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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

collected by German writer and academic Karl Musäus (who
INTR
INTRO
O was going around collecting old folktales around the same time
as the much more famous Grimm brothers). “Sleepy Hollow”
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF WASHINGTON IRVING was revolutionary because it suggested that the newly formed
Washington Irving was a fiction writer, biographer, historian, United States did, indeed, have a history, both literary and
essayist, and US ambassador who worked during the first half cultural—even if this history had much of its roots elsewhere.
of the 19th century. “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” along with While it is a horror story, it is also ironic and even funny.
“Rip Van Winkle,” are the short stories for which Irving is best Together with Irving’s emphasis on individualism over industry
known. Irving was born in New York and was named after and communality in an increasingly industrialized nation, these
General George Washington (who hadn’t yet been elected traits would come to heavily influence other Americans writing
President at the time of Irving’s birth, as the Constitution had in the Romantic and Gothic traditions. Nathaniel Hawthorne
not been either written or ratified by 1783). Irving studied law and Edgar Allen Poe are just two authors whose stories recall
before becoming interested in historical writing and short Irving’s stylistic and thematic modes.
fiction. His writing eventually earned him fame and status, and
KEY FACTS
he was one of the first American authors whose writings
received international recognition. He spent 17 years living in Full Title: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
Europe (primarily Britain and Spain) and was well regarded When Written: 1815-1819
abroad. Later in his life he moved back to Tarrytown, New York,
Where Written: England
and lived on an estate he named “Sunnyside.” He left this estate
to serve as the US ambassador to Spain for four years before When Published: 1820
returning. He continued writing and keeping up with Literary Period: American Romanticism
correspondence until his death in 1859. Genre: Short story
HISTORICAL CONTEXT Setting: Tarry Town, upstate New York, early 19th century
The “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” takes place around 1790. It’s Climax: Ichabod is chased by the Headless Horseman through
been fourteen years since the Declaration of Independence, Sleepy Hollow, before being thrown off his horse at the
but only seven since the Treaty of Paris officially ended the haunted bridge to the church.
Revolutionary War. The war is still remembered vividly in Tarry
Antagonist: The Headless Horseman, and Brom Bones (who
Town, and many of the ghost stories related by the inhabitants
may even be the same character)
recall the very real horrors of war that they so recently
witnessed. In 1789, the new Constitution replaced the far Point of View: There are various layers of narration to the
weaker Articles of Confederation and created a stronger, more story. The third-person omniscient narrator presents the
cohesive federal government, with George Washington as the reader with the first-person account given by a fictional
first President. Nevertheless, the United States, over the next historian, Diedrich Knickerbocker, who himself has heard the
several decades, still struggled to create a national sentiment story from another storyteller and at times inserts elements or
and history—indeed, citizens were far more likely to feel like a comments from his own experience.
resident of Tarry Town or New York rather than an “American.” EXTRA CREDIT
“Sleepy Hollow” draws on this rich local history, but in doing so,
The Ocean Blue. Influenced by his travels in Spain, Irving also
it helps to forge a national tradition as well.
wrote a biography of Christopher Columbus during his years in
RELATED LITERARY WORKS Europe.
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is one of the stories printed in Literary Squabbles. Edgar Allan Poe, while influenced by
The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., a collection of stories Irving’s works, also claimed that Irving’s writings were
published while Irving was living in England. While most of overrated and that his reputation was much higher than it
these stories deal with an American’s perspective on English deserved to be.
life, both “Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle” established
Irving’s reputation as the first professional American writer.
Nevertheless, both these tales are heavily influenced by Dutch PL
PLO
OT SUMMARY
and German folktales. Some scholars have noted that “Sleepy
Hollow,” in particular, has much in common with the stories The story opens with a note that it has been found among the
possessions of the “late” Diedrich Knickerbocker, who is the

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narrator of “Sleepy Hollow.” Knickerbocker describes the what happened, Ichabod leaves the Van Tassel farm shortly
setting, the quiet, bucolic “Tarry Town” in upstate New York afterward looking crestfallen.
