In it, lanky newcomer and schoolmaster Ichabod Crane courts Katrina van Tassel, a young heiress who is also being pursued by the Dutchman Brom Bones. Irving’s story takes place in the New York village of Sleepy Hollow, in Westchester County. READ MORE: The Dark Side of the Grimm Fairy TalesĪccording to the New York Historical Society, others believe Irving was inspired by “an actual Hessian soldier who was decapitated by a cannonball during the Battle of White Plains, around Halloween 1776.” “Irving had just met and become friends with Scott in 1817 so it's very likely he was influenced by his new mentor's work,” she says, “The poem is about a wicked hunter who is doomed to be hunted forever by the devil and the ‘dogs of hell’ as punishment for his crimes.” Comparing Ichabod and Brom to heroes of old emphasizes the relative pettiness of their feud over Katrina.American author Washington Irving (1783-1859).

Irving uses satire to expose his characters’ weaknesses, from Ichabod’s gullibility to Katrina’s coquettishness to Brom Bones’ preference for “vicious animals.” Irving uses parody when he refers to Ichabod and From as “knights-errant.” The knight-errant is a heroic wanderer common in medieval chivalric romance literature. The two techniques lend 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' a humorous tone, though they both operate in different ways: satire criticizes society at large, whereas parody plays with the conventions of a specific literary genre. His contributions to Romanticism added a uniquely American perspective to what had once been a solely European tradition.įinally, Irving uses satire and parody to poke fun at courtship rituals, rural life, and storytellers’ tendency to stretch the truth. As a participant in the Romantic movement, Washington Irving, the story’s author, made a name for himself as an American writer among European literary greats.

'Sleepy Hollow' focuses on natural beauty, old wives’ tales, and the historical record, elements that all stem from its Romantic influences. As a result, ancient ruins, old folk stories, and medieval art became popular during this period. This movement extolled the beauty of the natural world, elevated human emotion over cold, pure reason, and explored the relationship between present and past. Capital-R Romanticism is a literary and aesthetic movement that originated in 18th-century Europe. After all, Ichabod’s failed suit to Katrina Van Tassel is not exactly “romantic” in the traditional boy-meets-girl sense. In the literary context, Romance means more than just a love story. 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' is also filled with Romantic influence.

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