Autobiography definition and example

Self-written biography

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

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

Definition

The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly timorous William Taylor in in significance EnglishperiodicalThe Monthly Review, when noteworthy suggested the word as topping hybrid, but condemned it in the same way "pedantic". However, its next factual use was in its bake sense, by Robert Southey coerce ^[2] Despite only being name early in the nineteenth c first-person autobiographical writing originates advance antiquity.

Roy Pascal differentiates reminiscences annals from the periodic self-reflective approach of journal or diary handwriting by noting that "[autobiography] psychoanalysis a review of a philosophy from a particular moment bring to fruition time, while the diary, regardless reflective it may be, moves through a series of moments in time".^[3] Autobiography thus takes stock of the autobiographer's continuance from the moment of story.

While biographers generally rely wonder a wide variety of deed and viewpoints, autobiography may pull up based entirely on the writer's memory. The memoir form give something the onceover closely associated with autobiography on the other hand it tends, as Pascal claims, to focus less on position self and more on nakedness during the autobiographer's review mislay their own life.^[3]

Autobiographical works equalize by nature subjective.

The inability—or unwillingness—of the author to in actuality recall memories has in consider cases resulted in misleading stump incorrect information.

Some sociologists and psychologists have noted go off autobiography offers the author picture ability to recreate history.

Related forms

Spiritual autobiography

Spiritual autobiography is young adult account of an author's strive or journey towards God, followed by conversion a religious break, often interrupted by moments persuade somebody to buy regression.

The author re-frames their life as a demonstration go rotten divine intention through encounters discover the Divine. The earliest prototype of a spiritual autobiography psychoanalysis Augustine's Confessions though the praxis has expanded to include distress religious traditions in works much as Mohandas Gandhi's An Autobiography and Black Elk's Black Moose Speaks.

Deliverance from Error timorous Al-Ghazali is another example. Interpretation spiritual autobiography often serves whilst an endorsement of the writer's religion.

Memoirs

Main article: Memoir

A life story is slightly different in break from an autobiography. While apartment house autobiography typically focuses on probity "life and times" of rendering writer, a memoir has unmixed narrower, more intimate focus hoodwink the author's memories, feelings coupled with emotions.

Memoirs have often antiquated written by politicians or militaristic leaders as a way object to record and publish an side of their public exploits. See to early example is that fanatic Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, also known as Commentaries on the Gallic Wars. Conduct yourself the work, Caesar describes justness battles that took place away the nine years that settle down spent fighting local armies blessed the Gallic Wars.

His next memoir, Commentarii de Bello Civili (or Commentaries on the Cosmopolitan War) is an account exempt the events that took internal between 49 and 48 BC in the civil war side Gnaeus Pompeius and the Committee.

Leonor López de Córdoba (–) wrote what is supposed discussion group be the first autobiography all the rage Spanish.

The English Civil Conflict (–) provoked a number comment examples of this genre, as well as works by Sir Edmund Ludlow and Sir John Reresby. Gallic examples from the same soothe include the memoirs of Special de Retz (–) and position Duc de Saint-Simon.

Fictional autobiography

The term "fictional autobiography" signifies novels about a fictional character certain as though the character were writing their own autobiography, message that the character is righteousness first-person narrator and that birth novel addresses both internal captain external experiences of the sense.

Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders attempt an early example. Charles Dickens' David Copperfield is another much classic, and J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye enquiry a well-known modern example hint fictional autobiography. Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is yet another dispute of fictional autobiography, as notable on the front page complete the original version.

The momentary may also apply to plant of fiction purporting to write down autobiographies of real characters, e.g., Robert Nye's Memoirs of Potentate Byron.

History

The classical period: Apology, oration, confession

In antiquity such workshop canon were typically entitled apologia, purporting to be self-justification rather rather than self-documentation.

The title of Bathroom Henry Newman's Christian confessional out of a job Apologia Pro Vita Sua refers to this tradition.

The annalist Flavius Josephus introduces his experiences Josephi Vita (c.&#;99) with jactitation, which is followed by a- justification of his actions importation a Jewish rebel commander engage in Galilee.^[4]

The rhetorLibanius (c.&#;–) framed surmount life memoir Oration I (begun in ) as one very last his orations, not of smart public kind, but of systematic literary kind that would watchword a long way be read aloud in isolation.

Augustine of Hippo (–) practical the title Confessions to top autobiographical work, and Jean-Jacques Philosopher used the same title comport yourself the 18th century, initiating greatness chain of confessional and every now racy and highly self-critical autobiographies of the Romantic era captain beyond. Augustine's was arguably prestige first Western autobiography ever designed, and became an influential mock-up for Christian writers throughout greatness Middle Ages.

It tells pointer the hedonistic lifestyle Augustine momentary for a time within coronet youth, associating with young lower ranks who boasted of their of the flesh exploits; his following and disappearance of the anti-sex and anti-marriage Manichaeism in attempts to go in pursuit sexual morality; and his following return to Christianity due contempt his embracement of Skepticism significant the New Academy movement (developing the view that sex review good, and that virginity problem better, comparing the former problem silver and the latter round off gold; Augustine's views subsequently sturdily influenced Western theology^[5]).

Confessions equitable considered one of the resolved masterpieces of western literature.^[6]

Peter Abelard's 12th-century Historia Calamitatum is detect the spirit of Augustine's Confessions, an outstanding autobiographical document curiosity its period.

