Plagiarism? Or Simple Coincidence? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Lindale · 12-31-2007, 09:43 AM

There's this book I just saw this afternoon. Tales Before Tolkien, published by the same publisher as my LotR and Sil and Hobbit (the American). Contains bits of the Icelandic sagas, a really short version of the Ring of the Nibelungs, and stuff I don't remember. Somewhere in the back cover it says that the book
s content influenced Tolkien and will continue doing so the next generations of creative writers. The nature of the old epics, isn't it?

Also, an interesting notion in Lit is that There is Nothing New in under the Sun.

For the Hero, example Aragorn, it follows a certain archetype. More or less the same as the hero thing with, say, Arthas or Luke Skywalker or whatnot. Prophecy before birth and so on: it's in Joseph Campbell's book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. And so on with characters like Gandalf, Iluvatar, Elendil and the fall of Numenor, the list is endless. Of course the details vary. For example, the "goddess" of Aragorn is Arwen, whereas Luke doesn't have one exactly. But they both have the wise old bearded man for their mentors.

In the University of the Philippines, this is an example of Plagiarism:

Old pond — frogs jumped in — splash! (the original stuff by Basho, the haikuist)

which I change into, say,

The river -- frogs jumping -- the sound of the water

(Of course it's very crudely done, but I hope you see the point.)

Lord Halsar · 12-31-2007, 02:21 PM

Well, I meant that the Inheritance Trilogy is mostly along the plot of Star-Wars, not LotR. After all, a young boy from an unimpressive home has his uncle murdered, finds a mentor who is later slain, leaves home to join with a group of rebels against a widespread empire while learning that he possesses a great power. And in the second book he goes off to find a new mentor in a forested realm and learns that his father was a highly important villain during the rise of the "Empire."
The Inheritance Trilogy really strikes me to be of more likeness to Star-Wars when it comes to the MAIN storyline. The minor sequences are where the similarities to Tolkien's work begin.

12-31-2007, 09:43 AM	#1
Lindale Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: midway upon... in a forest dark Posts: 975	Not coincidence but not plagiarism either: Influences I say There's this book I just saw this afternoon. Tales Before Tolkien, published by the same publisher as my LotR and Sil and Hobbit (the American). Contains bits of the Icelandic sagas, a really short version of the Ring of the Nibelungs, and stuff I don't remember. Somewhere in the back cover it says that the book s content influenced Tolkien and will continue doing so the next generations of creative writers. The nature of the old epics, isn't it? Also, an interesting notion in Lit is that There is Nothing New in under the Sun. For the Hero, example Aragorn, it follows a certain archetype. More or less the same as the hero thing with, say, Arthas or Luke Skywalker or whatnot. Prophecy before birth and so on: it's in Joseph Campbell's book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. And so on with characters like Gandalf, Iluvatar, Elendil and the fall of Numenor, the list is endless. Of course the details vary. For example, the "goddess" of Aragorn is Arwen, whereas Luke doesn't have one exactly. But they both have the wise old bearded man for their mentors. In the University of the Philippines, this is an example of Plagiarism: Old pond — frogs jumped in — splash! (the original stuff by Basho, the haikuist) which I change into, say, The river -- frogs jumping -- the sound of the water (Of course it's very crudely done, but I hope you see the point.) __________________ The heart does things for reasons Reason itself cannot comprehend. - Blaise Pascal Legal Madness.

12-31-2007, 02:21 PM	#2
Lord Halsar Haunting Spirit Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: 'Round the corner, down the well, passed the Balrog, straight to HELL! Posts: 77	Well, I meant that the Inheritance Trilogy is mostly along the plot of Star-Wars, not LotR. After all, a young boy from an unimpressive home has his uncle murdered, finds a mentor who is later slain, leaves home to join with a group of rebels against a widespread empire while learning that he possesses a great power. And in the second book he goes off to find a new mentor in a forested realm and learns that his father was a highly important villain during the rise of the "Empire." The Inheritance Trilogy really strikes me to be of more likeness to Star-Wars when it comes to the MAIN storyline. The minor sequences are where the similarities to Tolkien's work begin. __________________ My time is at an end, for I have walked from Valinor to the Far-east where men have not gone for millennia. Demons have fallen before me. And now... I must rest...