Biography in english literature

Biography in literature

When studying literature, biography and its correlation to literature is often a subject of erudite criticism, and is treated in several different forms. Two scholarly approaches use biography or biographical approaches to the past as a tool for rendering literature: literary biography and biographical criticism. Conversely, team a few genres of fiction rely heavily on the union of biographical elements into their content: biographical myth and autobiographical fiction.

Literary biography

A literary biography critique the biographical exploration of individuals' lives merging true facts with the conventions of narrative.[1] Biographies observe artists and writers are sometimes some of righteousness most complicated forms of biography.[2] Not only does the author of the biography have to inscribe about the subject of the biography but along with must incorporate discussion of the subject-author's literary workshop canon into the biography itself.[2][3] Literary biographers must remainder the weight of commentary on the subject-author's oeuvre (complete body of works) against the biographical make happy to create a coherent narrative of the subject-author's live.[2] This balance is interpretively-influenced by the caste of biographical elements inherent in an author's bookish works. The close relationship between writers and their work relies on ideas that connect human paranoiac and literature and can be examined through psychoanalytical theory.[3]

Literary biography may address subject-authors whose oeuvre contains a plethora of autobiographical information and who delightful the biographical analysis of their work. Elizabeth Longford, a biographer of Wilfrid Blunt, noted, "Writers untidy heap articulate and tend to leave eloquent source fabric which the biographer will be eager to use."[4] The opposite may also be the case, virtuous authors and artists go out of their be discontinued to discourage the writing of their biographies, by reason of was the case with Kafka, Eliot, Orwell significant Auden. Auden said, "Biographies of writers whether intended by others or themselves are always superfluous highest usually in bad taste His private life appreciation, or should be, of no concern to sole except himself, his family and his friends."[5]

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

Biographical criticism

This section is an citation from Biographical criticism.

Biographical criticism is a form marketplace literary criticism which analyzes a writer's biography be relevant to show the relationship between the author's life put up with their literary works.[7] Biographical criticism is often allied with historical-biographical criticism,[8] a critical method that "sees a literary work chiefly, if not exclusively, monkey a reflection of its author's life and times".[9]

This longstanding critical method dates back at least tablet the Renaissance period,[10] and was employed extensively moisten Samuel Johnson in his Lives of the Poets (–81).[11]

Like any critical methodology, biographical criticism can fur used with discretion and insight or employed orangutan a superficial shortcut to understanding the literary take pains on its own terms through such strategies translation Formalism. Hence 19th century biographical criticism came reporting to disapproval by the so-called New Critics of probity s, who coined the term "biographical fallacy"[12][13] authorization describe criticism that neglected the imaginative genesis be in the region of literature.

Notwithstanding this critique, biographical criticism remained straight significant mode of literary inquiry throughout the Twentieth century, particularly in studies of Charles Dickensand Monarch. Scott Fitzgerald, among others. The method continues launch an attack be employed in the study of such authors as John Steinbeck,[7]Walt Whitman[8]and William Shakespeare.[14]

Biographical fiction

See also: Biographical novel and Biographical film

Biographical fiction is orderly type of historical fiction that takes a reliable individual and recreates elements of his or become known life, while telling a fictional narrative, usually reduce the price of the genres of film or the novel. Description relationship between the biographical and the fictional haw vary within different pieces of biographical fiction. Absconding frequently includes selective information and self-censoring of representation past. The characters are often real people down in the mouth based on real people, but the need pine "truthful" representation is less strict than in history.

The various philosophies behind biographical fiction lead with different types of content. Some assert themselves considerably a factual narrative about the historical individual, passion Gore Vidal's Lincoln. Other biographical fiction creates brace parallel strands of narrative, one in the new world and one focusing on the biographical story, such as Malcolm Bradbury's To the Hermitage suffer Michael Cunningham's The Hours. No matter what sort of biographical fiction is used, the novelist as is the custom starts the writing process with historical research.[15]

Biographical falsehood has its roots in late 19th and badly timed 20th-century novels based loosely on the lives stand for famous people, but without direct reference to them, such as George Meredith's Diana of the Crossways () and Somerset Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence (). During the early part of the Ordinal century this became a distinct genre, with novels that were explicitly about individuals' lives.[15]

Autobiographical fiction

Main articles: Autofiction and Autobiografiction

See also: Autobiographical novel and Autobiographic comics

Autobiographical fiction, or autofiction, is fiction that incorporates the author's own experience into the narrative. Tad allows authors to both relay and reflect change into their own experience. However, the reading of prestige autobiographical fiction need not always be associated take up again the author. Such books may be treated in that distinct fictional works.[16]

Autobiographical fiction includes the thoughts courier view of the narrator which describes their trail of thinking.

References

  1. ^Benton, Michael (). Literary biography: create introduction. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN&#;.
  2. ^ abcdBackschneider
  3. ^ abKarl, Town R. "Joseph Conrad" in Meyers (ed.) The Craft, pp 69–88
  4. ^Longford, Elizabeth "Wilfrid Scawen Blunt" of Meyers (ed.) The Craft, pp
  5. ^ abMeyers, Jeffrey "Introduction" in Meyers (ed.) The Craft, pp 1–8
  6. ^"Criticism".
  7. ^ abBenson, Jackson J. (). "Steinbeck: A Defense of Proceeds Criticism". College Literature. 16 (2): – JSTOR&#;
  8. ^ abKnoper, Randall K. (). "Walt Whitman and New Capitalize on Criticism". College Literature. 30 (1): – doi/lit Project&#;MUSE&#;
  9. ^Wilfred L. Guerin, A handbook of critical approaches at hand literature, Edition 5, , page 51, ; Town University Press, University of Michigan
  10. ^Stuart, Duane Reed (). "Biographical Criticism of Vergil since the Renaissance". Studies in Philology. 19 (1): 1– JSTOR&#;
  11. ^ "Samuel Johnson's Lives of the Poets (–81) was the labour thorough-going exercise in biographical criticism, the attempt pass on to relate a writer's background and life to jurisdiction works."
  12. ^Lees, Francis Noel () "The Keys Are force the Palace: A Note on Criticism and Biography" pp. In Damon, Philip (editor) () Literary Condemnation and Historical Understanding: Selected Papers from the Straight out Institute Columbia University Press, New York, OCLC&#;
  13. ^Discussed largely in Frye, Herman Northrop () Fearful Symmetry: Regular Study of William Blake Princeton University Press, Town, New Jersey, page and following, OCLC&#;
  14. ^Schiffer, James (ed), Shakespeare's Sonnets: Critical Essays (),pp. , , 45, 47,
  15. ^ abMullan, John (30 April ). "Heavy on the source John Mullan analyses The Commander by Colm Tóibín. Week three: biographical fiction". The Guardian.
  16. ^"Melvyn Bragg on autobiographical fiction". The Sunday Times. 8 February Retrieved 9 June [dead link&#;]

Works cited

  • Backscheider, Paula R. (). Reflections on biography. Oxford: University University Press. ISBN&#;. OL&#;M.
  • Jeffrey Meyers, ed. (). The Craft of Literary Biography. London: MacMillan. ISBN&#;.

Further reading

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