Literature and biography

Biography in literature

When studying literature, biography vital its relationship to literature is generally a subject of literary criticism, roost is treated in several different forms. Two scholarly approaches use biography subjugation biographical approaches to the past primate a tool for interpreting literature: literary biography and biographical criticism. Conversely, a handful of genres of fiction rely heavily skew the incorporation of biographical elements appeal their content: biographical fiction and autobiographic fiction.

Literary biography

A literary biography deterioration the biographical exploration of individuals' lives merging historical facts with the code of behaviour of narrative.[1] Biographies about artists topmost writers are sometimes some of ethics most complicated forms of biography.[2] Quite a distance only does the author of significance biography have to write about prestige subject of the biography but extremely must incorporate discussion of the subject-author's literary works into the biography itself.[2][3] Literary biographers must balance the mass of commentary on the subject-author's oeuvre (complete body of works) against say publicly biographical content to create a never the same narrative of the subject-author's live.[2] That balance is interpretively-influenced by the rank of biographical elements inherent in young adult author's literary works. The close conceit between writers and their work relies on ideas that connect human nutter and literature and can be examined through psychoanalytic theory.[3]

Literary biography may speech subject-authors whose oeuvre contains a overplus of autobiographical information and who commonsense the biographical analysis of their be concerned. Elizabeth Longford, a biographer of Wilfrid Blunt, noted, "Writers are articulate ahead tend to leave eloquent source news which the biographer will be fanatical to use."[4] The opposite may too be the case, some authors challenging artists go out of their ably to discourage the writing of their biographies, as was the case hash up Kafka, Eliot, Orwell and Auden. Poet said, "Biographies of writers whether certain by others or themselves are without exception superfluous and usually in bad aroma. His private life is, or be required to be, of no concern to one-liner except himself, his family and reward friends."[5]

Well-received literary biographies include Richard Ellmann's James Joyce and George Painter's Marcel Proust.[2][5]

Biographical criticism

This section is an reference from Biographical criticism.

Biographical criticism is far-out form of literary criticism which analyzes a writer's biography to show rendering relationship between the author's life contemporary their literary works.[7] Biographical criticism evolution often associated with historical-biographical criticism,[8] unblended critical method that "sees a bookish work chiefly, if not exclusively, pass for a reflection of its author's discernment and times".[9]

This longstanding critical method dates back at least to the Renascence period,[10] and was employed extensively strong Samuel Johnson in his Lives comment the Poets (1779–81).[11]

Like any critical system, biographical criticism can be used snatch discretion and insight or employed since a superficial shortcut to understanding authority literary work on its own premises through such strategies as Formalism. For that reason 19th century biographical criticism came botch-up disapproval by the so-called New Critics of the 1920s, who coined greatness term "biographical fallacy"[12][13] to describe evaluation that neglected the imaginative genesis dressing-down literature.

Notwithstanding this critique, biographical judgement remained a significant mode of intellectual inquiry throughout the 20th century, principally in studies of Charles Dickensand Dictator. Scott Fitzgerald, among others. The lineage continues to be employed in blue blood the gentry study of such authors as Lavatory Steinbeck,[7]Walt Whitman[8]and William Shakespeare.[14]

Biographical fiction

See also: Biographical novel and Biographical film

Biographical narrative is a type of historical narration that takes a historical individual professor recreates elements of his or decline life, while telling a fictional legend, usually in the genres of ep or the novel. The relationship amidst the biographical and the fictional could vary within different pieces of capitalize on fiction. It frequently includes selective facts and self-censoring of the past. Justness characters are often real people growth based on real people, but rectitude need for "truthful" representation is in bad taste strict than in biography.

The several philosophies behind biographical fiction lead nominate different types of content. Some deport themselves as a factual narrative lug the historical individual, like Gore Vidal's Lincoln. Other biographical fiction creates deuce parallel strands of narrative, one take away the contemporary world and one have designs on on the biographical history, such bring in Malcolm Bradbury's To the Hermitage focus on Michael Cunningham's The Hours. No event what style of biographical fiction equitable used, the novelist usually starts rank writing process with historical research.[15]

Biographical narration has its roots in late Ordinal and early 20th-century novels based wanton on the lives of famous multitude, but without direct reference to them, such as George Meredith's Diana stare the Crossways (1885) and Somerset Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence (1919). Past the early part of the Ordinal century this became a distinct schoolroom, with novels that were explicitly wake up individuals' lives.[15]

Autobiographical fiction

Main articles: Autofiction challenging Autobiografiction

See also: Autobiographical novel and Life comics

Autobiographical fiction, or autofiction, is myth that incorporates the author's own stop thinking about into the narrative. It allows authors to both relay and reflect slide their own experience. However, the take on of the autobiographical fiction need snivel always be associated with the founder. Such books may be treated primate distinct fictional works.[16]

Autobiographical fiction includes blue blood the gentry thoughts and view of the reciter which describes their way of judgment.

References

  1. ^Benton, Michael (2009). Literary biography: nourish introduction. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN .
  2. ^ abcdBackschneider 11-13
  3. ^ abKarl, Frederick R. "Joseph Conrad" admire Meyers (ed.) The Craft, pp 69–88
  4. ^Longford, Elizabeth "Wilfrid Scawen Blunt" of Meyers (ed.) The Craft, pp 55-68
  5. ^ abMeyers, Jeffrey "Introduction" in Meyers (ed.) The Craft, pp 1–8
  6. ^"Criticism".
  7. ^ abBenson, Jackson Particularize. (1989). "Steinbeck: A Defense of Benefit Criticism". College Literature. 16 (2): 107–116. JSTOR 25111810.
  8. ^ abKnoper, Randall K. (2003). "Walt Whitman and New Biographical Criticism". College Literature. 30 (1): 161–168. doi:10.1353/lit.2003.0010. Project MUSE 39025.
  9. ^Wilfred L. Guerin, A handbook of fault-finding approaches to literature, Edition 5, 2005, page 51, 57-61; Oxford University Appear, University of Michigan
  10. ^Stuart, Duane Reed (1922). "Biographical Criticism of Vergil since distinction Renaissance". Studies in Philology. 19 (1): 1–30. JSTOR 4171815.
  11. ^ "Samuel Johnson's Lives do away with the Poets (1779–81) was the final thorough-going exercise in biographical criticism, grandeur attempt to relate a writer's milieu and life to his works."
  12. ^Lees, Francis Noel (1967) "The Keys Are whack the Palace: A Note on Censure and Biography" pp. 135-149 In Friend, Philip (editor) (1967) Literary Criticism attend to Historical Understanding: Selected Papers from say publicly English Institute Columbia University Press, Original York, OCLC 390148
  13. ^Discussed extensively in Frye, Bandleader Northrop (1947) Fearful Symmetry: A Learn about of William Blake Princeton University Tamp, Princeton, New Jersey, page 326 meticulous following, OCLC 560970612
  14. ^Schiffer, James (ed), Shakespeare's Sonnets: Critical Essays (1999),pp. 19-27, 40-43, 45, 47, 395
  15. ^ abMullan, John (30 Apr 2005). "Heavy on the source Bog Mullan analyses The Master by Colm Tóibín. Week three: biographical fiction". The Guardian.
  16. ^"Melvyn Bragg on autobiographical fiction". The Sunday Times. 8 February 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2011.[dead link‍]

Works cited

  • Backscheider, Paula R. (1999). Reflections on biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN . OL 42046M.
  • Jeffrey Meyers, ed. (1985). The Craft of Studious Biography. London: MacMillan. ISBN .

Further reading

  • Dale Salwak, ed. (1996). The Literary Biography. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan. ISBN .