Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Writings (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

by Washington Irving

  —from Cornhill Magazine (January 1860)

  EDMUND GOSSE

  It is in the Sketch-Book that Irving first appeals to us as a torchbearer in the great procession of English prose-writers. In Knickerbocker he had been dancing or skipping in the lightness of his heart to a delicious measure of his own; in Salmagundi he had waked up to a sense of literary responsibility, without quite knowing in what direction his new-found sense of style would lead him. In the Sketch-Book he is a finished and classic writer, bowing to the great tradition of English prose, and knowing precisely what it is that he would do, and how to do it. He sustains this easy mastery of manner through his next book, Bracebridge Hall, and then, if he wrote no less well in future, the voice at least had become familiar, and the peculiar wonder and delight with which his age received him faded into a common pleasure. The Sketch-Book and Bracebridge Hall, then, remain the bright original stars in this gracious constellation.

  —from Critic (March 31, 1883)

  EDWIN P. WHIPPLE

  The “revival” of American literature in New York differed much in character from its revival in New England. In New York it was purely human in tone; in New England it was a little superhuman in tone. In New England they feared the devil; in New York they dared the devil; and the greatest and most original literary dare-devil in New York was a young gentleman of a good family, whose “schooling” ended with his sixteenth year, who had rambled much about the island of Manhattan, who had in his saunterings gleaned and brooded over many Dutch legends of an elder time, who had read much but had studied little, who possessed fine observation, quick intelligence, a genial disposition, and an indolently original genius in detecting the ludicrous side of things, and whose name was Washington Irving. After some preliminary essays in humorous literature his genius arrived at the age of indiscretion, and he produced at the age of twenty-six the most deliciously audacious work of humor in our literature, namely, The History of New York, by Diedrich Knickerbocker. It is said of some reformers that they have not only opinions, but the courage of their opinions. It may be said of Irving that he not only caricatured, but had the courage of his caricatures. The persons whom he covered with ridicule were the ancestors of the leading families of New York, and these families prided themselves on their descent. After the publication of such a book he could hardly enter the “best society” of New York, to which he naturally belonged, without running the risk of being insulted, especially by the elderly women of fashion; but he conquered their prejudices by the same grace and geniality of manner, by the same unmistakable tokens that he was an inborn gentleman, through which he afterward won his way into the first society of England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Still, the promise of Knickerbocker was not fulfilled. That book, if considered as an imitation at all, was an imitation of Rabelais, or Swift, or of any author in any language who had shown an independence of all convention, who did not hesitate to commit indecorums, and who laughed at all the regalities of the world. The author lived long enough to be called a timid imitator of Addison and Goldsmith. In fact, he imitated nobody. His genius, at first riotous and unrestrained, became tamed and regulated by a larger intercourse with the world, by the saddening experience of life, and by the gradual development of some deep sentiments which held in check the audacities of his wit and humor. But even in the portions of The Sketch-Book relating to England it will be seen that his favorite authors belonged rather to the age of Elizabeth than to the age of Anne. In Bracebridge Hall there is one chapter called “The Rookery,” which in exquisitely poetic humor is hardly equalled by the best productions of the authors he is said to have made his models. That he possessed essential humor and pathos, is proved by the warm admiration he excited in such masters of humor and pathos as Scott and Dickens; and style is but a secondary consideration when it expresses vital qualities of genius. If he subordinated energy to elegance, he did it, not because he had the ignoble ambition to be ranked as “a fine writer,” but because he was free from ambition, equally ignoble, of simulating a passion which he did not feel. The period which elapsed between the publication of Knickerbocker’s history and The Sketch-Book was ten years. During this time his mind acquired the habit of tranquilly contemplating the objects which filled his imagination, and what it lost in spontaneous vigor it gained in sureness of insight and completeness of representation. “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” have not the humorous inspiration of some passages in

  Knickerbocker, but perhaps they give more permanent delight, for the scenes and characters are so harmonized that they have the effect of a picture, in which all the parts combine to produce one charming whole. Besides, Irving is one of those exceptional authors who are regarded by their readers as personal friends, and the felicity of nature by which he obtained this distinction was expressed in that amenity, that amiability of tone, which some of his austere critics have called elegant feebleness.

  —from American Literature, and Other Papers (1887)

  Questions

  1. Is there anything American about Irving’s writing other than the occasional settings and characters, anything in his spirit or sensibility or way of looking at things that strike you as typically American?

  2. Analyze a typical passage of Irving’s prose. What’s good about it? What’s not so good?

  3. Hazlitt writes that Irving’s writings are “literary anachronisms.” Poe pretty much agrees. Thackeray describes him as “one of the most charming masters of our lighter language.” Edwin Whipple describes “that amenity, that amiability of tone, which some of his austere critics have called elegant feebleness.” Is this condescension deserved? Or can Irving’s absence of bite or partisanship be evidence of great tolerance, or even an aloof philosophic perspective in which everything is understood and therefore forgiven?

