Why Sleepy Hollow And Rip Van Winkle Have Lasted So Long

First it’s important to note that the two writings I’m analyzing here are based on legends regarding early Dutch settlements in America. It’s amazing how long these two tales have survived, considering that many other tales of the time have not. Is it perhaps because they stand out amongst all the other legends? Actually, I don’t find these two legends any different from all the other legends I’ve read before. So then, what is it that sets these two legends apart? The answer to this question can be found in the style that they were told in. Anyone who has read these two texts will attest to the fact that they were both told in a style that changed all styles. To someone at the time of first publication, it was quite possible to mistake it and its finely detailed settings as near fact! This is because in both Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, numerous la

So In conclusion I think that the multiple layers I have described, coupled in with the wonderful use of imagery is the principle reason why these two legends have lasted so long. They all work together, to create an intricate web of storytelling that begs to be believed. These two stories are living proof that sometimes it is not the story of a legend that makes it last, but how it is told.

Also much has to be made about Irving’s use of imagery. Anyone who reads the two stories has to be drawn in by the atmosphere; so small-town America feeling! Irving doesn’t use fictitious places or remote regions; he uses towns in the country that we all know of. He vividly describes the beauty of the Catskills in Rip Van Winkle and gives us the impression that no other place in the world could possibly provide as much tranquility as Sleepy Hollow. Irving to me is like a great painter. He uses many (and I mean many) words to paint vivid pic

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