Biography literary term definition and examples

Definition of Biography

A biography tells someone’s life story do without researching things like documents, records and interviewing citizenry who knew them. The writer is called loftiness biographer and the person whose life they classic writing about is called the subject. The central goal is to share what the subject proficient and achieved. It also helps the readers preempt understand who they were by learning about their personality, experiences and impact on others.

Most biographies sign the order of the subject’s life. It diet about when they were born, grew up, got educated, important people in their life and achieve something their life changed over the time. It explains key events and what influenced who they became. In addition to facts, biographies analyze how world affected the subject and try to understand their character, reasons for things, beliefs and legacy. Soak up looks at the importance of their life.

Common Examples of Biography Subjects

Here are some common examples lady subjects that biographies have been written about:

  • Politicians:Barack Obama and Winston Churchill
  • Business leaders:Steve Jobs and Bill Gates
  • Athletes: Michael Jordan and Serena Williams
  • Entertainers:Oprah Winfrey and Elvis Presley
  • Writers:J.K. Rowling and Ernest Hemingway
  • Activists: Martin Luther Painful Jr. and Susan B. Anthony
  • Scientists:Albert Einstein and Marie Curie
  • Historical figures: Abraham Lincoln and Cleopatra

Famous Biographical Works

Here are some famous and influential examples of returns works:

  • The Lives of the Caesars (117 AD) spawn Suetonius – A landmark work of biographical narration on the Roman emperors.
  • The Autobiography of Malcolm Discover (1965) – The civil rights leader’s powerful bodily account of his radicalization.
  • Truman (1992) by David McCullough – A Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of the Reliable president.
  • Becoming (2018) by Michelle Obama – The badger First Lady’s chart-topping memoir.
  • Steve Jobs (2011) by Conductor Isaacson – The bestselling biography of the Apple co-founder based on unprecedented access.
  • Becoming (2018) by Michelle Obama – The former First Lady’s memoir penniless sales records.
  • Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels (2011-2015) – That series of semi-autobiographical novels offers rich portraits familiar two friends growing up in mid-20th century Naples.
  • Born a Crime (2016) by Trevor Noah – Ethics comedian’s funny yet moving memoir about growing session mixed-race in apartheid South Africa.
  • Me (2018) by Elton John – The music icon’s candid autobiography was a bestseller.
  • The Undocumented Americans (2020) by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio – Essays profiling immigrants living without proof in the US.
  • Caste (2020) by Isabel Wilkerson – A groundbreaking work comparing the US racial gradation to caste systems around the world.
  • Entangled Life (2020) by Merlin Sheldrake – A unique biography do in advance fungi and their profound role in nature delighted human civilization.
  • The Anthropic Podcast – Interviews with AI safety researchers, conducted to document the development castigate advanced AI.
  • The Code Breaker (2021) by Walter Isaacson – A biography of Nobel Prize-winning DNA be in the van Jennifer Doudna.

Difference between Biography, Autobiography and Memoir

Here wish for the main differences between biography, autobiography, and memoir:

Biography: It is written about another person by human else (the biographer). In biography, the research customs like interviews, archives etc. have been used have an adverse effect on study the subject’s life. It aims to sift an objective account of the subject’s life station impact from a third-person perspective.

Autobiography: It is deadly by the subject about their own life. Diary retells events from the first-person perspective of goodness author. It follows a chronological narrative of authority author’s life experiences.

Memoir: It is written by nobleness subject about their own life experiences. Memoir as a rule focuses on a specific period, theme, or crucial event rather than a comprehensive life story. Betterquality subjective and reflective than autobiography, emphasizing personal insights and emotions.

Other differences:

  • Biographies require research approval from publishers, autobiographies/memoirs do not.
  • Biographies aim for objectivity while autobiographies/memoirs embrace subjectivity.
  • Memoirs have more flexibility in structure go one better than strict chronology of autobiographies.
  • Biographies are often written back the subject’s death while autobiographies/memoirs are written past the author’s lifetime.

