Week 11 Essay: A Hollywood Hero

What I have found super interesting in this unit is that the Robin Hood I read about was different from the Robin Hood I expected to read about. Robin Hood has always been a vigilante hero, someone who has robbed from the rich to give to the poor. You know, King Richard's BFF. Anyway, the Robin Hood I read about in these ballads was kind of...well, forgive my unprofessionalism, but he was a douchebag. Of course, the story I always come back to, he killed some guys just because they called him a kid and said he wasn't good with a bow and arrow. A littl much, wouldn't you say?

The Robin Hood We Know and Love

Now, what I want to know is how he changed from this jerk of a guy into the Errol Flynn, Batman-esque figure with much praise attached to his name. I read some stories of Robin Hood when I was younger that were supposedly originally told or written back in the 1400s and 1500s, and Robin Hood was a classic, slightly-swashbuckling savior to poor and oppressed individuals everywhere. The change seems to have occurred when British tyranny was an issue and these English folk were actually being oppressed like the characters in the stories.

So, it seems the nature of Robin Hood has changed (and continues to do so) over time and the course of society. He becomes whatever people need him to be. This, of course, can apply to every hero or legend, but it seems interesting that this marks the first folktale that I have experienced this over the course of the entire semester. It is something to think about that there are heroes out there who can be whoever us ordinary folk need them to be whenever we need them.

Author's Note
Of course, I read the Robin Hood Ballads, this week, and this is the thought that has stuck with me the entire week. I hope it made sense, and I'm not the only one who feels this way about it.