An Introduction to
Biography
Carolina Eka Putri, [Link]
learning objectives
01 02 03 04
Provide a Identify multiple Explain some of Explain some of
definition of a purposes for why the common the common
biography biographies are structural stylistic features
written features of of biographies.
biographies
contents 1 What is a biography?
2 How is autobiography different?
3 Authorised vs. unauthorised
4 So are biographies 'real'?
5 Structural Features
6 Stylistic Features
What is a biography?
A biography is simply an account or detailed description about the life of a
person, written by someone else who is not the subject.
The Greek root word bio means 'life' and graph means 'to write'.
It might include basic details about key stages of their life such as childhood,
education, career, relationships, family, and death, told mostly in chronological
order. But it also includes details about the subject's experience of these events
including their thoughts or feelings.
It is written in third person point of view and uses pronouns such as ‘he’, ‘she’,
’they’, ‘them’ etc.
How is
autobiography
different?
An autobiography is the story of a person's life or the
history of an individual, written by the individual
themselves (they tell/write their own story).
The Greek root word auto means 'self'.
It is written in first person point of view and uses
pronouns such as ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my’.
Purpose To share particular experiences with people or
help make sense of what they have experienced
The general purpose of writing most biographies is
to provide details regarding the life of a person in an To entertain people or affect their emotions in
entertaining and informative manner. But there particular ways
can be other reasons the author feels compelled to
tell the subject's story, for example:
To use the subject's experiences to teach a
broader public lesson
To use the subjects experiences to inspire or
motivate people
To change people’s views or present them with
a different perspective on the subject
Authorised vs.
Unauthorised
An authorised biography is written with the permission,
cooperation, and sometimes participation of the
subject.
This might mean the subject has given the author their
blessing to write their story, that they've let the author
interview them directly or that they've even contributed
to the work.
An unauthorised biography is one where the author has
not recieved the subject's permission to write their story.
So are biographies
'real'?
While biographies may focus on giving details about real events and life
experiences, in the end they are not truly objective as they always
contain bias. That is, the author makes choices in the way in which they
tell the story from the style of their writing to what they choose to
include and omit in terms of content.
They might not tell us everything about the person's life (this could get
boring!), but they carefully select important moments and events and
try to recount them in an interesting or engaging way.
It is for this reason that we refer to biographies as interpretive texts as
they offer interpretations of reality and we look at the deliberate choices
the author has made in representing their subject and telling their story.
Structural Elements
Biographies are written in third person point of view.
They can sometimes begin with a prologue - an engaging anecdote that captures
the audiences attention. This could be a significant moment from the person's
life.
Sometimes they include a formal introduction that gives basic facts about the
person life e.g. date and place of birth, location, educational background, and
major achievements.
Most biographies are written in chronological order as it is easy to follow and are
organised into sections with chapter headings covering the subject's whole life
from birth to death. Others may just focus on a year or number of years of the
subject's life.
Some biographies might include disruptions to the chronological structure, for
example, flashbacks or flash forwards, foreshadowing, circular structure etc.
Stylistic Elements
Biographies are non-fiction, but many are written in a narrative style or
format.
This means the author will still make choices in how they represent and
describe various elements.
They might still use techniques of characterisation but the subjects
they are writing about are real people
They can still use descriptive language and imagery to construct
settings although they are real places.
Likewise, they might use emotive or descriptive language to
represent various events or build suspense through the order of
events, similarly to how authors would construct their plot structure.
Providing an engaging storyline can be more entertaining with the
inclusion of a strong exposition, rising conflict, climax and resolution.
Stylistic Elements
The main subject should also be constructed and developed as a real
and interesting person with their story told in a style and tone that
encourages the reader to relate to the person and believe in their
humanness.
Although biographies will still often include bias and sometimes a
personal writing style, the subject's life story is usually told with respect
to people and events in a way that seems authentic and trustworthy.
Authors will do this by basing the story on facts and true anecdotes and
making sure the incidents, events, dialogue and people seem accurate
and well-researched from reliable sources.
segment topics
Biographies might cover any of the following topics but not neccessarily in this order.
Birth Career Triumphs or Tragedies Words of Wisdom
E.g. time, place, E.g. first job, career E.g. joyous and sad E.g. lessons they
parents successes / times in their life learnt throughout
milestones their life
Childhood Romance Leisure or Travels Social Achievements
E.g. school days, E.g. first date, E.g. hobbies or E.g. involvement in
family upbringing marriage, etc. interests, memorable charities, volunteer
holidays or sporting groups,
etc.
Your Turn
We will now start looking at some sample biographies to analyse the
ways that authors choose to represent their subjects.
While we read, we will consider the following elements:
content - including the selection and omission of particular
anecdotes
structure including order of events, chapters and headings
narrative elements e.g. characterisation, setting and plot structure
stylistic devices with a focus on language features
Good luck!
