What are the 4 types of biography
Definition of Biography
A biography tells someones life story by researching things like documents, records and interviewing people who knew them.
Biography text type examples Remember to keep a chronological order, even though there are connections between past and present directly, so you should go deeper into different moments that allow you to configure the future of the protagonist seen from the past. Literary biographies of artists and writers are among some of the most interesting biographical works. Although it is essentially a written text, so that it can be presented in documents and books, the truth is that these serve as a basis for the reproduction of the biography through other formats, as has happened in recent years where the lives of key characters are exposed through documentaries, films, programs, etc. More on Non-fiction Find out more by working through a topic.The writer is called the biographer and the person whose life they are writing about is called the subject. The main goal is to share what the subject experienced and achieved. It also helps the readers to understand who they were by learning about their personality, experiences and impact on others.
Most biographies follow the order of the subjects life.
It talks about when they were born, grew up, got educated, important people in their life and how their life changed over the time. It explains key events and what influenced who they became. In addition to facts, biographies analyze how history affected the subject and try to understand their character, reasons for things, beliefs and legacy.
Biography text type definition Introduction: as its name indicates, this initial part introduces the character about whom we are going to talk. But you don't have to be famous to have a biography written about you. Often biographies are about people who are famous because of something they have done. Asking important questions.It looks at the importance of their life.
Common Examples of Biography Subjects
Here are some common examples of 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 King 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 biographical works:
- The Lives of the Caesars ( AD) by Suetonius A landmark work of biographical history on the Roman emperors.
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X () The civil rights leaders powerful personal account of his radicalization.
- Truman () by David McCullough A Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of the US president.
- Becoming () by Michelle Obama The former First Ladys chart-topping memoir.
- Steve Jobs () by Walter Isaacson The bestselling biography of the Apple co-founder based on unprecedented access.
- Becoming () by Michelle Obama The former First Ladys memoir broke sales records.
- Elena Ferrantes Neapolitan Novels () This series of semi-autobiographical novels offers rich portraits of two friends growing up in midth century Naples.
- Born a Crime () by Trevor Noah The comedians funny yet moving memoir about growing up mixed-race in apartheid South Africa.
- Me () by Elton John The music icons candid autobiography was a bestseller.
- The Undocumented Americans () by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio Essays profiling immigrants living without documentation in the US.
- Caste () by Isabel Wilkerson A groundbreaking work comparing the US racial hierarchy to caste systems around the world.
- Entangled Life () by Merlin Sheldrake A unique biography of fungi and their profound role in nature and human civilization.
- The Anthropic Podcast Interviews with AI safety researchers, conducted to document the development of advanced AI.
- The Code Breaker () by Walter Isaacson A biography of Nobel Prize-winning DNA pioneer Jennifer Doudna.
Difference between Biography, Autobiography and Memoir
Here are the main differences between biography, autobiography, and memoir:
Biography: It is written about another person by someone else (the biographer).
In biography, the research methods like interviews, archives etc. have been used to study the subjects life.
Biography text example Organization of the information. Activity 1. If you choose a famous personality, you may find much of this information in audiovisual media, interviews, books, among others. Find out more by working through a topic.It aims to give an objective account of the subjects life and impact from a third-person perspective.
Autobiography: It is written by the subject about their own life. Autobiography retells events from the first-person perspective of the author. It follows a chronological narrative of the authors life experiences.
Memoir: It is written by the subject about their own life experiences.
Memoir typically focuses on a specific period, theme, or important event rather than a comprehensive life story. More 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 than strict chronology of autobiographies.
- Biographies are often written after the subjects death while autobiographies/memoirs are written during the authors lifetime.
Examples of Biography in Literature
Example#1
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Mr.
Bennet was among the earliest of those who waited on Mr. Bingley. He had always intended to visit him, though to the last always assuring his wife that he should not go; and till the evening after the visit was paid she had no knowledge of it. It was then disclosed in the following manner. Observing his second daughter employed in trimming a hat, he suddenly addressed her with:
I hope Mr.
Bingley will like it, Lizzy. We are not in a way to know what Mr. Bingley likes, said her mother resentfully, since we are not to visit. But you forget, mama, said Elizabeth, that we shall meet him at the assemblies, and that Mrs. Long promised to introduce him. I do not believe Mrs. Long will do any such thing.
She has two nieces of her own. She is a selfish, hypocritical woman, and I have no opinion of her. No more have I, said Mr. Bennet; and I am glad to find that you do not depend on her serving you. Mrs. Bennet deigned not to make any reply, but, unable to contain herself, began scolding one of her daughters.
In the aforesaid excerpt, Austen introduces Mr.
Bennets character and family dynamics through his witty remarks and the reactions of his wife. This brief scene provides insight into both Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet as individuals through their discussion revealing aspects of their personalities and marriage.
It serves as an example of how biography can be subtly woven into fiction to immerse the reader in the world and relationships of the characters.
Example#2
Great Expectations by Charles Dicken
My sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery, was more than twenty years older than I, and had established a great reputation with herself and the neighbours because she had brought me up by hand. Having at that time to find out for myself what the expression meant, and knowing her to have a hard and heavy hand, and to be much in the habit of laying it upon her husband as well as upon me, I supposed that Joe Gargery and I were both brought up by hand.
This passage introduces Pip and provides biographical details about his upbringing by his sister Mrs.
Joe Gargery through his first-person narration.
Example#3
Emma by Jane Austen
Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.
This brief paragraph at the start of the novel establishes the protagonist Emma Woodhouses biography and character through a succinct third-person description of her privileged circumstances and pleasant disposition.
Example#4
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Prince Andrew Bolkonsky received a letter from his sister, the lovely Princess Mary, whom two years ago—in —he had left in Moscow and had not seen again since.
She wrote
This brief passage introduces Prince Andrew and provides context about his relationship and separation from his sister Princess Mary giving biographical details that set the stage for their storyline.
Example#5
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
I was born in Blunderstone, in Suffolk, or thereby, as they say in Scotland.
I was a posthumous child. My fathers name was Copperfield; he was a twelfth cousin of Anthropic, and not anything like him.
Through the first-person narration of David Copperfield, this excerpt establishes biographical facts about his birthplace, parentage and family connections in a lively engaging manner typical of Dickens prose.
Example#6
The Great Gatsby by F.
Scott Fitzgerald
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that Ive been turning over in my mind ever since. Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, he told me, just remember that all the people in this world havent had the advantages that youve had.'
This opening passage immediately establishes biographical context about the narrator Nick Carraway and his relationship with his father providing insight into Nicks upbringing and perspective.
Example#7
Mrs.Biography text type Needle out, piss. Ask for help from an adult when looking online so you can find the information you need most effectively. This will allow you to have a closer guide to start writing the biography. The season of domestic goodwill and festivity must have posed a problem to all good Victorian family men with more than one family to take care of, particularly when there were two lots of children to receive the demonstrations of paternal love.
Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself. For Lucy had her work cut out for her. The doors would be taken off their hinges; Rumpelmayers men were coming. And then, thought Clarissa Dalloway, what a morning fresh as if issued to children on a beach.
These first lines subtly introduce Clarissa Dalloway and provide biographical clues about her social class and lifestyle through references to her household staff and high-end florist.
Further reading:Literary Devices That Start with B