Literary Term - Biography

 

Literary Term

Biography 

A biography is a true story about someone's life. It's written by a person who isn't the subject of the story and is supposed to be fair and unbiased. Biographers get information from the person they're writing about, their friends, or other sources like books, experts, records, diaries, and interviews. Biographies aim to tell the person's life story and explain the time they lived in. Readers can trust that the information is accurate.

Biographies can be written about people who are alive or dead, but there are limits. Even if the person helps, the biographer can't know everything they think or feel.

Biographies usually include important events in the person's life, like their childhood, school, job, and relationships. Sometimes, biographies become movies or plays. "Hamilton" is a famous example of a biography turned into a popular Broadway musical.

 

Examples of Biographical Subjects

Most people think biographies are only about famous people. But that's not always true. Usually, biographies are about interesting people who have done something special or different in their area of expertise. They could have experienced something unusual or sad, done something really bad, or be super talented.

Biographies are important because they let us learn about someone's life and story. This can be inspiring and help us feel connected to them. Here are some common types of people who can be in biographies:

Leaders in politics.

Artists who make art.

Musicians who play music.

Business owners who start companies.

Actors who act in movies and plays.

Writers who write books.

People from history.

Criminals who did bad things.

People who are famous for something bad.

Scientists who study things.

Inventors who make new things.

Poets who write poems.

People who work for a cause.

Athletes who play sports.

Adventurers who explore new places.

Leaders in religion.

Heroes who do brave things.

Military leaders in the army.

People who are important to a culture.

Spies who work secretly.

 

Examples of Biographical Works

Biographies are books that tell the life story of a person or someone in a certain field. Some people like reading them because they enjoy learning about people's lives or the subjects they were into. Some biographies are so well-written or tell such interesting stories that even people who don't usually read biographies like them. Here are some famous biographies that many people know about, even if they aren't big fans of biographies:

"Alexander Hamilton" by Ron Chernow

"Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder" by Caroline Fraser

"Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson

"Churchill: A Life" by Martin Gilbert

"The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary" by Simon Winchester

"A Beautiful Mind" by Sylvia Nasar

"The Black Rose" by Tananarive Due

"John Adams" by David McCullough

"Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

"John Brown" by W.E.B. Du Bois

"Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo" by Hayden Herrera

"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

"Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" by Doris Kearns Goodwin

"Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life" by Ruth Franklin

"The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit" by Michael Finkel

 

Difference Between Biography, Autobiography, and Memoir

There are three main ways to tell someone's life story: biography, autobiography, and memoir. They're similar in some ways but also have some important differences.

 

Biography: This is like a detailed report about someone's life, written by someone else. It's like reading a history book about a person.

 

Autobiography: In this case, the person writes their own life story. It's like reading a diary or journal that the person has kept throughout their life. Autobiographies are usually told in the first person, like "I did this" or "I felt that."

 

Memoir: A memoir is like reading a collection of the most important and interesting memories from a person's life. Unlike a biography or autobiography, it doesn't always follow a strict timeline or include every detail. Instead, it focuses on sharing meaningful stories and connecting with the reader emotionally. It's kind of like hearing someone tell their most memorable and impactful stories in a conversation.

 

So, while all three are ways to learn about someone's life, they each have their own style and purpose. Biographies are like history books, autobiographies are like personal diaries, and memoirs are like sharing stories with a friend.

 

Examples of Biography in Literature

A special kind of biography is about writers and artists. It's called "literary biography." In literary biographies, authors tell the life stories of writers and artists. But it's not easy. They have to balance two things: telling about the person's life and talking about their work, like books or paintings. It's tricky because they need to do it in a way that doesn't mess up how we understand the person and their art.

These biographies are very interesting. They help us understand not only the artist's life but also their work better. Here are some famous examples:

 

"Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay" by Nancy Milford:

Milford shows how Millay and her sister talked freely and used strong words. This helps us see Millay as a person, not just a writer. It's tough for biographers to tell a writer's story without ruining our understanding of their work. But they can help us see the writer's story and their work in a new way.

 

"The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens" by Claire Tomalin:

Tomalin's book tells us about Charles Dickens's relationship with Nelly Ternan, a woman who wasn't his wife. This affects how we see Dickens as a person and a writer. Sometimes, learning about a writer's personal life can change how we feel about their work.

 

"Virginia Woolf" by Hermione Lee:

Lee talks about what Virginia Woolf thought about telling life stories. She says that life stories are like a person who keeps changing. Biographers have to be like explorers, testing the atmosphere, and finding the truth. Lee also says that some stories need to be told again and again by each generation. This shows how tricky it is to write about famous writers.

 

In these literary biographies, it's not just about the writer's life but also about how the writer and their work are connected. It's a bit like a puzzle for the biographers to solve.