that time seems to have passed by. A few miles from town is a As Ichabod rides Gunpowder back home, he begins to think of
small village called “Sleepy Hollow” which has a somnolent, all the tales of horror he has just heard at the party. He
bewitching quality: all the inhabitants, and indeed anyone who approaches the tree near to where Major André was captured
stays in the village for awhile, are prone to see visions and and, though terrified, slips under it safely. But as he nears the
ghosts. The townspeople, most of whom have Dutch heritage, stream where Major André was taken prisoner, in a place called
love to gather and tell supernatural tales. One of their favorites Wiley’s Swamp, he catches sight of a massive, shadowy figure
is of the Headless Horseman, an old Hessian trooper whose on horseback. Ichabod calls out “Who are you?” but receives no
head was shot off during the Revolutionary War, and who answer, and quickens the pace of Gunpowder, while the figure
gallops off in search of it each night. follows behind him. At one point, the two riders climb a hill and
One of those “tarrying” in Sleepy Hollow for a time is our Ichabod realizes that the figure is headless—it must, he thinks,
protagonist, Ichabod Crane, a schoolteacher from Connecticut. be the Headless Horseman of the famous story. He rides faster
Ichabod, tall and lanky with a voracious appetite, is stern and and faster, at one point losing Gunpowder’s saddle and fearing
strict in the schoolhouse but can be shrewd and ingratiating how angry Hans Van Ripper will be. But he continues riding,
when it suits him, such as at the farmhouses of the students attempting to reach the church where, according to the tale,
where he lodges. He leads the psalm singing lessons at church the Horseman will vanish. But as he crosses the bridge, the
and enjoys flirting with the young women, who admire him for Horseman hurls its head at Ichabod, who crashes to the
his intellectualism. He also enjoys gathering with the old Dutch ground.
wives to hear ghost stories and to tell his own, many of which The next day Ichabod is missing, and a search party eventually
come from Cotton Mather’s “History of New England finds the fallen saddle and horses’ hoof tracks next to a
Witchcraft,” his preferred book. On his way home, however, smashed pumpkin. Some time later, an old farmer returns from
Ichabod is also spooked by the stories he’s just heard, and every New York with the news that Ichabod had run from the village
rustle and chirp terrifies him. from fear and to escape Katrina’s rejection but had become a
One of Ichabod’s students is Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter successful lawyer and judge. The Dutch wives, however, insist
of a wealthy Dutch farmer, Baltus Van Tassel. Ichabod is that the Headless Horseman carried him off.
initially attracted to Katrina for her beauty and coquettish In the postscript, Knickerbocker claims that he heard this story
nature, but he falls headlong in love with her once he visits her at a business meeting in New York. After its end, one elderly
at her father’s farm and sees the culinary abundance that gentleman had asked the storyteller what the story meant. The
would await him if he managed to win her heart. Ichabod is storyteller responded with a confusing, nonsensical logical
initially confident in his ability to win over Katrina. However, syllogism, and the gentleman claimed he still doubted the
many other rivals are competing with him—in particular, the story’s veracity. At that point, the storyteller claimed he didn’t
brawny, clever, and mischievous Brom Bones, who wanders the believe half of it himself.
villages looking for trouble with his gang of sidekicks (though all
in good fun). Ichabod knows he’s no match for Brom Bones
physically, so he avoids confronting him. For a time, both of CHARA
CHARACTERS
CTERS
them continue on their courtship of Katrina separately, and
while Brom Bones plays several practical jokes on Ichabod, Ichabod Cr Crane
ane – A young schoolteacher from Connecticut,
neither of them seems to gain the upper hand with Katrina. who comes to Sleepy Hollow to teach the town’s children,
presumably just for a time. He rotates between living at the
One autumn afternoon, Ichabod is teaching at his schoolhouse
homes of his various students for his food and lodging. Ichabod
when he receives an invitation to a quilting frolic at Baltus Van
is tall, lanky, and somewhat awkward-looking. He loves singing
Tassel’s estate that evening. Thrilled and nervous, he spruces
and dancing—he also gives singing lessons—and believes he is
himself up and even borrows a horse, Gunpowder, from the
excellent at both (there’s a touch of irony in the narration that
ornery old farmer Hans Van Ripper. Initially, the party seems to
suggests he may not be as talented as he thinks). Ichabod is
go well. Ichabod gorges himself on all the food, and manages to
shrewd and clever, knowing when to treat his students strictly
dance with Katrina all night while Brom Bones sulks and fumes.
