Biography and Autobiography terms, difference and examples, Difference between Fiction and Nonfiction, Literary Forms, Background to English Literature

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Definition of Biography

A biography also referred as ‘bio’ is a detailed account of a person’s life written or produced by another person. It gives an elaborate information regarding the birthplace, educational background, work, relationships and demise of the person concerned. It presents the subject’s intimate details about life, focusing on the highs and lows and analysing their whole personality.

A biography is usually in the written form but can also be made in other forms of a music composition or literature to film interpretation. It is the recreation of the life of an individual composed of words by another person. The author collects every single detail about the subject and presents those facts in the biography, which are relevant and interesting, to engross the readers in the story.

In 1683, Dryden first used the term “Biography”, defining the term as the history of particular men’s lives. For a long time, it continued to be a collection of varied details, not governed by any principle. Lytton Strachey wrote the biography of “Queen Victoria”. The Oxford Dictionary defines Biography as “history of the lives of individual men” as a branch of literature.

Good biographers will research and study a person’s life to collect facts and present the most historically accurate, multi-faceted picture of an individual’s experiences as possible. A biography should include intricate details—so in-depth research is necessary to ensure accuracy.

However, biographies are still considered creative nonfiction, so the author has the ability to analyze and interpret events in the subject’s life, looking for meaning in their actions, uncovering mistakes, solving mysteries, connecting details, and highlighting the significance of the person's accomplishments or life activities.

Authors often organize events in chronological order, but can sometimes organize by themes or specific accomplishments or topics, depending on their book’s key idea.

Examples of popular biographies include Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.

Key traits of a biography:

- Written about another person, often a celebrity or public figure, and told in 3rd person point of view

- More formal and objective than both memoirs and autobiographies

- Broad in scope or timeline, often covering the subject’s entire life up to the present

- Focused solely on facts

- Requires meticulous research and fact-checking to ensure accuracy.

Examples of some famous biographies:

Tolstoy: A Russian Life by Rosamund Bartlett, His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis, Einstein: The Life and Times by Ronald William Clark, Biography of Walt Disney: The Inspirational Life Story of Walt Disney – The Man Behind “Disneyland” by Steve Walters, Princess Diana- A Biography Of The Princess Of Wales by Drew L. Crichton.

Definition of Autobiography

An Autobiography is the author’s retelling of his or her life and told in first person point of view, making the author the main character of the story. Autobiographies are also narrative nonfiction, so the stories are true but also include storytelling elements such as a protagonist (the author), a central conflict, and a cast of intriguing characters.

The word Auto means ‘self.’ Therefore, autobiography contains all the elements of a biography but composed or narrated by the author himself. He / She may write on their own or may hire ghostwriters to write for them.

An autobiography presents the narrator’s character sketch, the place where he is born and brought up, his education, work, life experiences, challenges, and achievements. This may include events and stories of his childhood, teenage, and adulthood.

Autobiographers use many sources of information to develop the story such as letters, photographs, and other personal memorabilia. However, like a memoir, the author’s personal memory is the primary resource. Any other sources simply enrich the story and relay accurate and engaging experiences.

A good autobiography includes specific details that only the author knows and provides context by connecting those details to larger issues, themes, or events. This allows the reader to relate more personally to the author’s experience.

Examples of popular autobiographies include The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.

Key traits of an autobiography:

- Written in 1st person POV from the perspective of the author, occasionally with the help of a collaborator

- More formal and objective than memoirs, but more subjective than biographies

- Broad in scope or timeline, often covering the author’s entire life up to the present

- Focused more on facts than emotions

- Requires more extensive fact-checking and research than memoirs, but less than biographies

Differences Between Biography and Autobiography:

Biography is a detailed account of a person’s life written by someone else, while an autobiography is written by the subject themselves.

Biography can be written with (authorised) or without permission (unauthorised) from the person/heir’s concerned. Therefore, there are chances of factual mistakes in the information. On the other hand, autobiographies are self-written and therefore doesn’t require any authorization.

Biographies contain information that is collected over a period of time from different sources and thus, it projects a different outlook to the readers. On the other hand, autobiographies are written by the subject themselves, therefore, the writer presents the facts and his thinking in his own way, thus providing an overall narrow and biased perspective to the readers.

In an Autobiography, the author uses the first narrative like I, me, we, he, she, etc. This, in turn, makes an intimate connection between the author and the reader since the reader experience various aspects as if he/she is in that time period. As opposed a biography is from a third person’s view and is much less intimate.

The purpose of writing a biography is to introduce and inform the readers about the person and his life whereas an autobiography is written in order to express, the life experiences and achievements of the narrator.

A biography	An autobiography
Is the story of a person’s life	Is the story of one’s own life
Is generally written by a person who did an in-depth study of someone else’s life	Is generally written by (or with the help of) the subject matter
Is usually written in third person	Is usually written in first person
Is based on facts about the subject’s life	Is based on facts about the subject’s life
Can be written with or without the consent of the subject	Can also include the subject’s thoughts and feelings about the events in their life.
Is objective	Is subjective
Has the purpose of informing the audience	Has the purpose of informing and explaining the motivation behind the subject’s actions

Examples of some famous Autobiographies:

There are several autobiographies which are worth mentioning like ‘The Story of My Life’ by Helen Keller, ‘An Autobiography’ by Jawaharlal Nehru, ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ by Anne Frank, ‘Memoirs of the Second World War’ by Winston Churchill, ‘Wings of Fire’ by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and much more.

Difference between "Fiction" and "Nonfiction"?

“Fiction” refers to literature created from the imagination. Mysteries, science fiction, romance, fantasy, chick lit, crime thrillers are all fiction genres. Examples of classic fiction include To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, 1984 by George Orwell and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Our Fiction Department also has a large selection of popular movies and television shows on DVD.

“Nonfiction” refers to literature based in fact. It is the broadest category of literature. The Nonfiction Department has books and videos in many categories including biography, business, cooking, health and fitness, pets, crafts, home decorating, languages, travel, home improvement, religion, art and music, history, self-help, true crime, science and humor. We also have a section of popular and award-winning documentary DVDs.