Calvin Leonhardt 2f English

The Sleepy Hollow – an analytic essay

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is a tale written by the author Washington Irving
(1783-1859) in the 19th century. While home, Washington Irving thoroughly studied
English literature, and to a liking from various famous writers e.g., Laurence Sterne,
Shakespeare, and Oliver Goldsmith. “Sleepy Hollow” is a small town in New York,
largely populated by Dutch folk. The local women sit in each other’s company with
their spinning wheels while sharing legends and folklore. One folklore is about a
Hessian (A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse) soldier, who got
his head shot clean off, by a canon in the civil war. In contrast to men’s tales in the
1800s about heroism, this is what a female story or “gossip” looked like. Their
stories would focus on controversial and unusual stories that would spark a fire of
curiosity, and in return create gossip. In “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is a
combination of the two types of stories.

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is a mock-heroic, which uses a very grand and
formal style to describe a common or trivial subject for which this style is not
appropriate. This creates a comic effect since the style of the story is mismatched.
It is clear from the start of the story, that the theme of ghosts and folklore or tales
is a prominent one, which is also strongly backed up by the title “The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow”, which reminds us of legends. “Hollow” also means a saint or a holy
person which adds legitimacy to the theming. Even though these types of legends
might have a basis of truth, they are always exaggerated when passed from
generation to generation.

The prominence of ghost stories can be seen in the text e.g. “From the listless
repose of the place, this sequestered glen has long been known by the name of
Sleepy Hollow. Some say that the place was bewitched during the early days of the
Dutch settlement” and from the description of the setting e.g. “Not far from this
village, perhaps about two miles, there is a little valley among high hills which is
one of the quietest places in the whole world. A small brook murmurs through it
and, with the occasional whistle of a quail or tapping of a woodpecker, is almost
the only sound that ever breaks the uniform tranquility “. The valley radiates a
Calvin Leonhardt 2f English

dreamy nature and the importance of ghost stories, which the narrator often
reminds us of.

You would think that “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is a classic spooky ghost story,
but much the opposite. The story fits nicely into the Romanticism period due to its
persuasive descriptions and detail to the nature around the village, the attention
and focus on the main character, and the addition of ghost stories and
superstitions. Although that is true, I would generally not regard Irving as one of
the most representative Romantic writers. Certain elements of Romanticism are
present in the story, but I would say they are more incidental than deliberate.
Nonetheless, Irving emphasized 2 romantic symbols, being the past and nature.
The detail and description of nature can be seen in the text: “Just ahead, where a
small brook crossed the road, a few rough logs lying side by side served for a
bridge. A group of oaks and chestnuts, matted thick with wild grapevines, threw a
cavernous gloom over it. Ichabod gave Gunpowder half a score of kicks in his
starveling ribs, and attempted to dash briskly across the bridge; but instead of
starting forward, the perverse old animal only plunged to the opposite side of the
road into a thicket of brambles”.

Throughout analyzing “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, I can conclude that

superstition is very important to the story. In my opinion the superstition creates a
basis for the story to be built on, it creates excitement and curiosity which is
exactly what any story with any genre should do, superstition was a great choice. I
can also conclude that Irving with finesse, integrates romanticism in a way that is
unusual, but smart.