and when to be more obsequious to his hosts. He also has a
Towards the end, everyone begins to tell ghost stories,
tremendous, almost voracious, appetite. At the same time,
especially of the Major André, who was taken prisoner during
Ichabod is gullible and has a wild imagination: he adores
the war, and of the Headless Horseman. Ichabod lingers
reading and listening to ghost stories, even though they
afterward to talk to Katrina as the other guests begin to leave.
continue to terrify him at night after he’s heard them. For
Nevertheless, though Knickerbocker doesn’t mention exactly
Ichabod, reality and fiction are less distinct than they are for

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 The best way to study, teach, and learn about books.
most people—especially in Sleepy Hollow, where Ichabod amount of independence, allowing her to choose her suitors
comes under the influence of the “witchy” air. If not for that, and eventual husband of her own accord.
Ichabod may well be just another example of an aimless youth, Hans VVan
an Ripper – An old, ill-tempered Dutch farmer, who
“tarrying” about with little direction or ambition. But, by the lends Ichabod his horse, Gunpowder, so that Ichabod can ride it
end of the story, we learn that Ichabod may have left this to attend Baltus Van Tassel’s quilting frolic. It is suggested that
bewitched town and made something of himself after Ichabod may have fled the village out of fear of Van
all—propelled back to reality by one final imaginative trick. Ripper—indeed, he loses Van Ripper’s nice Sunday saddle in the
Diedrich Knick
Knickerbock
erbocker
er – The narrator of “The Legend of course of his race from the Headless Horseman, and
Sleepy Hollow,” who apparently heard the story from a immediately thinks of the old farmer’s wrath that he will face.
storyteller at a business meeting in New York. Washington Headless Horseman – Also known as the Galloping Hessian of
Irving often used the persona of Knickerbocker in these stories, the Hollow. The Dutch wives of Sleepy Hollow especially enjoy
as an elderly, eccentric chronicler of Dutch history who insists telling ghost stories about the Headless Horseman, the ghost
upon the accuracy of his tales. Knickerbocker first appears as of a Hessian trooper (a German mercenary who fought for the
the pseudonymous author of Irving’s 1809 “History of New British) whose head was blown off during the Revolutionary
York,” and some of Irving’s later tales are meant to come from War. As the story goes, since his death, he leaves the
Knickerbocker’s papers. This device, called “framing,” helps churchyard where his body is buried each night and gallops off
establish “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” as a “true” story rather in search of his head.
than a fictional yarn. By claiming veracity for his story through
the use of Knickerbocker, Irving plays with the boundaries Major André –A soldier in the Revolutionary War who was
between history and storytelling, and does his part in caught and taken prisoner by the British before being hanged.
contributing to the nascent development of American Major André is a real historical figure, but in the story he is also
literature in early American history. a ghost who haunts Sleepy Hollow.

Brom Bones – A strong, plucky, mischievous young man and Old Brouwer – An inhabitant of Sleepy Hollow who never
major rival to Ichabod for Katrina Van Tassel. Brom Bones believed in ghosts—that is, until he supposedly meets the
(whose full name is Abraham or Brom Van Brunt) loves to play Headless Horseman while out riding one night, and upon
practical jokes, get himself into duels, and brag about his reaching the bridge to the church, is thrown into the brook
exploits. His very name reveals his brute strength and contrasts under it.
with Ichabod’s spindly figure and fearful spirit. But Brom Bones Storyteller –The source, according to Knickerbocker, of the
is largely harmless, and the townsfolk both admire him for his “Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” which he tells at a business meeting
muscle and roll their eyes at him for his immaturity. However, in New York that Knickerbocker attends. When he is asked
Brom Bones may be cleverer than he appears. He pays close about the moral of the story, he responds with a nonsensical
attention to Ichabod’s fear of ghosts and goblins, and the story logical syllogism that nevertheless suggests that reality might
suggests that it may very well be Brom Bones who chases after be just as strange as the supernatural. Irving also uses the
Ichabod in the guise of the Headless Horseman, carrying a storyteller as another way to blur history and storytelling, and
pumpkin for the spirit’s head. If his plan was to chase Ichabod raise questions about both.
