"Old and new make the warp and woof of every moment. There is no thread that is not a twist of these two strands. By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote."
Quotation and Originality
Ralph Waldo Emerson
There is a specific truth to the idea that we all plagiarize. A blend of old and new is present in everything and so by default, there will always be crossover. It is almost impossible not to quote someone or something else, considering that everything new is a branch of the old, and the ideas of today are fueled and merged by and with those of the past. The style provides a neat imagery of how the old and new inevitably blend together. Like a thread, they are part of a single twist; strands of a single string. This imagery, the thread, can be linked to ideas of society and human connection, such that we are all part of the same strand that makes up the entirety of our society. The blend of old and new creates a linked contrast that brings back the values and connections of history, the history that influenced the innovations of today. The 'now' is a reflection of the 'then,' and what is done today is a branch off, replication, rework, or reinvention of something else that has already been done or said. That does not make it wrong or plagiarized. It simply makes the past a source of inspiration for the creative ideas of today.
No comments:
Post a Comment