Reading Notes: Ballads of Robin Hood, Part B

Robin Hood: Men in Tights, online source

(Although this movie is a parody, it is a great one. I highly recommend.) 

I thought the story about the bishop of Hereford was a fun one to read. It was nice that the story led you to believe Robin Hood and his merry men were going to kill the Bishop but instead Robin Hood brought the Bishop back to participate in merry things with them. The Robin Hood character is very likable, and I think he will be a fun one to write. I can’t help but wonder if Little John likes his sidekick gig or if he would rather be in charge of the group. I could maybe explore a story about conflict between Little John and Robin Hood, like changing the Little John begging story to have Little John argue with Robin Hood about him telling him to go begging. I really like how all of the stories start, telling everyone to come ‘round to hear the story of Robin Hood. I was confused at first because the rich Robin Hood is stealing from seem to all be people of the church, which seemed wrong to me until I considered corruption. This was a little hard for me to get used to at first though. I did like that the story about the priests finally came outright and explicitly stated the theme of giving to the poor. I had said in my previous reading notes that I would enjoy a story about Robin Hood fighting a woman and meeting his match, which I actually got with the story of Maid Marian. I loved this one too because it included a love story component. I really enjoyed the story of the golden arrow because it was familiar to me, but I don’t think familiar stories are the best ones to alter sometimes because people are too comfortable with how they go. It was very sad to read about Robin Hood dying because he seems so invincible. Perhaps I could write a story about him actually being invincible. In some way, I need to see Robin Hood live on-maybe through offspring that is just like him? That would be more realistic, of course. I did not like the second story about Robin Hood dying, but I did appreciate the detail that Robin Hood would never hurt a woman. Although he is a cocky and arrogant character, he is noble, and that is admirable and what makes him so likable. 

Bibliography: Ballads of Robin Hood from The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child, link to online source