away from Katrina, it worked: Brom Bones does end up Elderly Gentleman – An attendee at the New York business
marrying the damsel. meeting who listens to the storyteller’s tale, and who doubts
Katrina VVan
an T
Tassel
assel – The only daughter of Baltus Van Tassel, a the extent to which it’s true.
wealthy Dutch farmer, who is courted by several village youths Doffue Martling – A resident of Sleepy Hollow who claims to
but especially by Brom Bones and Ichabod. Katrina is not have nearly destroyed a British ship singlehandedly during the
portrayed very favorably in the story: she is a flirt and Revolutionary War.
encourages both her suitors to continue pursuing her even as
she refuses to choose just one. Nevertheless, Katrina is
certainly independent for the standards of her time: within the THEMES
constraints of being a woman in 18th-century America, she
exerts her own kind of power through her beauty and the In LitCharts each theme gets its own color and number. Our
wealth that marrying her would confer. color-coded theme boxes make it easy to track where the
themes occur throughout the work. If you don't have a color
Baltus V
Van
an T
Tassel
assel – Father of Katrina Van Tassel, and a wealthy
printer, use the numbers instead.
farmer whose estate bursts with natural and culinary
abundance. Van Tassel gives his daughter a relatively high
1 HISTORY AND STORYTELLING

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At the beginning of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” we learn Crane in particular falls under the influence of these chronicles
from Diedrich Knickerbocker, the fictional historian narrating until he is unable to separate reality from his imagination.
the tale, that it took place “in a remote period of American However, he is not the only one to have trouble telling fact from
history, that is to say, some thirty years since”—meaning in fiction. There is a “witching influence” that hangs over the
1790, thirty years before the story was published in 1820. A whole of Tarry Town, one that fills it with dreams and ghost
classic example of Irving’s irony and humor with its description stories and is “imbibed” not only by its residents but also by
of 30 years ago as a “remote period,” this quotation nonetheless anyone that tarried there for awhile. Are people in Tarry Town
underlines a real problem for early American storytellers, who simply more prone to the supernatural and the imagination? Or
lacked a long, distinguished American history from which to is there, in this odd, magical place, simply less of a distinction
draw. They could neither rely on this history as material for between the natural and supernatural?
fiction nor rely on its aesthetic legacy in fitting their own stories In any case, Ichabod is especially given to this sort of
into a larger meaning. Irving’s use of older Dutch and German fantasizing. He adores listening to the Dutch wives’ stories
sources was one way to get around this problem. In fact, “The about terrifying spirits and haunting ghosts. But unlike others,
Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is full of references to Dutch names, Ichabod is unable to accept the stories as just that—stories. His
places, and social groups. Early American New York was, enjoyment turns instantly to horror and fear – in other words
indeed, inhabited by many people of Dutch origin, but the he accepts the intrusion of these tales into his own reality.
references also served to create an artificial historical heritage. Brom Bones takes advantage of Ichabod’s inability to separate
Irving even claims historical veracity for this tale by creating reality from fiction, and plays on Ichabod’s wild
the fictional character of Diedrich Knickerbocker. “The Legend imagination—indeed, Ichabod’s weakness is the reason Brom
of Sleepy Hollow” is supposed to have been found among Bones ultimately wins the battle for Katrina Van Tassel.
Knickerbocker’s papers, so Irving’s story is no more than a
Nevertheless, the story is not entirely clear on whether
transcription of this “true” story. Such a device, called framing,
Ichabod’s melding of reality and imagination is solely a
helps to lend a sense of age and legitimacy to the tale (and
weakness or a fault. While he does lose Katrina, we do hear a
would have been especially attractive to Irving, as a historian
rumor that it was only thanks to the terror of the Headless
and essayist himself). This historical frame is also complicated
Horseman that he finally left Tarry Town and, ultimately, was
and nuanced—while Knickerbocker is referred to as a
able to make something of his life, becoming a successful
“historian,” there are parts of the story he doesn’t know. It turns
lawyer and judge. And while the story seems to admonish
out that Knickerbocker’s story is also a frame for the tale of
against taking ghost stories too seriously, this warning takes
another storyteller, who appears in the postscript. “I don’t
place within a version of a ghost story itself. Supernatural tales
believe one-half of it myself,” this storyteller admits concerning
and imaginative stories, Irving seems to say, do have their
his own tale, thus melding and confusing history and fiction in
place—though perhaps only as long as we understand they’re
both humorous and disconcerting ways.
just stories.
