Washington Irving Characteristics

Washington Irving is known to many people as "The Father of American Literature" (Background). Washington Irving wrote many Gothic stories with Romantic style in the eighteenth century and is most famous for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle along with the collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon. Born in New York City, he was the first successful American short story author, the first one to make a living by writing. However, he received more credit than he deserves. With his career spanning from 1809 to 1855, Irving wrote Gothic literature in the late Romantic Period, where authors rejected artistic forms and conventions associated with classicism and neoclassicism (Murfin). Irving was accused many times of plagiarizing …show more content…
William Wordsworth described good Romantic writing as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Romanticism). In order for a Romantic work to be considered complete, it must have spontaneous events. Authors would write about seemingly random events that moved the stories forward. Irving uses a scene between the main character in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, Ichabod Crane, and his love interest, Katrina, to show off how he seamlessly he could weave the characteristics of the style into his writing. Ichabod Crane attends a party at the house of Katrina’s house, the woman he wants to marry, but suddenly leaves disappointedly. The entire story had revolved around how Crane longed to marry her and then he suddenly did not. This sudden change did not affect the story negatively. It flowed naturally despite changing the entire focus. During the Romantic Period, some of the most popular authors were unfortunately accused of plagiarism stealing ideas from other …show more content…
Much of this comes from the many accusations of him plagiarizing other authors. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle is one of the most important works of its time and was heavily influenced by other people and in turn influenced many other authors. Irving also exhibited his skill in writing in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon. Irving was accused of plagiarizing in “Rip Van Winkle” and celebrated for his originality in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” One of his longest story collections, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, has also been accused of being littered with plagiarism and unoriginality. Irving displayed his ability to make people feel sympathy and respect for characters and cause enjoyment for readers. Irving was a great writer, but because of his repeated plagiarism and misleading of his followers and fans, it was not him who led America into an age of literary