Poetic thefts, a historical study

Poetic thefts are considered one of the most important subjects that were given a considerable attention by the literature critics. This issue is regarded one of the most prominent subjects that were dealt with in the old and modern Arabic criticism as checking the originality and authenticity of the literary work and their writers and the amount of novelty and thought these works involve. It is certain that identifying the originality or innovation requires from the literary man to be with vast knowledge, intelligent and have a great acquaintance with the literature and its types and should be knowledgeable with the literary heritage in all its ages. He should also have a wide knowledge about the literary products of the famous literary men as this will facilitate the connection between the old with the recent and modern literary men. The approach on which this research relied, as it combines the descriptive and the historical, and it is the approach adopted by most researchers in the study of the history and terminology of poetic theft.The research relied on the concept of poetic theft and its development through the literary eras.