THE EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL WORKS IN THE WEST

Autobiographical works are regarded in world literary studies as a genre of particular significance. Although the autobiographical genre dates back to ancient times, it was initially considered merely as a source and personal document for studying the life and creative work of an author. In other words, it was interpreted primarily as a means of understanding the writer's creative laboratory. Over time, however, perceptions of documentary works, including autobiographies, underwent significant changes. Documentary literature gradually became an important subject of literary scholarship and began to be analyzed with due consideration of the individual, as well as the historical and socio-cultural circumstances surrounding that individual.