British Literature- British History: Robin Hood: Outlaw or Hero - Research Paper Example

Robin Hood’s attitude towards the poor and the helpless. ii. His oath to protect the needy. 5. Conclusion Closing the essay by revising the proposed points and confirming personal stand on the question. Name: Instructor’s name: Course: Date: Robin Hood- Outlaw or Hero? Robin Hood, a character from classic English folklore has been the central character of several medieval ballads and stories. The legend of Robin Hood has also secured a special place in modern literature as well as in movies and has been successful in captivating our minds.

There are several versions of Robin Hood’s story and each slightly different from the other. Nevertheless, the core concept of all the ballads, novels and movies that have been based on this famous character and his band of merry men portray Robin as a thief who stole from the rich and distributed the stolen goods among the poor. Like all other worldly things, Robin Hood’s acts and way of life has been scrutinized from two vastly different angles. Some people adore his heroic acts while some consider him a felonious man.

He was an outlaw by definition and lived outside the society. However, to most he is a hero in a true sense (Barczewski 209). It is not merely out of awe for medieval chivalry acts of justice that one concludes that Robin Hood was nothing less than a hero; in fact several factors readily support this side of the opinion. Robin Hood, a Saxon noble, dressed in Lincoln green who lived as an outlaw in Sherwood, symbolized "a sense of justice based upon kinship and community rather than one based upon impersonal, bureaucratic procedures established by the state" (Kooistra 11).

There is no reliable source of information about Robin’s genealogy. The Medieval ballads present him as a yeoman “a term which, multiple as its meanings can be from tied servant to ascendant land-owner, essentially means of non-aristocratic family “ (Almond and Pollard 53).The first thing to know about Robin Hood is that he was a rebel. During that time England was under foreign reign of the Normans and Robin Hood fought against the atrocities of the Normans and the invasion of the French.

King John who ruled the land was incompetent and did not pay heed to the common men .In his book the Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Pyle has written that Robin Hood and his followers had come to Sherwood “to escape wrong and oppression…they vowed that even as they had been despoiled they would despoil their oppressors, whether baron, abbot, knight, or squire.” Robin Hood revolted against his rule for he and his band only accepted King Richard as their king. History has witnessed the revolution of many people who rebelled against foreign oppression in their lands for example the famous Boston Tea Party of 1773 which was also an act of rebellion and the acts of Robin Hood was no different.

Therefore, Robin Hood’s acts of rebellion must be embraced as heroic. Many medieval ballads have described Robin Hood as a “full-blooded medieval brigand, who, even if his conduct is redeemed by a courtly generosity to the poor and deserving, is a brigand nevertheless and can be called by no other name” (Keen 153), however there were several reasons for such behavior. King John taxed the citizens heavily to the point that the common man had to pay the taxes much beyond his means and was deprived of basic food, clothing and shelter.

Robin Hood could not bear this. The richer were getting richer each day and accumulating yet more wealth while the