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	<title>Comments on: Why it&#8217;s hard not to&#160;plagiarise</title>
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	<link>http://hiddenchemistry.com/2006/12/why-its-hard-not-to-plagiarise/</link>
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	<pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:25:41 +0000</pubDate>
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		<title>By: A.K.Farrar</title>
		<link>http://hiddenchemistry.com/2006/12/why-its-hard-not-to-plagiarise/#comment-16</link>
		<dc:creator>A.K.Farrar</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 Dec 2006 18:36:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hiddenchemistry.com/why-its-hard-not-to-plagiarise/#comment-16</guid>
		<description>&lt;p&gt;One of those frequently misunderstood problems with Shakespeare is his propensity to lift material from other people - nowadays we would call it plagiarism.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;One of the most fascinating, I think, is the meeting of Faustus and Helen:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;FAUSTUS. Was this the face that launch\'d a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium--
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.--
[Kisses her.]
Her lips suck forth my soul: see, where it flies!--
Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again.
Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips,
And all is dross that is not Helena.
I will be Paris, and for love of thee,
Instead of Troy, shall Wertenberg be sack\'d;
And I will combat with weak Menelaus,
And wear thy colours on my plumed crest;
Yea, I will wound Achilles in the heel,
And then return to Helen for a kiss.
O, thou art fairer than the evening air
Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars;
Brighter art thou than flaming Jupiter
When he appear\'d to hapless Semele;
More lovely than the monarch of the sky
In wanton Arethusa\'s azur\'d arms;
And none but thou shalt be my paramour!
[Exeunt.]&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Now, do you remember Romeo seeing Juliet for the first time?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Something like&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Do I smell the smoke of Jupiter in this?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;And what are we to make of the stage action - Kiss and Kiss again?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;ROMEO If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;JULIET Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims\' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers\' kiss.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;ROMEO Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;JULIET Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;ROMEO O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;JULIET Saints do not move, though grant for prayers\' sake.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;ROMEO Then move not, while my prayer\'s effect I take.
Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;JULIET Then have my lips the sin that they have took.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;ROMEO Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged!
Give me my sin again.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Now, if that isn\'t a direct copy of the Faustus scene, I am a Dutchman.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;What is amazing is the way this connection is frequenltly ignored.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Why has Shakespeare chosen to lift a scene where a man very close to death and on his way to hell is instantly struck by a beautiful illusion and plays a word game of passing sins and souls in kisses?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;He knew his audience - and they knew Marlow\'s play.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Modern interpretations of the Shakespeare scene all seem to focus on the beauty of the young lovers, the magnificent of the sentiments, the way Romeo has suddenly matured into a warm feeling adult (hours before he was an unfeeling teenager).&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Put it next to Marlow though and a rather darker image emerges - a fool heading for death and hell, blinded by the devil\'s false beauty.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;And because of the mindset, it is beautiful, interpreters tend to ignore the blasphemy too. Romeo, in order to impress Juliet, uses religious images - compares himself to a pilgrim and links prayer to his base wish for her body.
That would not go down well with the strongly held religous views of Shakespeare\'s audience.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>One of those frequently misunderstood problems with Shakespeare is his propensity to lift material from other people - nowadays we would call it plagiarism.</p>
<p>One of the most fascinating, I think, is the meeting of Faustus and Helen:</p>
<p>FAUSTUS. Was this the face that launch\&#8217;d a thousand ships,<br />
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium&#8211;<br />
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.&#8211;<br />
[Kisses her.]<br />
Her lips suck forth my soul: see, where it flies!&#8211;<br />
Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again.<br />
Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips,<br />
And all is dross that is not Helena.<br />
I will be Paris, and for love of thee,<br />
Instead of Troy, shall Wertenberg be sack\&#8217;d;<br />
And I will combat with weak Menelaus,<br />
And wear thy colours on my plumed crest;<br />
Yea, I will wound Achilles in the heel,<br />
And then return to Helen for a kiss.<br />
O, thou art fairer than the evening air<br />
Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars;<br />
Brighter art thou than flaming Jupiter<br />
When he appear\&#8217;d to hapless Semele;<br />
More lovely than the monarch of the sky<br />
In wanton Arethusa\&#8217;s azur\&#8217;d arms;<br />
And none but thou shalt be my paramour!<br />
[Exeunt.]</p>
<p>Now, do you remember Romeo seeing Juliet for the first time?</p>
<p>Something like</p>
<p>Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright.</p>
<p>Do I smell the smoke of Jupiter in this?</p>
<p>And what are we to make of the stage action - Kiss and Kiss again?</p>
<p>ROMEO If I profane with my unworthiest hand<br />
This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:<br />
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand<br />
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.</p>
<p>JULIET Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,<br />
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;<br />
For saints have hands that pilgrims\&#8217; hands do touch,<br />
And palm to palm is holy palmers\&#8217; kiss.</p>
<p>ROMEO Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?</p>
<p>JULIET Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.</p>
<p>ROMEO O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;<br />
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.</p>
<p>JULIET Saints do not move, though grant for prayers\&#8217; sake.</p>
<p>ROMEO Then move not, while my prayer\&#8217;s effect I take.<br />
Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged.</p>
<p>JULIET Then have my lips the sin that they have took.</p>
<p>ROMEO Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged!<br />
Give me my sin again.</p>
<p>Now, if that isn\&#8217;t a direct copy of the Faustus scene, I am a Dutchman.</p>
<p>What is amazing is the way this connection is frequenltly ignored.</p>
<p>Why has Shakespeare chosen to lift a scene where a man very close to death and on his way to hell is instantly struck by a beautiful illusion and plays a word game of passing sins and souls in kisses?</p>
<p>He knew his audience - and they knew Marlow\&#8217;s play.</p>
<p>Modern interpretations of the Shakespeare scene all seem to focus on the beauty of the young lovers, the magnificent of the sentiments, the way Romeo has suddenly matured into a warm feeling adult (hours before he was an unfeeling teenager).</p>
<p>Put it next to Marlow though and a rather darker image emerges - a fool heading for death and hell, blinded by the devil\&#8217;s false beauty.</p>
<p>And because of the mindset, it is beautiful, interpreters tend to ignore the blasphemy too. Romeo, in order to impress Juliet, uses religious images - compares himself to a pilgrim and links prayer to his base wish for her body.<br />
That would not go down well with the strongly held religous views of Shakespeare\&#8217;s audience.</p>
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