Traditions in Literature: Tennyson, Pyle, Keats, Peacock and Beyond
The earliest forms of the Robin Hood legend were ballads and plays, as part of the Robin Hood games. As the legend evolved, the tales took on political undercurrents as Robin Hood became an unjustly accused and tormented rebel, who fought against evil authority figures and lived out his merry existence with his band of outlaw brethren. The politicized legend appeared more prominently in the Victorian and Romantic eras, with writers like Keats, Tennyson, Scott, and Peacock reworking the legend.
Knight shows how John Keats, Sir Walter Scott, and Thomas Love Peacock "reconstructed both the mythic biography of Robin Hood and the outlaw tradition itself." As Knight explains, "In various ways they brought together the noble status and inherent dignity of the gentrified outlaw with the vigor and dynamic meaning of the old social bandit, and they did this not simply in terms of narrative, but also, and preeminently, in terms of values."
Most of all, the Robin Hood legend makes us wish for the past, in our romanticized vision of that idyllic forest life. Knight quotes Peacock's description of Robin Hood's abode: "Here was the monarch of the woods...
The Legend Continues
"To study Robin Hood," as Knight explains, "is to study over five hundred years of the development of modern concepts of heroism, art, politics, and the self. It is an exciting and enthralling domain of study, that can in itself become a guide to the changing patterns and dynamics of society and culture over an enormous period."
Robin Hood is a constant presence in our history and literature, even as we change his name and appearance. Archetypal in form, he can represent Nature, a Folk-Hero, and a Trickster (although these elements of his character often intertwine and coalesce into what could be named the Robin Hood archetypal figure). He's been portrayed as an elf-figure, but he emerged with many more faces and character types, with a multiplicity of forms.
Robin Hood isn't King Arthur; he doesn't wield Excalibur, or have Merlin by his side.
Robin Hood is also a romanticized figure. He's the lover of Maid Marion, the friend and comrade to Little John and the other outlaws of Sherwood Forest, the sometimes noble-born outcast, the gentle hero/renegade, the loyal supporter of the true king, a good marksman with a bow, but also a "normal" human. He isn't perfect, and he doesn't always win his battles; but he does teach society something about itself.
What Robin Hood offers is a whisper in the ear, a mythic reminder. Knight quotes Keats:
"And yet I think these oaks at dawn and even
Or in the balmy breathings of the night
Will whisper evermore of Robin Hood."
