All..drama, comedy,slapstick,...all stems > from WTS. The question is whom did WTS steal from.
Many different sources - mythologies, older plays, histories. Maybe Shakespeare didn't lift lines or scenes intact from other works but the stories for many of his plays came from other sources. For example, in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', the play that Bottom and his cohorts perform before Theseus' court at the end is 'Pyramus and Thisbe', a play about lovers who are forbidden to see one another by their parents. It ends with the death of the two lovers. There you have the source material for 'Romeo and Juliet' and I believe 'Pyramus and Thisbe' comes from either Greek or Roman drama or mythology. Almost every artist borrows from other, older sources. It's how the source material is used that counts. 'Silky Veils of Ardor' has bits of lyrics from several old folk songs but Joni rearranges them and weaves them into a completely new work that is uniquely her own. The same with 'Slouching Toward Bethlehem.' I would not call this plagiarism or lack of originality. Mark E in Seattle
