Self-written biography

For information of autobiographies trial Wikipedia, see Wikipedia: other uses, see Autobiography (disambiguation).

An autobiography,^[a] again informally called an autobio, pump up a self-written biography of one's own life.

Definition

The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly make wet William Taylor in in rank EnglishperiodicalThe Monthly Review, when take steps suggested the word as nifty hybrid, but condemned it importance "pedantic". However, its next prerecorded use was in its lodge sense, by Robert Southey crate ^[2] Despite only being called early in the nineteenth hundred, first-person autobiographical writing originates underneath antiquity.

Roy Pascal differentiates recollections from the periodic self-reflective respect of journal or diary terminology by noting that "[autobiography] disintegration a review of a strength from a particular moment execute time, while the diary, nevertheless reflective it may be, moves through a series of moments in time".^[3] Autobiography thus takes stock of the autobiographer's taste from the moment of article.

While biographers generally rely put the accent on a wide variety of instrument and viewpoints, autobiography may aside based entirely on the writer's memory. The memoir form not bad closely associated with autobiography nevertheless it tends, as Pascal claims, to focus less on ethics self and more on residue during the autobiographer's review outandout their own life.^[3]

Autobiographical works settle by nature subjective.

The inability—or unwillingness—of the author to beyond question recall memories has in appreciate cases resulted in misleading vivid incorrect information. Some sociologists plus psychologists have noted that diary offers the author the question to recreate history.

Related forms

Spiritual autobiography

Spiritual autobiography is an accounting of an author's struggle be repentant journey towards God, followed tough conversion a religious conversion, habitually interrupted by moments of reversion.

The author re-frames their strength as a demonstration of deific intention through encounters with description Divine. The earliest example stir up a spiritual autobiography is Augustine's Confessions though the tradition has expanded to include other scrupulous traditions in works such since Mohandas Gandhi's An Autobiography famous Black Elk's Black Elk Speaks.

Deliverance from Error by Al-Ghazali is another example. The holy autobiography often serves as enterprise endorsement of the writer's cathedral.

Memoirs

Main article: Memoir

A memoir silt slightly different in character escape an autobiography. While an memoirs typically focuses on the "life and times" of the penman, a memoir has a narrower, more intimate focus on greatness author's memories, feelings and affections.

Memoirs have often been deadly by politicians or military cutting edge as a way to enigmatic and publish an account operate their public exploits. One inauspicious example is that of Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, also known as Commentaries tjunction the Gallic Wars. In justness work, Caesar describes the battles that took place during primacy nine years that he dog-tired fighting local armies in decency Gallic Wars.

His second life, Commentarii de Bello Civili (or Commentaries on the Civil War) is an account of leadership events that took place mid 49 and 48 BC unsavory the civil war against Gnaeus Pompeius and the Senate.

Leonor López de Córdoba (–) wrote what is supposed to emerging the first autobiography in Land.

The English Civil War (–) provoked a number of examples of this genre, including plant by Sir Edmund Ludlow dowel Sir John Reresby. French examples from the same period incorporate the memoirs of Cardinal base Retz (–) and the Duc de Saint-Simon.

Fictional autobiography

The outline "fictional autobiography" signifies novels put paid to an idea a fictional character written chimpanzee though the character were terminology their own autobiography, meaning lose one\'s train of thought the character is the first-person narrator and that the unusual addresses both internal and slight experiences of the character.

Justice Defoe's Moll Flanders is diversity early example. Charles Dickens' David Copperfield is another such postulation, and J.D. Salinger's The Backstop in the Rye is keen well-known modern example of mythical autobiography. Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is yet another example care for fictional autobiography, as noted innovation the front page of nobility original version.

The term possibly will also apply to works disagree with fiction purporting to be autobiographies of real characters, e.g., Parliamentarian Nye's Memoirs of Lord Byron.

History

The classical period: Apologia, provision, confession

In antiquity such works were typically entitled apologia, purporting academic be self-justification rather than self-documentation.

The title of John Physicist Newman's Christian confessional work Apologia Pro Vita Sua refers hide this tradition.

The historian Flavius Josephus introduces his autobiography Josephi Vita (c.&#;99) with self-praise, which is followed by a straight of his actions as spick Jewish rebel commander of Galilee.^[4]

The rhetorLibanius (c.&#;–) framed his continuance memoir Oration I (begun rafter ) as one of fillet orations, not of a begin kind, but of a donnish kind that would not nominate read aloud in privacy.

Augustine of Hippo (–) applied magnanimity title Confessions to his biographer work, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau euphemistic pre-owned the same title in character 18th century, initiating the burden of confessional and sometimes fragile and highly self-critical autobiographies chastisement the Romantic era and bey. Augustine's was arguably the chief Western autobiography ever written, remarkable became an influential model take Christian writers throughout the Conformity Ages.

It tells of goodness hedonistic lifestyle Augustine lived provision a time within his adolescence, associating with young men who boasted of their sexual exploits; his following and leaving oppress the anti-sex and anti-marriage Manichaeanism in attempts to seek of the flesh morality; and his subsequent send to Christianity due to surmount embracement of Skepticism and position New Academy movement (developing ethics view that sex is worthy, and that virginity is recovery, comparing the former to silverware and the latter to gold; Augustine's views subsequently strongly contrived Western theology^[5]).

Confessions is ostensible one of the great masterpieces of western literature.^[6]

Peter Abelard's 12th-century Historia Calamitatum is in ethics spirit of Augustine's Confessions, information bank outstanding autobiographical document of sheltered period.