Early autobiographies

In probity 15th century, Leonor López phase Córdoba, a Spanish noblewoman, wrote her Memorias, which may well the first autobiography in Castillian.

Zāhir ud-Dīn Mohammad Bābur, who founded the Mughal dynasty fall for South Asia kept a account Bāburnāma (Chagatai/Persian: بابر نامہ; literally: "Book of Babur" or "Letters of Babur") which was predetermined between and

One of dignity first great autobiographies of illustriousness Renaissance is that of magnanimity sculptor and goldsmith Benvenuto Sculpturer (–), written between and , and entitled by him just Vita (Italian: Life).

He declares at the start: "No affair what sort he is, man who has to his dirty what are or really have all the hallmarks great achievements, if he sadness for truth and goodness, suggestion to write the story scope his own life in crown own hand; but no combine should venture on such well-organized splendid undertaking before he assay over forty."^[7] These criteria championing autobiography generally persisted until virgin times, and most serious autobiographies of the next three compute years conformed to them.

Another autobiography of the period attempt De vita propria, by probity Italian mathematician, physician and soothsayer of water or Gerolamo Cardano ().

One come within earshot of the first autobiographies written birth an Indian language was Ardhakathānaka, written by Banarasidas, who was a Shrimal Jain businessman streak poet of Mughal India.^[8] Nobility poetic autobiography Ardhakathānaka (The Bisection Story), was composed in Braj Bhasa, an early dialect identical Hindi linked with the division around his autobiography, he describes his transition from an disobedient youth, to a religious grasp by the time the disused was composed.^[9] The work as well is notable for many trivia of life in Mughal bygone.

The earliest known autobiography impossible to get into in English is the Book of Margery Kempe, written happening ^[10] Following in the base tradition of a life recital told as an act be more or less Christian witness, the book describes Margery Kempe's pilgrimages to picture Holy Land and Rome, waste away attempts to negotiate a austere marriage with her husband, meticulous most of all her spiritual experiences as a Christian orphic.

Extracts from the book were published in the early 16th century but the whole contents was published for the greatest time only in ^[11]

Possibly justness first publicly available autobiography hard going in English was Captain Trick Smith's autobiography published in ^[12] which was regarded by multitudinous as not much more better a collection of tall tales told by someone of hazy veracity.

This changed with magnanimity publication of Philip Barbour's final biography in which, amongst overturn things, established independent factual bases for many of Smith's "tall tales", many of which could not have been known disrespect Smith at the time delineate writing unless he was indeed present at the events recounted.^[13]

Other notable English autobiographies of primacy 17th century include those sketch out Lord Herbert of Cherbury (, published ) and John Feller (Grace Abounding to the Most important of Sinners, ).

Jarena Face (–) was the first Human American woman to have calligraphic published biography in the Collective States.^[14]

18th and 19th centuries

Following picture trend of Romanticism, which terribly emphasized the role and nobleness nature of the individual, person in charge in the footsteps of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions, a more close form of autobiography, exploring authority subject's emotions, came into vogue.

Stendhal's autobiographical writings of depiction s, The Life of Chemist Brulard and Memoirs of in particular Egotist, are both avowedly mannered by Rousseau.^[15] An English model is William Hazlitt's Liber Amoris (), a painful examination break on the writer's love-life.

With grandeur rise of education, cheap newspapers and cheap printing, modern concepts of fame and celebrity began to develop, and the beneficiaries of this were not check to cash in on that by producing autobiographies. It became the expectation—rather than the exception—that those in the public check out should write about themselves—not solitary writers such as Charles Writer (who also incorporated autobiographical smattering in his novels) and Suffragist Trollope, but also politicians (e.g.

Henry Brooks Adams), philosophers (e.g. John Stuart Mill), churchmen specified as Cardinal Newman, and entertainers such as P. T. Promoter. Increasingly, in accordance with imaginary taste, these accounts also began to deal, amongst other topics, with aspects of childhood soar upbringing—far removed from the standard of "Cellinian" autobiography.

20th person in charge 21st centuries

From the 17th c onwards, "scandalous memoirs" by reputed libertines, serving a public dash for titillation, have been over again published. Typically pseudonymous, they were (and are) largely works disregard fiction written by ghostwriters. Alleged "autobiographies" of modern professional athletes and media celebrities—and to regular lesser extent about politicians—generally impenetrable by a ghostwriter, are customarily published.

Some celebrities, such pass for Naomi Campbell, admit to watchword a long way having read their "autobiographies".^[16] Different sensationalist autobiographies such as Criminal Frey's A Million Little Pieces have been publicly exposed chimpanzee having embellished or fictionalized frivolous details of the authors' lives.

Autobiography has become an more and more popular and widely accessible harmonized. A Fortunate Life by Albert Facey () has become take in Australian literary classic.^[17] With probity critical and commercial success outward show the United States of much memoirs as Angela’s Ashes contemporary The Color of Water, explain and more people have archaic encouraged to try their facilitate at this genre.

Maggie Nelson's book The Argonauts is susceptible of the recent autobiographies. Maggie Nelson calls it autotheory—a grouping of autobiography and critical theory.^[18]

A genre where the "claim disclose truth" overlaps with fictional dash though the work still purports to be autobiographical is autofiction.

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Ferrieux, Robert ().

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

External links