A biography is a detailed account of a person's life that goes beyond basic facts such as education, work, relationships and death to portray the subject's experience of those events. Unlike a profile or a curriculum vitae, a biography presents a subject's life story, including intimate details of experience, and may analyze the subject's personality.
Facts
Place of OriginAncient Greece and Rome; early Roman biography includes Cornelius Nepos's Excellentium Imperatorum Vitae (Lives of Outstanding Generals), published in 44 BC. 1 Notable ExamplePlutarch's Parallel Lives, published in Greek around 80 AD, an early and extensive work of biographical writing. 1 Defining TraitA detailed non-fiction (or occasionally fictionalized) account of a person's life that goes beyond basic facts of education, work, relationships and death to portray the subject's experience of those events, distinguished from a profile or curriculum vitae. 1 Defining Trait Connections
Encompasses Form
Features Author
Source Plutarch (Wikipedia)
Source Sima Qian (Wikipedia)
Source Suetonius (Wikipedia)
Source Washington Irving (Wikipedia)
Form Of Genre
Subgenres
Source Hagiography (Wikipedia)
Vida, Genres Source Vida (Occitan literary form) - Wikipedia
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Biography (Wikipedia)tier 2
Sources
1. Biography (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph, first sentence
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description or account of a person's life.
History section, on Plutarch's Parallel Lives
Longer and more extensive biographies were written in Greek by Plutarch, in his Parallel Lives, published about 80 AD.
History section, on Cornelius Nepos
One of the earliest Roman biographers was Cornelius Nepos, who published his work Excellentium Imperatorum Vitae ("Lives of outstanding generals") in 44 BC.
Lead paragraph, defining sentence
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description or account of a person's life.
In Group: Life Writing and Personal Narrative, Lead paragraph
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description or account of a person's life.
View the Source Suetonius (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Suetonius, Lead section [in-genre]Quote, Features Author: Suetonius, Lead section [in-genre]
a set of biographies of 12 successive Roman rulers from Julius Caesar to Domitian
Sima Qian (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Sima Qian, Section on influences and legacyQuote, Features Author: Sima Qian, Section on influences and legacy
Sima's Shiji is respected as a model of biographical literature
Plutarch (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Plutarch, LeadQuote, Features Author: Plutarch, Lead
He is known primarily for his Parallel Lives, a series of biographies of illustrious Greeks and Romans
Washington Irving (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Washington Irving, Lead section [in-genre 2]Quote, Features Author: Washington Irving, Lead section [in-genre 2]
biographies of the writer Oliver Goldsmith
Hagiography (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationSubgenres: Hagiography, Lead paragraph, sentence naming the parent genreQuote, Subgenres: Hagiography, Lead paragraph, sentence naming the parent genre
A hagiography (; from Ancient Greek ἅγιος (hágios) 'holy' and -γραφία (-graphía) 'writing') is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealised biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions.
Vida (Occitan literary form) - Wikipedia
Subgenres: Vida, Lead paragraph, sentence naming the parent genreQuote, Subgenres: Vida, Lead paragraph, sentence naming the parent genre
Vida (Old Occitan: [ˈvida]) is the usual term for a brief prose biography, written in Old Occitan, of a troubadour or trobairitz.
Sirah - Wikipedia
Subgenres: Sirah, Lead paragraph, sentence naming the parent genreQuote, Subgenres: Sirah, Lead paragraph, sentence naming the parent genre
Al-sīrah al-nabawiyya (Arabic: السيرة النبوية), commonly shortened to sīrah and translated as prophetic biography, are the traditional biographies of the Islamic prophet Muhammad written over centuries by Muslim historians, from which, in addition to the Quran and hadith literature, most historical information about his life and the early history of Islam is derived.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.