by M. Halyard

Created on: August 03, 2008   Last Updated: March 25, 2011

A legend, according to the Handbook to Literature (Harmon and Holman), is "a narrative or tradition handed down from the past; distinguished from a myth by having more of historical truth and perhaps less of the supernatural." One of the more perfect legends of American literature is the one that was produced by the father of American literature, Washington Irving, in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

The tale begins with a narrator's description of the Tappan Zee vicinity of the Hudson River. Setting is a critical element of this legend, and a fair examination of the plot must give at least a summary of this information. Tarry Town, according to the story's narrator, was named by wives in the villages of the area because their husbands "tarried" in the town on market day. Sleepy Hollow, located about two miles from Tarry Town, is "one of the most restful and quiet places in the world" and a perfect retreat from troubled life.

Within this community, the author explains that many legends and tales had been handed down to explain its somnolence; for example, an early settler (a German doctor) bewitched early residents, or that an old Indian chief cast a tranquilizing spell on the area. The most notable of the legends was that of a Hessian trooper who was decapitated during the Revolutionary War. According to local lore, he had been seen riding his horse at breakneck speed at night along various paths, presumably searching for his head. This tale even had a name: the "Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow."

Next, the narrator turns to the main character or protagonist of the story: Ichabod Crane, the village school teacher. This lanky, awkward character even looked like a crane, or perhaps a "scarecrow escaped from a field." He kept a strict, authoritarian control over his classroom, but due to very cursory wages was forced to live with the families of his students for a week at a time. Thus, he was a sort of village gossip, very familiar to the entire community. Ichabod had a particular interest in local folklore: his favorite book was Cotton Mather's History of New England Witchcraft, and he loved to hear and relate tales of witches and the supernatural. According to the narrator, "No tale was too gross or monstrous for (Ichabod) to swallow."

Katrina Van Tassel was the lovely and coquettish daughter of a relatively wealthy farmer in the community. She was also a music student of Ichabod's. Perhaps because of her family's wealth,

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