Biographical Criticism In Literature

A novel is an instrument to express one’s self. It is an ideal avenue to reflect the novelist’s felicity, their experiences, and their anxiousness. It is an account that bestows consolation for the novelist and it exhibits his or her craft. This quality is admired by any writer who has been given the courtesy to reflect his or her own life in his art. J.A. Cuddon described the novel as “The subject matter of the novel eludes classification. No other literary form has proved so pliable and adaptable to a seemingly endless variety of topics and themes. No other literary form has attracted more writers (A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory).”

According to Jake Rossen, there are novelists who chose to write themselves into their

The readers will be able to see the writer’s resemblance to his or her work. This is achieved, as Samuel Johnson states that “put forth why he thought society could not be comfortable with hearing the negative truth of individuals that they admire.” (Samuel Johnson’s Lives of the Poets).

(Maunder, 2007) stated in his book that Biographical criticism remains one of the most contentious approaches to the study of literature. For many critics, the writer’s life and the circumstances in which the text was written have little to do with the actual meaning of the text. Other literary critics, however, accept the biographical approach as a valuable tool, arguing that the knowledge of a writer’s life can only deepen their understanding of the text (The Facts on File Companion to the British Short Story, p. 479).

In Maunder’s book in 2015, he gave some of the questions that a reader might ask when using the biographical approach, these are; “To what extent do events in the life of the writer overlap with the events depicted in the literary work? What changes (if any) has the author made to those events and characters? What are the effects of the changes (or the lack of some changes) for the interpretation of the text? Which sources of influence (people, education, experiences, etc.) are relevant to an understanding of the text?” (Encyclopedia of the British Short

It argues that it does not do justice to the reality of our lives. He demonstrates how fine literature can play an important role in honing our capacity to see clearly and choose wisely as he develops a moral philosophy that engages with our intimate emotional concerns (The Heart of what Matters: The Role of Literature in Moral Philosophy).

According to Hetty Zock and Marjo Buitelaar, “We should understand that an author actually created the book and those life chapters while looking back on their lives. When studying either the whole story or only one episode, we should realize that the content cannot be separated from the form in which it is presented to the audience which the author had in mind when composing the story (Religious Voices in Self-Narratives: Making Sense of Life in times of Transition).”

In Michael Sollar’s book, he stated that “To appreciate fully, the reader should be familiar with the writer’s life, starting with the fictional introduction, the parallels to the author’s life are transparent. (The Facts on File Companion to the World Novel” 1900 to the Present. p.