Originality is scarce in the world; it is even more scarce in arts and in literature. It is speculated that most ideas and thoughts have been thought before; these thoughts and ideas don’t necessarily have to share the same wording, but they often belong to the same concept, eliminating original concept. For instance, the John Cleese, Cole Porter, Moonlighting, and Death Valley stemmed from Shakespeare’s work. They follow the plot structure of Shakespeare because it was and is incredibly influential. He blended comedy and tragedy in a wide variety of plays; his characters were diverse and complex with an immense amount of variety in their motivations. They take the ideas originally executed by Shakespeare and modify them to fit their own stories; this is a practice used by authors to recreate scenes they drew inspiration from to fulfill the objectives of their own story.
All “writing and telling belong to one big story” in that each new piece of literature and writing contribute to the ideas of other people who then write their own stories. Writing never lacks a vital inspiration. Artistry never forms on its own; instead, it is groomed through exposure to the art of the environment and ultimately the world.
Because all writing is simply a product of years of exposure to art and literature and the world, reading literature offers a glimpse into the inspirations and influences in the author’s life. It allows the reader to see what the author has seen and heard and felt, and thus allows a glimpse into other worlds that the reader was previously unexposed to.
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteThis suits Foster's claims and writings in his book very well because although it seems as if he wants his readers and students to think originally and write their own story from scratch, he also writes about how difficult it is to pursue said story without using some sort of idea/claim from other pieces of work. William Shakespeare is well known, as you mentioned, for creating the numerous plots and adventures for stories during and beyond his time. However, the Bible is also a piece of work that has bits and pieces thrown into various stories and novels. If you look deep enough into practically any book, you will usually find some sort of idea that originated from the Bible, Shakespeare, or any other famous author, or piece of writing. You are right on the dot by saying that originality is scarce because nowadays an original thought is hard to come by.
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ReplyDeleteIt is a truly unique experience to get inside of someone’s mind without them even speaking to you. Reading literature is such a roller coaster of ideas and feelings packed into one. The author brings their “inspirations and influences” into their writing as you mentioned, but the reader also brings those same concepts. This is what makes one story different for everyone who reads it. Art is all about expression and that is exactly what writing and reading literature is all about. Everyone can find some way to relate to another person’s train of thought.
ReplyDeleteJessica,
ReplyDeleteI love how you say that "reading literature offers a glimpse into the inspirations and influences in the author's life." I've always found this to be true. Take your statement one step further and you'll find a gem of useful and practical knowledge: if an author's work that you're reading is inspired by the works of someone else, and if you desire to write like the author you're reading, doesn't it follow that—in order to write like them—you should study not the books they wrote but rather the books they read? It seems counter-intuitive at first, but I believe that the best way to become like someone else—to think how they think, to act like they act, to write like they write—is not to study the person in question but instead to study what that person studied and to train with the tools they trained with.
I have never thought about how many different stories have the same concept until you listed works that have stemmed from Shakespeare. It is mind-boggling to think of the number of books in the world and how many of those are unoriginal concepts. I liked how you said that readers get to glimpse into others world because I had never thought of it that way. I also really liked how you said that artistry is “groomed through exposure to the art of the environment and ultimately the world.” Readers get to experience what happens in the book how the writer was envisioning what all was happening. Sometimes readers get put into the mindset of the writer and get to see the world completely new with a different set of eyes.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you said that “reading literature offers a glimpse into the inspirations and influences in the author’s life”. This is something I had not considered in own post on originality. I knew that most writing was something based off of what the author had read, but I had not seen it as a view into the author’s life, but that makes a lot of sense. Depending on what the author read and what influenced them most, you can get a feel for the author’s personality and preferences, as well as into their history and their goals. This perspective makes a lot of sense and is not something I had considered.
ReplyDeleteJessica,
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. Originality is very rare, but that doesn't mean there isn't creativity. Most of Shakespeare's plays are from events that actually happened. Romeo and Juliet is based on fued between two families in Italy. What makes Shakespeare so great is how he used "the big story" in a creative and influential way. I personally believe that no literature is original, because how could it be? Man's thoughts are limited to things we already know. How could we create something that is completely original if it's composition isn't original? I like to think that if it's possible than it isn't original, but that maybe a little too far. I personally really enjoy the idea of nothing being original.
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. Originality is very rare, but that doesn't mean there isn't creativity. Most of Shakespeare's plays are from events that actually happened. Romeo and Juliet is based on fued between two families in Italy. What makes Shakespeare so great is how he used "the big story" in a creative and influential way. I personally believe that no literature is original, because how could it be? Man's thoughts are limited to things we already know. How could we create something that is completely original if it's composition isn't original? I like to think that if it's possible than it isn't original, but that maybe a little too far. I personally really enjoy the idea of nothing being original.
Dear Jessica, I enjoyed your blog on originality and it took my back on a brief journey in time. It was the first time anyone had asked me to come up with an original thought. I was in Mr. Smith’s third mod Honors freshmen history class; the incentive was that if someone could come up with this idea, he/she would receive an A for the remainder of the year. We couldn’t do it. Our class came together as one to try and concoct out of thin air a thought that was undoubtedly unique. We tried our best with new ideas and new words, even mumbling noises to try and triumph our way to a guaranteed A. The only problem was it was all derivative. Our fresh ideas were based off of creations that had already been patented. Our words were constructed from the vernacular we’d been speaking our entire lives and our random noises were simply too stupid of an answer for him to accept. This begs the age-old question: is there original thought? I believe there is to a certain extent, but it cannot and will not ever be completely original.
ReplyDelete