Robin Recruits a Merry Man, by Anonymous

❰

1 2 3

❱

BUT the two virgins, who would have been actors themselves, were now forced to be spectators of one of the bravest combats, that (I dare say) was ever fought in Wakefield. Long it lasted, and with great difficulty they contested which should be victor:* at length, both being tired and weary, (saith Robin) “Hold thy hand, noble pinder, for I protest thou art the stoutest man that I ever yet laid my hand on.” To whom the pinder replied, “Recall thy words, for thou never yet laid thy hand on me.” Robin replied, “Nor will I, noble George, but in courtesy. Know then, I am Robin Hood, this is my Marian, and these my bold yeomen, who are come as far as the forest of Sherwood only to prove thy valour, and to be spectators of Beatrice’s beauty, both which I have found to exceed that liberal report which fame hath given out of them.”

by Anonymous

From ‘The History of George a-Green, Pinder of the Town of Wakefield’ (1706), said to be of Elizabethan provenance. Reprinted in ‘Early English Prose Romances’ Volume 2 by William John Thoms (1803-1885). Some spellings have been modernised.

* According to the early ballads, George planted himself firmly against a hawthorn tree and with his foot secure upon a stone.

He leaned his back fast unto a thorn,
And his foot against a stone,
And there he fought a long summer’s day,
A summer’s day so long.

Précis

Marian and Beatrice were obliged to watch on as Robin and George tried their strength and skill until at last the two warriors agreed a draw. Then Robin revealed that he had come to Wakefield to test George’s reputation as a fighter and Beatrice’s as a beauty, and declared that both fell far short of what rumour had made them.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

Précis

Questions for Critics

Tags

Read Next