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Fw: Fw: Shakespeare plagiarist!
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Rimel, Abbey J." <RimelA@missouri.edu>
>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (67
lines) ------------------
> My goodness, surrounded by bald faced plagiarists, aren't we? There
> have been some calls on the list to ignore the (Danish?) news story
> about Lolita having been plagiarised on the grounds that these claims
> are obviously made by a person who does not understand the true nature
> of plagiarism. While I agree, we might be treating ignorance with undue
> attention, I also believe this is an opportunity to discuss the cyclic
> nature of ideas and plotlines throughout the ages.
>
> From oral tradition to the novel, the human collective consciousness
> abounds with a repertoire of compelling stories that take form from time
> to time in a variety of media. I don't imagine that the basic story of
> Lolita ever derived from something so ancient as an oral tradition--but
> I could be wrong. Most of us understand that it isn't necessarily the
> story's originality--the absolute unique quality of the plotline--that
> matters, but how it is told. No one creates in a vacuum, not
> Shakespeare, not Nabokov. We've got some intellectual problems to deal
> with in popular culture, true, but I think we need to find a way to turn
> our indignance into something constructive or at the very least,
> entertain ourselves.
>
> Abbey
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On
> Behalf Of D. Barton Johnson
> Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 12:33 PM
> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> Subject: Fw: Shakespeare plagiarist!
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jeff Edmunds" <jhe2@psulias.psu.edu>
> > From Jeff Edmunds <jhe2@psulias.psu.edu>:
> >
> > In an absolutely stunning story certain to dwarf the controversy
> > stirred
> by
> > the revelation that Nabokov plagiarized Lolita, it was revealed this
> > week by an Icelandic scholar that Shakespeare, widely revered as the
> > greatest playwright, and one of the greatest stylists, in the English
> > language of all time, plagiarized Hamlet, his most famous play.
> >
> > Apparently the story of Hamlet can be shown to pre-exist Shakespeare's
>
> > shameless plagiarism by many years. Penned by an unknown Danish
> > writer,
> the
> > tale is known as "The saga of Feng and Amleth." The story of Amleth is
>
> > nearly identical to Shakespeare's play: Feng murders his brother out
> > of jealousy and marries Gerutha, Amleth's mother. Amleth pretends to
> > be witless to save himself. His sanity is tested by the suspicious
> > Feng. Amleth is sent to England, guarded by two of Feng's retainers,
> > who carry a death letter. Amleth alters the letter to order the deaths
>
> > of the
> retainers
> > and his own marriage to the King's daughter. He returns to Jutland
> > where, after a celebratory feast, he burns the Great Hall full of
> > drunken nobles and kills his uncle, thereby avenging his murdered
> > father.
> >
> > Just how this amazing revelation will damage Shakespeare's inflated
> > reputation remains to be seen.
> >
> > Needless to say, the word of Shakespearean studies is still reeling.
> >
From: "Rimel, Abbey J." <RimelA@missouri.edu>
>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (67
lines) ------------------
> My goodness, surrounded by bald faced plagiarists, aren't we? There
> have been some calls on the list to ignore the (Danish?) news story
> about Lolita having been plagiarised on the grounds that these claims
> are obviously made by a person who does not understand the true nature
> of plagiarism. While I agree, we might be treating ignorance with undue
> attention, I also believe this is an opportunity to discuss the cyclic
> nature of ideas and plotlines throughout the ages.
>
> From oral tradition to the novel, the human collective consciousness
> abounds with a repertoire of compelling stories that take form from time
> to time in a variety of media. I don't imagine that the basic story of
> Lolita ever derived from something so ancient as an oral tradition--but
> I could be wrong. Most of us understand that it isn't necessarily the
> story's originality--the absolute unique quality of the plotline--that
> matters, but how it is told. No one creates in a vacuum, not
> Shakespeare, not Nabokov. We've got some intellectual problems to deal
> with in popular culture, true, but I think we need to find a way to turn
> our indignance into something constructive or at the very least,
> entertain ourselves.
>
> Abbey
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On
> Behalf Of D. Barton Johnson
> Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 12:33 PM
> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> Subject: Fw: Shakespeare plagiarist!
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jeff Edmunds" <jhe2@psulias.psu.edu>
> > From Jeff Edmunds <jhe2@psulias.psu.edu>:
> >
> > In an absolutely stunning story certain to dwarf the controversy
> > stirred
> by
> > the revelation that Nabokov plagiarized Lolita, it was revealed this
> > week by an Icelandic scholar that Shakespeare, widely revered as the
> > greatest playwright, and one of the greatest stylists, in the English
> > language of all time, plagiarized Hamlet, his most famous play.
> >
> > Apparently the story of Hamlet can be shown to pre-exist Shakespeare's
>
> > shameless plagiarism by many years. Penned by an unknown Danish
> > writer,
> the
> > tale is known as "The saga of Feng and Amleth." The story of Amleth is
>
> > nearly identical to Shakespeare's play: Feng murders his brother out
> > of jealousy and marries Gerutha, Amleth's mother. Amleth pretends to
> > be witless to save himself. His sanity is tested by the suspicious
> > Feng. Amleth is sent to England, guarded by two of Feng's retainers,
> > who carry a death letter. Amleth alters the letter to order the deaths
>
> > of the
> retainers
> > and his own marriage to the King's daughter. He returns to Jutland
> > where, after a celebratory feast, he burns the Great Hall full of
> > drunken nobles and kills his uncle, thereby avenging his murdered
> > father.
> >
> > Just how this amazing revelation will damage Shakespeare's inflated
> > reputation remains to be seen.
> >
> > Needless to say, the word of Shakespearean studies is still reeling.
> >