  4. In some of Irving’s tales there is what we might call a “spooky” or gothic dimension. Is this dimension the supernatural, or is the supernatural used as a metaphor for the psychological realm or for fear of the unknown?

  For Further Reading

  Bell, Michael Davitt. The Development of American Romance: The Sacrifice of Relation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.

  Irving, Pierre M. The Life and Letters of Washington Irving. 4 vols., 1862-1864. 3 vols. New York: Putnam, 1973.

  McClary, Ben, ed. Washington Irving and the House of Murray: Geoffrey Crayon Charms the British, 1817-1856. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1969.

  McLamore, Richard V. “The Dutchman in the Attic: Claiming an Inheritance in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon.” American Literature 72 (March 2000), pp. 31-57.

  Rubin-Dorsky, Jeffrey. Adrift in the Old World: The Psychological Pilgrimage of Washington Irving. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988.

  Tuttleton, James W., ed. Washington Irving: The Critical Reaction. New York: AMS Press, 1993.

  Wagenknecht, Edward. Washington Irving: Moderation Displayed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1962.

  Other Works Cited in the Introduction

  Emerson, Ralph Waldo. The Collected Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson. General editors: Joseph Slater and Douglas Emory Wilson. 6 vols. Cambridge, MA, and London: Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1971-2003.

  Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Centenary Edition of the Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne. General editors: William Charvat, Roy Harvey Pearce, Claude M. Simpson, and Thomas Woodson. 23 vols. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1962-1997.

  Horwitz, Howard.” ‘Rip Van Winkle’ and Legendary National Memory.” Western Humanities Review 58:2 (Fall 2004), pp. 34-47.

  Irving, Washington. The Complete Works of Washington Irving. General editors: Henry A. Pochmann, Herbert L. Kleinfield, and Richard Dilworth Rust. 30 vols. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1969-1970, and Boston: Twayne, 1976-1989.

  Pattee, Fred Lewis. The Development of the American Short Story: An Historical Survey. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1923.

  Spencer, Benjamin T. The Q
uest for Nationality: An American Literary Campaign. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1957.

  Thoreau, Henry David. The Writings of Henry David Thoreau. 20 vols. Edited by Bradford Torrey and F. B. Sanborn. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1906.

  Williams, Stanley T. The Life of Washington Irving. 2 vols. New York and London: Oxford University Press, 1935.

  a Followers.

  b Mythical hero of ancient Greece who possessed remarkable strength and the courage to accomplish any task.

  c Cool indifference; literally, “cold blood” (French).

  d Ornate speeches, such as those printed from engraved copper printing plates.

  e As in the slow, stately pace of the minuet.

  f That is, the conceited arrogance of young men.

  g A sweet alcoholic drink.

  h Or salmagundi: dish made up of an assortment of meats, eggs, and vegetables; a miscellany.

  i Face; shortened from “physiognomy.”

  j The title of a newspaper published in New York, the columns of which, among other miscellaneous topics, occasionally contained strictures on the performances at the theatres.—Paris Ed. [Irving’s note].

  k Fictional family whose exploits are depicted in subsequent numbers of Salmagundi.

  l This sentence concludes with a list of the regular features and columns of Salmagundi.

  m Flamboyant, ostentatious man.

  n That is, their colloquial expressions.

  o That is, an owl.

  p Coach drawn by four horses.

  q Stereotypical Englishman.

  r Greek lyric poet (c.518-c.438 B.C.).

  s Variant of “thingamajigs” or “what-do-you-call-them:”

  t Coastal sailing vessel.

  u Several Tripolitan prisoners, taken by an American squadron, in an action off Tripoli, were brought to New York, where they lived at large, objects of the curiosity and hospitality of the inhabitants, until an opportunity presented to restore them to their own country.—Paris Ed. [Irving’s note].2

  v Or Muhammad (570?-632), prophet and founder of Islam, whose revelations are recorded in the Qur’an. In 1850 Irving published Lives of Mahomet and His Successors, a biography he worked on sporadically for years.

  w Beautiful young women who inhabit the Muslim paradise.

  x Harems. ‡A landscape in The Citizen of the World; or, Letters from a Chinese Philosopher, Residing in London, to His Friends in the East (1762), by English poet Oliver Goldsmith (letter 76, “The Preference of Grace to Beauty: An Allegory”).

  y Or dervishes; mendicant ascetics and religious teachers of Islam.

  z This is another allusion to the primitive habits of Mr. Jefferson [see endnote 4], who, even while the first magistrate of the Republic, and on occasions when a little of the “pomp and circumstance” of office would not have been incompatible with that situation, was accustomed to dress in the plainest garb, and when on horseback to be without an attendant; so that it not unfrequently happened that he might be seen, when the business of the state required his personal presence, riding up alone to the government house at Washington, and having tied his steed to the nearest post, proceed to transact the important business of the nation.—Paris Ed. [Irving’s note].

