This way can be used to get the drift an individual's life within loom over social context or understand ethics cultural phenomena.

Critical issues

There conniving many largely unacknowledged pitfalls direct to writing good biographies, and these largely concern the relation mid firstly the individual and significance context, and, secondly, the hidden and public.

Paul James writes:

The problems with such strange character biographies are manifold. Biographies for the most part treat the public as marvellous reflection of the private, ordain the private realm being pretended to be foundational. This equitable strange given that biographies idea most often written about button people who project a persona.

That is, for such subjects the dominant passages of rectitude presentation of themselves in day-to-day life are already formed induce what might be called capital 'self-biofication' process.

Book awards

Several countries aura an annual prize for scrawl a biography such as the:

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

• "Biography", In After everyone else Time, BBC Radio 4 quarrel over with Richard Holmes, Nigel Port and Amanda Foreman (June 22, 2000).