Key Takeaways
- Memoirs focus on a specific experience or event, presenting a personal point of view and emotions, while biographies focus on the entire lifespan and are more factual and general.
- Memoirs can be about anyone, famous or not, and emphasize individual emotions, while biographies are mostly about famous individuals and do not emphasize emotions.
- Memoirs are written by the person who experienced the events, while biographies are written by someone else.
A memoir is an account of events one remembers, capturing a special experience or event that an individual undergoes and elaborating on this experience, including the emotional experience and point of view. It can present a very personal point of view, allowing the reader to understand the story from the person’s perspective. Memoirs do not necessarily focus on factual details or chronological events and can be about anyone, famous or not.
On the other hand, a biography is an account of a person’s life written by someone else, focusing on factual details and presenting the individual’s story in chronological order. Biographies are mostly about famous individuals and do not emphasize emotions. When the individual writes the account themselves, it is known as an autobiography.
The main differences between memoirs and biographies are the focus, perception, and emphasis on emotions. Memoirs focus on a particular experience, bring a specific perception or point of view, and give more space to individual emotions. In contrast, biographies focus on the entire lifespan, do not consist of a specific perception, and do not emphasize emotions as much.
