In python I can construct a HTML string without worrying about escaping special characters like < or \" by simply enclosing the string in triple quotes like:
It can't be done in Java like in Python. However if you are using Eclipse go to Window->Preferences->Java->Editor->Typing The last check box is "Escape text when pasting into a String literal". Check that. Now when you paste when your cursor is between quotation marks it'll be escaped.