  aa Possibly Abu al-Faraj Ali of Esfahan (897-967), Arabic scholar known for his Kitab al-Aghani, or Book of Songs.

  ab Name given by Dutch colonizers to some of the native peoples of South Africa.

  ac The rank of some Turkish officials was indicated by the number of horsetails tied to their standards.

  ad Muhammad’s journey from his native city of Mecca to Medina in the year 622.

  ae See endnote 4 to Salmagundi.

  af Reference to the American Revolutionary War.

  ag Flood described in the Bible, Genesis 7.

  ah See the Bible, Numbers 22:21-35.

  ai That is, a scholar from France who challenged the historical accuracy of the Bible.

  aj Punishment in which the soles of one’s feet are beaten with a stick.

  ak The sage Mustapha, when he wrote the above paragraph, had probably in his eye the following anecdote, related either by Linkum Fidelius, or Josephus Millerius, vulgarly called Joe Miller, of facetious memory.

  The captain of a slave-vessel, on his first landing on the coast of Guinea, observed under a palm-tree a negro chief, sitting most majestically on a stump; while two women, with wooden spoons, were administering his favorite pottage of boiled rice; which, as his imperial majesty was a little greedy, would part of it escape the place of destination and run down his chin. The watchful attendants were particularly careful to intercept these scape-grace particles, and return them to their proper port of entry. As the captain approached, in order to admire this curious exhibition of royalty, the great chief clapped his hands to his sides, and saluted his visitor with the following pompous question—“Well, sir! what do they say of me in England?” [Irving’s note].

  al Pun on “intestate” (having no legal will).

  am Newsmongers, gossips.

  an In Greek mythology, the Titan who was condemned to hold the sky on his shoulders.

  ao Or Ramadan, ninth month of the Islamic year, in which Muslims fast from dawn to dusk to commemorate the revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad.

  ap Celebration that occurs on the pilgrim route to Mecca.

  aq Aesop’s fable “The Frog and the Ox.”

  ar Small-minded and self-important; from English author Jonathan Swift’s satire Gulliver’s Travels (1726), in which Lemuel Gulliver is captured by the Lilliputians, a race of people who are only six inches tall.

  as Veteran soldiers who fought for the Continental army during the American Revolution.

  at Argument to the man (Latin); attacking the person giving an argument rather than attacking the argument itself.

  au Irving was named after George Washington (1732-1799), first president of the United States and commander-in-chief of the Continental army during the American Revolution.

  av Alexander III (356-323 B.C.), king of Macedon; he conquered much of Asia.

  aw The Greek painter Zeuxis (fifth century B.C.) is said to have died from laughter caused by his viewing of the picture he had completed during a competition with Parrhasius to see who could paint a more realistic picture.

  ax Quotation from Euphues and His England (1580), one book of a two-part work (with The Anatomy of Wit, 1578) by English writer John Lyly; the term “euphuism” (referring to an elaborate and artificial writing style) is derived from Lyly’s style.

  ay Profit from employment.

  az Parts unknown.

  ba List of sites in Italy commonly visited by those making a “grand tour” of Europe.

  bb From the anonymous poem “Halloo My Fancie,” found in English Minstrelsy (vol. 2, 1810), edited by Sir Walter Scott.

  bc Quotation from “The Traveler; or, A Prospect of Society” (1764), by English poet Oliver Goldsmith (line 10).

  bd Whale.

  be See the Bible, Psalms 42:7.

  bf Quotation from the 1730 tragedy Sophonisba (act 2, scene 1), by Scottish poet and dramatist James Thomson.

  bg Building that keeps books, periodicals, and such.

  bh See endnote 6 to The Sketch-Book.

  bi Diligent attention to detail.

  bj From Shakespeare’s Othello, the Moor of Venice (act 5, scene 1).

  bk Italian merchant prince (1449-1492) who ruled in the city of Florence at the height of the Renaissance.

  bl Address on the opening of the Liverpool Institution [Irving’s note].

  bm See the Bible, Exodus 16.

  bn Column erected in honor of the Roman emperor Diocletian to commemorate the conquest of Alexandria in A.D. 296.

  bo This poem was first published in Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. 86 (1816).

  bp From the 1625 tragedy Women Beware Women, by English dramatist Thomas Middleton (act 3, scene 2, lines 3-8).

  bq Charles Robert Leslie (1794-1859), biographer and
painter, who illustrated scenes from Irving’s A History of New York. This sketch, however, is based on events in the life of Washington Allston (see endnote 4 to The Sketch-Book).

  br Fictional narrator of Irving’s A History of New York.

  bs Quotation from The Ordinary (1635), by English dramatist William Cartwright; Irving may have taken it from Sir Walter Scott’s 1816 novel The Antiquary (chapter 16).

  bt Heavy, ornamental printing typeface.