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Literary
October 31, 1869
Nashville Union And American
Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee
What is this article about?
An amusing article explores poetic coincidences and potential plagiarism in descriptions of a light tread that does not bend grass or flowers, quoting similar lines from poets including Tennyson, Scott, Jonson, Milton, Belchier, and Shakespeare.
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POETICAL COINCIDENCES.
Was There Plagiarism?--Some Remarkable Instances of Producing the Same Idea.
In a late number of All the Year Round some amusing specimens are given of the old diversion of finding poetic coincidences, a few of which we do not remember to have seen before. Among these, the following, from the beauty of the idea, and the closeness of the different methods of producing it, is worthy of notice:
The flower she trod on dipped and rose,
And turn'd to look at her,
is the graceful manner in which the Laureate tells us that a certain young woman, bright Olivia, asserts her superiority to the ordinary laws of matter. The pleasing hyperbole will not pass unchallenged. "Mine," says he of Abbotsford, "tho' I will confess you have clad my dainty lass in a becoming garb. It was I who sang
But a big burly man, with scorbutic visage and slovenly dress, and swearing the legiblest of any man christened, takes the trembling idea under his cloak: "Arcades ambo! The wench is mine! Did ye never read, then, my Sad Shepherdess, wherein I sang:
Her treading would not break a blade of grass,
Or shake the downy blowbell from its stalk?
Yea, in my Vision of Delight stands it not fairly writ:
thence did Venus learn to lead
Th' Idalian bands, and so to tread
As if the wind, not she, did walk,
Nor pressed a flower, nor bowed a stalk!
Almost simultaneously with Ben's claim comes the silver voice of him who sang the fall of man and the conflict of the warrior angels, with Sabrina's song:
Thus I set my printless feet
O'er the cowslip's velvet head,
That bends not as I tread.
"By the mass, then," exclaims another, one Dabridgecourt Belchier, "we are all wrong! In my comedy of Hans Beerpot, acted in the Low Countries by an honest company of health-drinkers, I wrote:
"With that she rose like nimble roe.
The tender grass scarce bending."
The clamor thickens, but a musical laugh breaks in on the controversy, and a bland face smiles upon the wordy storm.
"Mine, I think, my masters," says the Bard of Avon. "Ere my muse was in her teens, in the first heir of my invention, I wrote:
The grass stoops not, she treads on it so light.
Was There Plagiarism?--Some Remarkable Instances of Producing the Same Idea.
In a late number of All the Year Round some amusing specimens are given of the old diversion of finding poetic coincidences, a few of which we do not remember to have seen before. Among these, the following, from the beauty of the idea, and the closeness of the different methods of producing it, is worthy of notice:
The flower she trod on dipped and rose,
And turn'd to look at her,
is the graceful manner in which the Laureate tells us that a certain young woman, bright Olivia, asserts her superiority to the ordinary laws of matter. The pleasing hyperbole will not pass unchallenged. "Mine," says he of Abbotsford, "tho' I will confess you have clad my dainty lass in a becoming garb. It was I who sang
But a big burly man, with scorbutic visage and slovenly dress, and swearing the legiblest of any man christened, takes the trembling idea under his cloak: "Arcades ambo! The wench is mine! Did ye never read, then, my Sad Shepherdess, wherein I sang:
Her treading would not break a blade of grass,
Or shake the downy blowbell from its stalk?
Yea, in my Vision of Delight stands it not fairly writ:
thence did Venus learn to lead
Th' Idalian bands, and so to tread
As if the wind, not she, did walk,
Nor pressed a flower, nor bowed a stalk!
Almost simultaneously with Ben's claim comes the silver voice of him who sang the fall of man and the conflict of the warrior angels, with Sabrina's song:
Thus I set my printless feet
O'er the cowslip's velvet head,
That bends not as I tread.
"By the mass, then," exclaims another, one Dabridgecourt Belchier, "we are all wrong! In my comedy of Hans Beerpot, acted in the Low Countries by an honest company of health-drinkers, I wrote:
"With that she rose like nimble roe.
The tender grass scarce bending."
The clamor thickens, but a musical laugh breaks in on the controversy, and a bland face smiles upon the wordy storm.
"Mine, I think, my masters," says the Bard of Avon. "Ere my muse was in her teens, in the first heir of my invention, I wrote:
The grass stoops not, she treads on it so light.
What sub-type of article is it?
Essay
Satire
What keywords are associated?
Poetic Coincidences
Plagiarism
Light Tread
Laureate
Tennyson
Shakespeare
Milton
Jonson
Literary Details
Title
Poetical Coincidences.
Subject
Was There Plagiarism? Some Remarkable Instances Of Producing The Same Idea.
Form / Style
Prose Essay With Embedded Poetic Quotations
Key Lines
The Flower She Trod On Dipped And Rose,
And Turn'd To Look At Her,
Her Treading Would Not Break A Blade Of Grass,
Or Shake The Downy Blowbell From Its Stalk?
Thence Did Venus Learn To Lead
Th' Idalian Bands, And So To Tread
As If The Wind, Not She, Did Walk,
Nor Pressed A Flower, Nor Bowed A Stalk!
Thus I Set My Printless Feet
O'er The Cowslip's Velvet Head,
That Bends Not As I Tread.
With That She Rose Like Nimble Roe.
The Tender Grass Scarce Bending.
The Grass Stoops Not, She Treads On It So Light.