JK Rowling: plagiarist?

I doubt that I'd call it plagarism for the simple reason that from all I know of it (which is very little) Harry Potter isn't exactly a new or unusual story by any stretch of the imagination and so if it is plagarism then it incorporates elements from too many generic fantasy tales for any one source to be credited. It is fairly well told by most accounts and it seemed to come along at the 'right' time to be wildly successful but I'm not willing to accept it into the canon of great literature. I do welcome that it gets more people reading though but I can't imagine myself ever reading it.

That is fairly close-minded of you.

As I alluded to before there are no fantasy tales that don't incorporate large amounts from previous fantasy tales. It has all be done before.
 
Be that as it may, I have seen nothing new in the fantasy genre for years.

Feel free to correct this. I have my doubts about anyone's ability to do this.

That doesn't reflect on all other genres. Not to the same extent.
 
I'm currently re-reading the belgaraid, I really enjoyed them the first time around. The dark elf trilogy was quite new I thought although I haven't read a vast amount of fantasy , I've only gotten into it in the past few years.
 
Troll :D

When I was younger, my grandmother used to get pirate videos for me when I came to stay during the summer. I asked her to pick up Tron for me one year, but she misheard and got me Troll.

Quite a funny film when you are 11. Saw it years later and thought it was utter tosh.
 
Surprised no-one's posted this yet:

61074harrypotterstarwardz4.jpg

Thats amazing.
 
That is fairly close-minded of you.

As I alluded to before there are no fantasy tales that don't incorporate large amounts from previous fantasy tales. It has all be done before.

No, there are some original works. But admittedlz, it is only natural that modern literature has to incorporate ideas from earlier work.
Its when it becomes to blatant it is a problem.
 
No, there are some original works.

Which?

I wasn't disagreeing with you, Propp did that stuff when he was looking at old fairy tales. :confused:
You seemed to be saying that what I stated was true of everything, but it isn't. They might follow a similar framework but there are no new ideas in fantasy. That isn't true of other genres.
 
That is fairly close-minded of you.

In what way? Because I don't consider it great literature and there are a good couple of thousand books I'd read in preference to it?

As I alluded to before there are no fantasy tales that don't incorporate large amounts from previous fantasy tales. It has all be done before.

And I've agreed with that although with different wording. There has long been a theory that there are around five basic storylines with all stories ever written being a variation on these essential themes.
 
What are the essential themes? I will write a short story that doesn't fit them! :)

Sorry, it was a while since I'd heard of it so the number was slightly wrong, the theory is there are 7 basic plots (not 5) and everything is a form of variation on them. Christopher Booker writes of the theory in his book from 2004 but I'm fairly sure I'd heard of it long before then.

1. Overcoming the Monster (and the Thrilling Escape from Death) e.g. Beowulf, War of the Worlds, Star Wars: A New Hope
2. Rags to Riches e.g. Cinderella, Great Expectations
3. The Quest e.g. The Odyssey, Watership Down
4. Voyage & Return e.g. Alice in Wonderland, Gone With the Wind
5. Comedy e.g. some Shakespeare, Jane Austen
6. Tragedy e.g. Macbeth, Anna Karenina
7. Rebirth e.g. Sleeping Beauty, A Christmas Carol
 
In what way? Because I don't consider it great literature and there are a good couple of thousand books I'd read in preference to it?

Just that you're saying you wouldn't read what are, to all intents and purposes, well-written books.

And I've agreed with that although with different wording. There has long been a theory that there are around five basic storylines with all stories ever written being a variation on these essential themes.
I didn't say that. I specifically didn't say that :)

Though if you get broad enough you can bring all stories written under one banner. Using words.
 
Ta. They're broader than I expected, but I'll be back in a while with an original phantasy short story, albeit one which pedants will claim somehow fits into one or more of those categories no doubt...
 
Just that you're saying you wouldn't read what are, to all intents and purposes, well-written books.

I said I couldn't imagine I would read them which is slightly different. There are other books that interest me more and I'd prefer to read although I did acknowledge they are well written.

I didn't say that. I specifically didn't say that :)

Though if you get broad enough you can bring all stories written under one banner. Using words.

I thought that putting the full stop after "..with different wording" showed that it was meant as a separate comment, an aside of sorts. However to make it clearer I should have put in a carriage return really so apologies if you thought I was misinterpreting your words.
 
Raf the peasant was mooching about the busy city streets. He wasn't watching his step, and managed to fall right down a mysterious glowing hole that had unexplainably appeared in front of him. He came to in the sewers under the city with numerous scrapes and bruises, and could hear an ominous gurgling noise coming from the dark corridor leading South. Nervous and unfamiliar with his surroundings, he jumped to his feet and pegged it in the opposite direction, taking care not to slip in the **** of the forty thousand souls above.

Reaching a fork in the tunnels, the sound now further behind him than it was previously, he tossed the single copper coin in his possession and noted the result by the poor light streaming down from above. He shot off to the left, and bowled into a dead man's skeleton leaning against the wall, a rusty cleaver in its hand. He picked himself up, took the cleaver and went on.

The noise was all but inaudible now, but he still imagined it might be something he'd rather not encounter. His heart was near bursting point but onwards he sprinted until he reached a ladder leading up to a slitted grille through which sunlight shone. At this point he was curious to see what it was...perhaps it was just a mangy old cur with a diseased throat that had also fallen down the magical hole, or maybe it was some sort of water trickling underground. Deciding it prudent not to try to investigate, he discarded the cleaver, raced up the ladder, and emerged safely on the street.

Raf was always a very shrewd & aware pedestrian from that day on, and always watched his step.

The end.


1. Overcoming the Monster (and the Thrilling Escape from Death) - Doesn't apply because there wasn't a monster or deadly threat, except perhaps in his imagination
2. Rags to Riches - Obviously not
3. The Quest - He wasn't on a quest
4. Voyage & Return - He didn't set off on a voyage (a voyage is a journey that one decides to make) he just fell down a hole and found his way back to the streets
5. Comedy - Nothing comical about the story
6. Tragedy - Obviously not
7. Rebirth - Obviously not
 
Back
Top Bottom