Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparrow
Didn't Shakespeare borrow heavily from existing sources (e.g. Holinshed's Chronicles)?
If he'd been constrained by the IPR rules we have today, I wonder if he'd have been able to produce the masterpieces we enjoy today  |
Shakespeare didn't "make up" any of his stories - they all come from other sources. As you say, his history plays are largely based on Holinshed, his Roman plays on North's translation of Plutarch's "Lives", etc. He didn't copy stuff verbatim, though, he just used the stories. No problem with doing that even today. Eg Phillip Pullman's "Dark Materials" trilogy is based on Milton's "Paradise Lost".