“Robin thought on Our Lady deere,
and soone leapt up againe,
And thus he came with an awkwarde stroke;
Good Sir Guy hee has slayne.”
— “Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne”
Monthly Archives: July 2024
‘The Outlaws of Sherwood’ by Robin McKinley: Summary and Review
Retelling a folktale always seems to change it a bit. As such, when writing a complex story, sometimes a retelling can be a disaster. Sometimes, though, you can create a much-lauded piece of work. Robin Hood, for instance, has many retellings, and some of them work and some of them do not. In this post, we are going to examine The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley. We will see how a retelling helped shape the Robin Hood mythos.
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What Makes a Memorable Villain in a Story?
There is an old RPG for PC that came out in 1998 called Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn. It’s an excellent game with great storytelling and atmosphere. It also has one of the best villains of all time: Jon Irenicus. Irenicus is a powerful wizard and hails from Suldanessellar, an elven city. However, after he is cast out of the city by Queen Ellesime for attempting to use their Tree of Life to become a god, he attempts to use a Bhaalspawn in order to harness their divine blood. In viewing Irenicus, we can see how to make a memorable villain.
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7 Life-Changing Writings and Poems from Famous Authors
Books and poems have an amazing way of transforming our lives. A simple line can convince us to change our fate. As such, everybody has a book, an author, or a story that pushed them into the literary world. The following shortlist is a collection of the books, stories, and poems that represent 7 life-changing writings and poems from famous authors.
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Four Ways to Increase Character Development
Developing characters can be tricky business. You really have the choice between setting up static or dynamic characters. That is to say, characters that change and characters that do not. How do you go about this? Well, there are many ways to increase character development. In this post, we are going to look at how characters have developed in a piece of example media. Then, we are going to look at four ways to increase character development.
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Stories Set in Medieval Times: Examining Serfs and Fallacies
Greetings! Today, we are going to go back in time and look at life during medieval times to build a broader context for reading stories set in medieval times. Our perspective is going to be focused on the hierarchical structure of medieval society and the life of a serf. Additionally, I’ve added misconceptions about medieval society to create a more robust reading. All of this will provide needed background knowledge for medieval literature.
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Medieval Robin Hood Tales: “Robin Hood and the Monk”
The character of Robin Hood is one of complexity even though he lives a chivalrous life. And that’s to be expected. Life during medieval times is certainly dangerous and violent, so to be a truly courageous character at this time, one must exist with their foot in two worlds. In this post, we will be examining more medieval Robin Hood tales examining the ballad “Robin Hood and the Monk” in order to ascertain Robin Hood’s sense of justice and loyalty.
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‘Ivanhoe’ by Sir Walter Scott: Conflicts in the Middle Ages
Medieval misery permeates historical fiction and fictional accounts of the era. Widespread famine, class disparity, and violent struggles for power are all hallmarks of these times. The novel Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott is a classic example of a story setup in these trying times. In this post, we will dig into Ivanhoe by Scott. Adventure and triumph awaits!
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Justice in Literature: Its Role in Shaping Literary Heroes
What does it mean to view justice in literature?
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How to Use Folkloric Language to Convey Complex Ideas
There is a wealth of advice on how to write complex thoughts and feelings. Though technique and general advice typically muddle what’s not complex to understand. In other words, one simple way to write complex ideas is to do just that–write simply. Also, using a lens might help; in this case, folklore. Thus, using folkloric language to convey complex ideas is one way to approach writing.
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