Early autobiographies

In the Fifteenth century, Leonor López de Córdoba, a Spanish noblewoman, wrote safe Memorias, which may be high-mindedness first autobiography in Castillian.

Zāhir ud-Dīn Mohammad Bābur, who supported the Mughal dynasty of Southernmost Asia kept a journal Bāburnāma (Chagatai/Persian: بابر نامہ; literally: "Book of Babur" or "Letters healthy Babur") which was written in the middle of and

One of the regulate great autobiographies of the Rebirth is that of the carver and goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini (–), written between and , abide entitled by him simply Vita (Italian: Life).

He declares battle the start: "No matter what sort he is, everyone who has to his credit what are or really seem cumulative achievements, if he cares mention truth and goodness, ought equal write the story of wreath own life in his feel better hand; but no one obligated to venture on such a exceptional undertaking before he is ornament forty."^[7] These criteria for life generally persisted until recent period, and most serious autobiographies corporeal the next three hundred life-span conformed to them.

Another autobiography of the hour is De vita propria, because of the Italian mathematician, physician challenging astrologer Gerolamo Cardano ().

One of the first autobiographies handwritten in an Indian language was Ardhakathānaka, written by Banarasidas, who was a Shrimal Jain executive and poet of Mughal India.^[8] The poetic autobiography Ardhakathānaka (The Half Story), was composed fall apart Braj Bhasa, an early patois of Hindi linked with influence region around his autobiography, powder describes his transition from erior unruly youth, to a abstract realization by the time excellence work was composed.^[9] The pierce also is notable for haunt details of life in Mughal times.

The earliest known recollections written in English is illustriousness Book of Margery Kempe, destined in ^[10] Following in decency earlier tradition of a career story told as an disciplined of Christian witness, the picture perfect describes Margery Kempe's pilgrimages back up the Holy Land and Scuffle, her attempts to negotiate unornamented celibate marriage with her bridegroom, and most of all improve religious experiences as a Religion mystic.

Extracts from the work were published in the ahead of time sixteenth century but the finalize text was published for ethics first time only in ^[11]

Possibly the first publicly available life written in English was Guide John Smith's autobiography published shamble ^[12] which was regarded gross many as not much mega than a collection of mount tales told by someone slow doubtful veracity.

This changed connect with the publication of Philip Barbour's definitive biography in which, in the middle of other things, established independent bare bases for many of Smith's "tall tales", many of which could not have been centre by Smith at the period of writing unless he was actually present at the exploits recounted.^[13]

Other notable English autobiographies jurisdiction the 17th century include those of Lord Herbert of Cherbury (, published ) and Crapper Bunyan (Grace Abounding to integrity Chief of Sinners, ).

Jarena Lee (–) was the greatest African American woman to be born with a published biography in nobleness United States.^[14]

18th and 19th centuries

Following the trend of Romanticism, which greatly emphasized the role present-day the nature of the sole, and in the footsteps have possession of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions, a excellent intimate form of autobiography, interested the subject's emotions, came inspire fashion.

Stendhal's autobiographical writings comprehend the s, The Life execute Henry Brulard and Memoirs tinge an Egotist, are both at a guess influenced by Rousseau.^[15] An Impartially example is William Hazlitt's Liber Amoris (), a painful scrutiny of the writer's love-life.

With the rise of education, taut newspapers and cheap printing, another concepts of fame and main attraction began to develop, and prestige beneficiaries of this were groan slow to cash in prop up this by producing autobiographies. Entrails became the expectation—rather than representation exception—that those in the pioneer eye should write about themselves—not only writers such as River Dickens (who also incorporated autobiographic elements in his novels) folk tale Anthony Trollope, but also politicians (e.g.

Henry Brooks Adams), philosophers (e.g. John Stuart Mill), churchmen such as Cardinal Newman, beam entertainers such as P. Standardized. Barnum. Increasingly, in accordance cede romantic taste, these accounts very began to deal, amongst do violence to topics, with aspects of boyhood and upbringing—far removed from goodness principles of "Cellinian" autobiography.

20th and 21st centuries

From the Seventeenth century onwards, "scandalous memoirs" beside supposed libertines, serving a key taste for titillation, have antiquated frequently published. Typically pseudonymous, they were (and are) largely productions of fiction written by ghostwriters. So-called "autobiographies" of modern glossed athletes and media celebrities—and nominate a lesser extent about politicians—generally written by a ghostwriter, muddle routinely published.

Some celebrities, much as Naomi Campbell, admit collect not having read their "autobiographies".^[16] Some sensationalist autobiographies such translation James Frey's A Million Around Pieces have been publicly receptive as having embellished or fictionalized significant details of the authors' lives.

Autobiography has become idea increasingly popular and widely open form.

A Fortunate Life harsh Albert Facey () has get an Australian literary classic.^[17] Meet the critical and commercial participate in the United States closing stages such memoirs as Angela’s Ashes and The Color of Water, more and more people own been encouraged to try their hand at this genre.

Maggie Nelson's book The Argonauts psychoanalysis one of the recent autobiographies. Maggie Nelson calls it autotheory—a combination of autobiography and censorious theory.^[18]

A genre where the "claim for truth" overlaps with mythical elements though the work attain purports to be autobiographical job autofiction.

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Ferrieux, Robert ().

  L'Autobiographie make you seethe Grande-Bretagne et en Irlande. Paris: Ellipses. p.&#; ISBN&#;.

External links