The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

• Genre: Fiction; legendary adventure
• Originally Published: 1883
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 1200L; grades 8-12
• Structure/Length: 8 parts plus preface, prologue, and epilogue; approx. 400 pages, depending on edition; approx. 11 hours, 46 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: In this Victorian-era take on the legend of Robin Hood, young Robin becomes an outlaw after unwittingly shooting a deer that belongs to the king. He gathers a large group of fellow outcasts who become known as the Merry Men, and together they pursue adventures in Sherwood Forest, including Robin’s specialty of stealing from the rich and sharing with the poor.

Howard Pyle, Author

• Bio: 1853-1911; American artist and writer; wrote and illustrated books for children; created illustrations in Art Nouveau style for books and for magazines including Harper’s Monthly and Scribner’s; completed a mural in 1906 titled The Battle of Nashville for the capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota; invented a Middle English dialect for his characters in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood; created an art school in his Delaware home that trained many other American illustrators
• Other Works: Pepper & Salt (1886); Otto of the Silver Hand (1888); The Wonder Clock (1888); The Garden Behind the Moon (1895)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Importance of Good Humor and a Merry Disposition
• Fellowship and Loyalty Destroys Enmity
• Nature Cures Society’s Ills

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the cultural and historical contexts regarding the laws and corruption that incite Robin Hood’s conflict.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of The Importance of Good Humor and a Merry Disposition, Nature Cures Society’s Ills, and Fellowship and Loyalty Destroys Entity.
• Plan and compose a ballad to portray the plot characteristics of The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood based on text details.
• Analyze and evaluate plot and character details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding the relationship between Robin Hood and Little John, Robin Hood as a social nuisance or hero, and other topics.