Biography definition and examples
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Putting the “I” in Biography
At the beginning of Walden, published in 1854, Henry David Thoreau makes what he assumes is a bold admission: “In most books, the I is omitted, in this it will be retained … ” Today, in our age of over-sharing, this remark makes little sense. Ours is the age of memoir—both serious and trivial. There are, however, intellectual disciplines in which the “I” is still prohibited. Biography, history, philosophy—these are supposed to be objective fields. Writers who dare to use personal pronouns in these fields risk being personally censured. But over the years, I have come to think that while the risk may be great, so too—sometimes—is the reward.
Why include the “I”? After all, I am directing this writing, whatever it happens to be, to “you,” the reader. If I think what I am writing is true of human beings generally, I can do without reference to my own personal experience; if what I’m writing about is peculiar to me, it is at least a bit presumptuous and perhaps downright boorish (and m
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How Valid Is Biography As A Historical Genre?
Historically, biography is the narrative study of a life, with assessments of personality, relationships, and social contexts drawn from evidence and it has recently attracted increasing academic and critical interest. The 2004 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography contains the lives of more than 55, 000 British historical figures and the Journal of Historical Biography was founded in 2007. The revival of the narrative style as a historical genre, of which biographical studies are perhaps the purest form, has been seen as a reaction to the 'indigestible statistical tables, dry analytical argument, and jargon-ridden prose' of the analytical method of historiographical inquiry. The decline of economic determinism has led to a 'belated recognition of the importance of power, of personal political decisions by individuals, and of the chances of battle, [which has] forced historians back to the narrative mode'. Narrative and biographical history, however, can be highly problematical and is hea
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Biography
Written account of a person's life
For other uses, see Biography (disambiguation).
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curriculum vitae (résumé), a biography presents a subject's life story, highlighting various aspects of their life, including intimate details of experience, and may include an analysis of the subject's personality.
Biographical works are usually non-fiction, but fiction can also be used to portray a person's life. One in-depth form of biographical coverage is called legacy writing. Works in diverse media, from literature to film, form the genre known as biography.
An authorized biography is written with the permission, cooperation, and at times, participation of a subject or a subject's heirs. An unauthorized biography is one written without such permission or participation. An autobiography is written by the person themselves, sometimes w
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