Basic Discussion Forum Information: You have been divided into groups of four or five people for this assignment. There are two parts that you must complete in order to receive full credit. Part One is your response to the question listed below. Part Two is your response to an idea from one of your peers. Each part is worth 50 points. Be sure to keep in mind basic netiquette when posting.
For Part One, you should construct a three to five sentence response that uses clear and precise prose. You don’t need to be overly formal, but you do want your response to be readily understood by your peers.
For Part Two, you should read your peers’ posts carefully and respond to ONE post in a post of your own again of roughly three to five sentences. You may choose to respond to a post that you agreed (or disagreed) with and explain why. Alternatively, you may want to comment on a post that brought up a point that you hadn’t considered and thought was interesting. Again explain what specifically interested you about the post.
Question to answer for Part One: Poets and other artists sometimes choose to build on the works of their predecessors. These works are sometimes called pastiches (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., and if the new work is meant to highlight flaws, it’s a satire (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., or if it renders ideas and concepts from the original ridiculous, it’s a parody (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. These works are considered original to the new authors. Translators, on the other hand, work hard to create texts that convey the meaning of the original without any sort of overt editorial commentary. Translators are given credit for their translations, but the original author is always considered the original creator of the work.
When the lines between pastiche, satire, parody, and translation and the original work are blurred, questions of plagiarism arise. Who should be given credit for the work? The satirist? The author that inspired the satire? Both?
Thinking about these questions of ownership and authorship, reread the poems by Sappho and Catullus.Catullus is sometimes credited as a translator of Sappho’s work. Post your answer to the following questions below: Is the poem a translation as we’ve defined it above? Why or why not? Is his work original? Why or why not?
Not sure how to respond? Try thinking about this more “modern” example of the use of one artist’s work by another. Rapper’s use of tracks and rhythms by other artists (sampling) seems to be closely related to the ideas we’re thinking about here. Is Puff Daddy’s song (a tribute to his friend The Notorious B.I.G.) any less moving because of its similarities to the earlier tune?
