As I read Phaedrus
this weekend, I found a moment in the dialogue that interested me as a creative
writer. On pages 142-143, Socrates and Phaedrus discuss Lysias’ speech.
Phaedrus asks, “Tell me truly, do you think any other of the Greeks could speak
better or more copiously than this on the same subject?” (142, bottom right). Socrates says
there have indeed been better speeches on the subject of love. When Phaedrus
asks where Socrates has heard a better speech, Socrates replies, “I cannot say,
just at this moment; but I certainly must have heard something, either from the
lovely Sappho or the wise Anacreon, or perhaps from some prose writer” (143, middle left).
Socrates also believes that he could compose a good speech about love, saying:
Now I am conscious of my own
ignorance, and I know very well that I have never invented these things myself,
so the only alternative is that I have been filled through the ears, like a
pitcher, from the well springs of another; but, again because of my stupidity,
I have forgotten how and from whom I heard it. (143, middle left)
This exchange reminds of “The Anxiety of Influence: A Theory
of Poetry” by Harold Bloom (Disclaimer: I have not read this book, but it has
come up in discussion in a few Lit classes). In “The Anxiety of Influence,”
Bloom argues that poets struggle to create original material due to the
influence of precursor poets. Essentially, “it’s all been said before.” I think
a lot of creative writers, myself included, struggle with this feeling! I also
think Socrates speaks directly to this point when he suggest that he could compose a great speech, but his
ideas have inevitably been influenced by other writers and speakers. I also
thought it was interesting that he mentioned that the poet Sappho could have composed
a speech better than Lysias’. Again, he acknowledges that someone, at some
point, has also written or spoken on the subject of love, and it is difficult
to escape that influence. Also, “The Anxiety of Influence” mostly focuses on
post-enlightenment poets (who had centuries of poetry before them), while Plato
is writing during the Classical period. It’s interesting to think that this “anxiety
of influence” may have plagued the early speakers and writers, too.
Ah, the inexhaustible question of originality once again emerges. I also have not read Bloom's "The Anxiety of Influence," but I did get the opportunity to read Jonathan Lethem's "The Ecstasy of Influence: A Plagiarism" in creative writing class earlier this semester. Because of this article, I began to consider how our anxiety over originality may be misplaced. After all, Lethem examines famous cases of writers borrowing from other writers and comes to conclusion that "if these are examples of plagiarism, then we want more plagiarism" (Lethem 61).
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of Plato and the question of originality, I find myself thinking that Plato would or at least should have adored certain plagiarisms while abhorring others. After all, he apparently believed that one of rhetoric's uses is to "convey truth that is already in the rhetor's possession to an ignorant audience" (Bizzell and Herzberg 29). If many similar works portrayed the same truth, Plato should have been overjoyed: the truth was spreading! If something he viewed as a lie was making its rounds, Plato should have been horrified. All conjecture, of course, but a very entertaining way of thinking about Plato.
Good points about Plato's possible take on spreading truths. Sidenote: I've read Lethem's book, too, and I agree with you (and Lethem) that this form of "plagiarism" isn't necessarily a bad thing!
ReplyDeleteKerry, your post is so closely aligned with James Porter's article 'Inter-textuality and the Discourse Community' that I wonder if you've ever read it? In it, Porter claims that we, as rhetors, are all locked into particular discourse communities that span other discourse communities and produce texts that we then read as rhetors, and so they (consciously or unconsciously) influence our own products. He comes to the conclusion from this, original work is nearly impossible, and even mentions that plagiarism is more prevalent that we think (though he asks us, in a way, to redefine that term). About original, 'genius' pieces of writing he says "genius is possible, though it is constrained" by the discourse community in which it operates and is understood.
ReplyDeleteThe truths that Nathaniel is referring to in his comment here, are the other discourses found in Plato's discourse community, and I wholly agree, as Porter would as well, that we need to re-conceptualize the prevalence of plagiarism within these communities, or at the very least, acknowledge the potential for influence and thus, the corruption of Truth.
Well done post, it is both thought provoking and concise. Thanks!
Kerry,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post about originality. I am taking Doug Down's class for Digital Rhetorics and Writing and we just discussed this idea of plagiarism and originality last week, so the points you made were familiar to me as well. In a piece we read for Doug's class the article made a point that "the creative writer is the creative borrower." This stuck with me because, as you pointed out in the section above, Socrates is almost forced to be a creative writer, thus making him a creative borrower, when giving his speech to Phaedrus because he knows he has heard such great speeches about love from other people at some point in his life. I think back to writing I have done and I would like to believe that I have had some original ideas and/or findings, but even if my ideas or points were not as original as I thought they were, my main objective was still reaching an audience. As Nathan pointed out in his comment that regardless of originality "the truth was spreading." I'm sure that the idea of plagiarism and originality will always be up for debate but I could relate to the frustration you had as a writer about how "everything has been said before."