Essay on "Biography"

Unit-III

Prose 

BIOGRAPHY

Biography

The history of the life of a particular person written by someone else.

1. Introduction

Biography is a connection narrative that tells a person's life story. Biographies typically aim to be objective and closely detailed. James Boswell's 'The Life of Samuel Johnson' is a famous example of the form.

2. Origin and Growth

There were very few biographies in the Early Middle Ages. The only works which came close to biography were 'hagiographies', or the lives of saints. In the typical saint's life, for example, the subject was reduced to an illustration of the qualities of a Christian saint.

3. Plutarch's 'Lives'

In the late Middle Ages, the biography became more secular, and books on the lives of Kings, knights and soldiers began to appear. Plutarch's Lives describes the lives of Greeks and Romans. The work later became an important source of plots for dramatists like Shakespeare. The most popular among these was Morte d'Arthur (1480 by Sir Thomas Malory.

4. Early biographies commemorated heroes

Early biographies were written to glorify and commemorate heroes. William Roper (1496-1578) wrote what is now often referred to as the first English biography. Life of Sir Thomas More. In the same century, George Cavendish wrote Life of Wolsey. Both authors used anecdotes and fairly vivid dialogue. Francis Bacon's History of Henry VI(1622), was significant in the way the author juxtaposed a psychological analysis of his subject against the historical context of his reign. In the 17th century, the word biography was used for the first time by John Dryden who defined it as 'the history of particular men's lives'.

5. Boswell's biography The Life of Samuel Johnson'

In the eighteenth century, James Boswell's Life of Dr. Johnson presented its subject "warts and all". Boswell used humour, anecdote and a wealth of detail from which readers could make their own deductive analyses. Commemorative elements were subordinated; didactic qualities were minimized. Boswell was an acquaintance of Johnson, and he combined his first-hand knowledge of his subject with the information he gathered from various other sources.

6. Biography in the nineteenth century

During the nineteenth century, especially in the Victorian era, the biographical tradition, laid down by Boswell and Johnson collapsed. In the early nineteenth century, biographies began to appear in great numbers. Southey's Life of Nelson, Moore's Life and Letters of Byron and Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scott deserve mention. During the nineteenth century, it almost became a fashion to write lives of the honoured dead. Numerous biographies were written but only very few of them attained the required standard of a good biography.

7. Biography in the twentieth century

It was only in the twentieth century that biography came to be considered as a separate art. The modern biographer cannot write with the commemorative and didactic motives as his predecessor did. The spirit of the modern age demands absolute detachment from ethical and sentimental considerations. Lytton Strachey brought about a revolutionary change to the art of biography. His biographies Eminent Victorians, Queen Victoria, Elizabeth and Essex and Ports in Miniature- are noticeable for wit, elegance and profound study of human nature. Strachey treated the eminent persons frankly exhibiting their weaknesses with a gentle irony.

8. Biography to-day

Biography today may be defined as the accurate presentation of the life history of an individual. The conscientious biographer makes an honest effort to interpret the facts of life in such a way as to offer a unified impression of the character, mind and personality of the subject. The biography today remains a highly respectable form and a source of information.

Features of a biography

A biography is the story of an individual. A biography traces not only the achievements of the subject but also highlights his personality and character. A biographer takes care to arrange and present an individual's material in a pleasing and artistic manner. A well-written biography brings the personality of the subject of life.

The problems faced by a biographer

It is quite difficult for a biographer who has not lived constantly with hissubject to give an accurate picture of the person. It is not possible for a biographer to always know his subject personally. Another difficulty in writing a biography is trying to compress the different facets of a life in all its complexity-the thoughts and feelings of the person, on whom the life is composed.

An ideal biographer is generally expected to be detached from his her subject and to reveal only a professional interest. He should refrain from offering his her own views or opinions. The author should be impartial and present objectively both the vices and the virtues of the person. Finally a biographer is expected to refrain from attributing a moral or any other utilitarian motive to his work.