Gothic and Historical Elements in Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

Authors

  • Kay L. Oaks English Teacher, English Language Department, Confluence Academies. St. Louis, Missouri, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32996/ijts.2024.4.3.12

Keywords:

Gothic, historical, American Revolution, setting, superstition, supernatural, headless horseman

Abstract

Washington Irving’s short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” still haunts us today 200 years after it was written. Irving incorporated Gothic elements such as ancient and isolated settings, nature, superstitions, and supernatural ambiguity into his short story.  Irving also included historical figures such as the British Major John André  and the headless Hessian soldier.  The author wove elements of the Gothic with historical facts from the American Revolution to create a memorable, uniquely American story.  

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Published

2024-12-26

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 3

Section

Research Article

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Kay L. Oaks. (2024). Gothic and Historical Elements in Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. International Journal of Literature Studies , 4(3), 84-88. https://doi.org/10.32996/ijts.2024.4.3.12