Episode 34: Shakespeare and the Legend of Robin Hood with Kathryn Roberts Parker

Mentioned by name in three of Shakespeare’s plays, the legend of Robin Hood played a big role in the life of most dramatists in early modern England, being a prominent figure in English folklore, his legend was a popular source of good dramatic material on stage.

For William Shakespeare, Robin Hood had some very specific touch points, not only was he mentioned by names, but numerous volumes of Shakespeare’s contemporaries were writing and staging plays about Robin Hood, and Queen Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, famously had himself and his court to dress up as Robin Hood and his merry men for a celebration. There were songs and ballads about Robin Hood being sung in Shakespeare’s lifetime, and during the Gunpowder Plot, Robert Cecil even called Guy Fawkes and his associates “Robin Hoods” in 1605.

With the current reputation of Robin Hood as a good folk hero, contrasted with the bad reputation Robert Cecil obviously had of him, I wondered exactly what we as a 21st century audience need to know about 17th century associations with Robin Hood when we encounter the mentions and references to this popular folktale in Shakespeare’s plays.

To help us sort out this mystery and learn more about Shakespeare’s Robin Hood, is our guest Kathryn Roberts Parker.