Discuss relationship between Literature and Biography

Discuss relationship between Literature and Biography

How far can biography of an author throw light on his works? – Discuss.

Discuss biography as a literary genre and its validity in evaluation of literature.

How far is the biographer justified in using the evidence of the works themselves for his purpose?”  Discuss.

Is art self expression pure and simple? Illustrate with relevant arguments.

Discuss the two types of poets, the objective and subjective in reference to the biographical approach.

          Biography is an old literary form. For the literary study, the personality and the life of the writer is most important; because he is the creator of a work of art. Biography throws light on the real production of his poetry. It shows the internal and external development of poetry.

 How Biography helps?

          Biography helps more or less by these aspects:-

It throws the light on the real production of poetry.

It is a study of the man of genius, of his moral intellectual and emotional development.

It gives us a systematic study of the psychology of the poet and of the poetic process.

          Coleridge says that any life however insignificant would, if truthfully told would remain of interest. The poet is simply a man. His moral and intellectual development, external career and emotional life can be reconstructed. It also can evaluate by reference to standards, drawn from ethical system or code of manners. He writing may appear mere facts of publications. So the Biographer has to interpret poet’s documents, letters, accounts by eye – witness, autobiographical statements etc. Then to decide the questions of genuineness, trustworthiness of witness and like. There may be problem of chronological presentation etc in biography.

Literary Work can’t provide biography:-

          In this context two questions are important. First is ‘How far the literary works can provide biographical aspects?”, and the second is ‘How far biography is relevant and important to understand a work?

          Sometimes we have no proper private document of a poet. Public documents, birth registers, marriage certificates and the like can help us. But if those not found, there is no surety of biographical traces of a poet, e.g. Shakespeare. In this case we have to assume one or the other thing. One can not say anything from functional statements made in his plays. It is hard to assume that Shakespeare wrote tragedies or same way it is not necessary that writer needs to be in tragic mood to write tragedies or same way it is not necessary that one can write comedy when one is pleased with life. There is no surety, thought some believe ‘Prospero’ (a character’s name in the play ‘The Templest’) is Shakespeare and his ideas, feelings, views, virtues and vices are those of Shakespeare’s. The relation between the private life and the work is not a simple relation of cause and effect.

Another view – Literature many provide biographical aspects:-

          Supporters of the biographical method say that literary work may provide biography. For many poets biographical evidence has become abundant, because the poets have become self conscious and have left many autobiographical statements. Milton, Pope, Goethe, Wordsworth and Byron are such examples. The biographical approach seems easy because we can check life and work against each other. Actually this approach is demanded by some poets, especially the romantic poets who write about themselves and their innermost feelings. These poets spoke of themselves not only in private letters, diaries, and autobiographies, but also in their works. Wordsworth’s Prelude’ is an autobiographical work. Their personal sentiments may be same in literature and life both. Some writers’s works are ‘confession of their experience of real life.

Objectivity and Subjectivity:- Types of Poet;

          When we are talking about biography and literature, it must be remembered that the poet can be objective or subjective in his approach. T.S. Eliot stresses the poet’s negative capability. It means impersonality or objectivity. This type of poet does not want to display his personality.

          There are other poets like Keats who are subjective. Personal element or autobiographical statements can be the motif of their literary work.

          We know the objective literature for long. In such works the personal expression is very weak, but the aesthetic value may be great. The Renaissance sonnet, Elizabethan drama, naturalistic novels, most folk poetry may be such examples.

          But, even with the subjective poet the distinction between a personal statement and the use of motif in a work of art should not be withdrawn. A work of art forms a unity differently, it is done quite differently in relation to relation to reality, than a book of memories, a diary, or a letter. According to Brandes ‘Macbeth is uninteresting because Shakespeare’s personality is not found in it. So is the complaint of kingsmill for Arnold’s ‘Sohrab and Rustam’.  

Rearrangement of Biographical Element:-

          Sometimes in the works of literature the personal pronoun ‘I’ is used. But we can not say it is for the poet himself. It can be or can’t be. Biographic elements are so arranged that they may be transformed into artistic work. These elements can be raw material. Though we may find there biographical sketch, self expression, it can be deceptive. This is a hurdle in literary tradition. A work of art may be a ‘dream’ of an author than his actual life. It can be also a ‘mask’ or the ‘anti-self’. The real person may hide at the back ground. Artist may experience life differently but he may put it in literature. Differently.

Careful Examination of Biographical Elements:-

          The biographical interpretation and any work of art need careful examination. The work of art is not a document for biography. Shakespeare has given various experience of life in his works. This leads us to believes that he must have visited Italy and other places; because he given vivid experience. If it is so, he must have been a soldier, a lawyer, a teacher, a farmer, or he must have been a woman. This can create problem of personality in literature.

Person behind the work:-

          If we read Dante, Goethe, or Tolstoy we come to know that there is a person behind the work. There is a similarly between the writings of one author. There are particularly some dominant elements, which make an author peculiar. Thus we have ‘Miltonic’ or ‘Keatsian’ quality. We know what is ‘Virgilian’ or ‘Shakespearian’ without having any biographical knowledge of these poets.

Connecting links:-

          Still, there are connecting links, parallelism, and resemblance. The poet’s work may be a mask but it may reflect his own experiences, his own life. If we remember this distinction, there is use in biographical study. The biographical framework helps us in studying developments, the growth, maturing and decline of an author. Biography helps for the reading of the poet, his personal association with literary men, his travels, the landscapes and cities he saw and lived in. Biography also collects the information regarding the poet. i.e. the tradition in which the poet was placed, the influence by which he was shaped, the materials on which he drew.

Biography has no critical value:-

          Although lots of approach biography can assist, it has no collateral. No biographical evidence can change or influence critical evaluation. The sincerity in his life may not have come out in literature. Among in one’ life, thought suffered terribly, can make such a work as he might have suffered. The existing work and the real experiences are different.