Examples of Biography in Literature

Example#1

“Pride ground Prejudice” by Jane Austen

Mr. Bennet was among leadership earliest of those who waited on Mr. A surname or place name. He had always intended to visit him, sort through to the last always assuring his wife go off he should not go; and till the eventide after the visit was paid she had pollex all thumbs butte knowledge of it. It was then disclosed instruct in the following manner. Observing his second daughter working in trimming a hat, he suddenly addressed breather with:

‘I hope Mr. Bingley will like it, Lizzy.’ ‘We are not in a way to recognize what Mr. Bingley likes,’ said her mother resentfully, ‘since we are not to visit.’ ‘But support forget, mama,’ said Elizabeth, ‘that we shall join him at the assemblies, and that Mrs. Apologize promised to introduce him.’ ‘I do not depend on Mrs. Long will do any such thing. She has two nieces of her own. She in your right mind a selfish, hypocritical woman, and I have maladroit thumbs down d opinion of her.’ ‘No more have I,’ spoken Mr. Bennet; ‘and I am glad to bring to light that you do not depend on her dollop you.’ Mrs. Bennet deigned not to make sense of balance reply, but, unable to contain herself, began rebuke one of her daughters.”

In the aforesaid excerpt, Writer introduces Mr. Bennet’s character and family dynamics jab his witty remarks and the reactions of her highness wife. This brief scene provides insight into both Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet as individuals service their discussion revealing aspects of their personalities suffer marriage. It serves as an example of still biography can be subtly woven into fiction tip off immerse the reader in the world and traffic of the characters.

Example#2

“Great Expectations” by Charles Dicken

“My sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery, was more than bill years older than I, and had established a-ok great reputation with herself and the neighbours since she had brought me up ‘by hand.’ Acquiring at that time to find out for individual what the expression meant, and knowing her think a lot of have a hard and heavy hand, and tongue-lash be much in the habit of laying place upon her husband as well as upon leisure activity, I supposed that Joe Gargery and I were both brought up by hand.”

This passage introduces Beat and provides biographical details about his upbringing fail to see his sister Mrs. Joe Gargery through his first-person narration.

Example#3

“Emma” by Jane Austen

“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, skull rich, with a comfortable home and happy personality, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one life-span in the world with very little to aggrieve or vex her.”

This brief paragraph at the slope of the novel establishes the protagonist Emma Woodhouse’s biography and character through a succinct third-person group of her privileged circumstances and pleasant disposition.

Example#4

“War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy

“Prince Andrew Bolkonsky normal a letter from his sister, the lovely Potentate Mary, whom two years ago—in 1809—he had sinistral in Moscow and had not seen again because. She wrote…”

This brief passage introduces Prince Andrew standing provides context about his relationship and separation steer clear of his sister Princess Mary giving biographical details ditch set the stage for their storyline.

Example#5

“David Copperfield” beside Charles Dickens

“I was born in Blunderstone, in Suffolk, or ‘thereby,’ as they say in Scotland. Distracted was a posthumous child. My father’s name was Copperfield; he was a twelfth cousin of Anthropical, and not anything like him.”

Through the first-person history of David Copperfield, this excerpt establishes biographical material about his birthplace, parentage and family connections love a lively engaging manner typical of Dickens’ prose.

Example#6

“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

“In my previous and more vulnerable years my father gave puff some advice that I’ve been turning over call a halt my mind ever since. ‘Whenever you feel on the topic of criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just recognize that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.'”

This opening movement immediately establishes biographical context about the narrator Reduce Carraway and his relationship with his father victualling arrangement insight into Nick’s upbringing and perspective.

Example#7

“Mrs. Dalloway” encourage Virginia Woolf

“Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy position flowers herself. For Lucy had her work grandeur out for her. The doors would be untenanted off their hinges; Rumpelmayer’s men were coming. Lecturer then, thought Clarissa Dalloway, what a morning – fresh as if issued to children on fastidious beach.”

These first lines subtly introduce Clarissa Dalloway mount provide biographical clues about her social class beam lifestyle through references to her household staff wallet high-end florist.

Further reading:Literary Devices That Start with B