Robin Hood Research Paper

“In merry England in the time of old...there lived within the green glades of Sherwood Forest...a famous outlaw whose name was Robin Hood” (Pyle 1). The stories of Robin Hood are perhaps one of the most well known folktales in history. Beginning in the early medieval century, the legends tell the tale of an outlaw who steals from the cruel King John of England and returns the money back to the poor town’s people. The story highlights the corruption of the nobility and how helpless people are to do anything about it. The ballads and stories of Robin Hood have been well alive for over six hundred years; spanning as far back as the fourteenth century. The legend was created in a great time of need, when the people of England were denied even …show more content…
He does continuously break the law by stealing and killing men, several men, if the ballads of Robin Hood are to be believed. He is, essentially, a bad man—yet these small acts of rebellion against the king and the charity bestowed upon the poor make people see him as this type of hero instead of an outlaw. “In his earliest incarnations Robin Hood is a hero who stands for alternative forms of hierarchy and an egalitarian reaction to oppression” (Barczewski 19). The peasants blind themselves to his wrongdoings because he is helping them, and in a sense, he is revered for what he does because it is something they may wish to do themselves, but are too afraid to stand up against the king. The legend “speaks to that part of us which wants to believe that justice and fairness will prevail in the face of tyranny” (Rennison 9). The ballads of Robin Hood spread like wildfire during this time, and whether or not he was a real man, these stories delivered hope to people who had nothing. It gave hope for a better, more righteous …show more content…
The ballads of Robin Hood could possibly have spawned directly in opposition against the law. The myth was a way for the lower class to criticize their concerns against the monarchy, without directly doing so. The stories gave voice to those who were not able to and brought to light the problems that the everyday man faced. The people created a man who openly jested and criticized the monarchy and willingly and unflinchingly fought against those who upheld the law; which in the stories told throughout history was the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham. Robin was a symbol of hope- a defender to the defenseless and a dream of what could be. “It speaks to that part of us which wants to believe that somewhere there is a place of freedom, a Sherwood Forest, where oppression cannot touch us and we can live better and more honest lives” (Rennison