In addition, even within the tale, history and storytelling
interact and often fuse. Tarry Town is described as one of the
3 WAR AND BATTLE
quietest places in the world; even Ichabod Crane is only
“tarrying” there, passing his time idly until his “real” life can The plot of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is largely concerned
begin. History doesn’t happen in Sleepy Hollow—it takes place with a battle—one for the heart of Katrina Van Tassel. Or
elsewhere, offstage. Nevertheless, many of the tall tales the rather, perhaps, a war, made up of various battles and conflicts
Dutch residents tell, including those of Major André and the between Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones. This imagery is not
Headless Horseman, take place during the Revolutionary War an accident: Irving’s story takes place in the aftermath of the
and are unthinkable without this true historical context. By Revolutionary War, around 1790. This language of war and
mixing history with tall tales, therefore, Irving helps to battle would have made sense to a reader in a newly born
construct an artistic heritage to go along with a budding nation fresh from the battlefield—a nation which was
historical legacy for the new American nation. attempting to forge its own, internal hierarchies. The battle for
Katrina takes place on various planes: Brom Bones plays
practical jokes on Ichabod, for instance, while Ichabod’s
2 REALITY, IMAGINATION, AND THE
attempts to win over Katrina are compared to the conquests of
SUPERNATURAL a knight errant going off into battle. Implicit in their
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” if we listen to its narrator, is competition is a tension between the physical and the
only one of many tales crowding Tarry Town and especially the intellectual spheres, between Brom’s brute strength and
neighborhood of Sleepy Hollow, “one of those highly favored “manliness” and Ichabod’s role as a schoolteacher. Even within
places which abound with chronicle and great men.” Ichabod Ichabod’s sphere, there is a contrast between his magisterial

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reigning over the classroom and his need to ingratiate himself HEAD OF THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN
to the families that host and feed him.
The Headless Horseman, of course, is a major character in “The
Indeed, Irving is acutely aware of the ways in which social Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” But the ghostly rider—and,
maneuvering is its own kind of battle, with the prizes being especially, his head—also symbolize the tension between reality
power and wealth rather than territory or political and imagination, between the natural and the supernatural,
independence. In the early United States, though there were held by many of the townspeople. The Horseman is fixed in
certainly social and economic hierarchies, there was also historical fact: there were, indeed, many Germans or
greater mobility and interaction between classes—both Brom “Hessians” hired by the British to fight against the American
Bones and Ichabod are invited to the same quilting frolic, and army during the Revolutionary War. Indeed, though the
both are permitted to court Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of townspeople’s stories about the Galloping Hessian may be
a wealthy family. In the newly egalitarian society of the United ghost stories, it hasn’t been long since a real Hessian rider (one
Sates, paradoxically, battles such as that for the conquest of alive and with a head) could provoke fear in them for good
Katrina only become more dramatic, since greater heights now reason—as the enemy. By becoming headless, the horseman
seem attainable and within the characters’ reach. can become nestled within society’s cultural and imaginative
traditions, even while remaining based in history.
4 CONSUMPTION, APPETITE, AND GREED But in other ways, the horseman symbolizes Ichabod’s less
One of the first things we learn about Ichabod Crane is that he defensible inability to separate fiction and fact. Indeed, it loses
is a “huge feeder,” with “the dilating powers of an anaconda.” His its head just as Ichabod, more metaphorically, loses his each
massive appetite leads him from neighbor to neighbor, time he returns home spooked by the Dutch ghost stories.
supplementing the food he can afford on a teacher’s Brom Bones takes advantage of this lack of reason. Brom uses
income—but it also leads him into courtship and, ultimately, into his head—both intellectually in plotting and strategizing, and
danger. Ichabod is initially attracted to Katrina because of the practically in hurling a “head” at Ichabod.
abundance of her father’s farm, which is described down to the
last mouth-watering detail. Indeed, Irving’s very prose is full COTTON MATHER’S “HISTORY OF NEW
and lush, seeming to goad the reader into the kind of greed
Ichabod embodies. Even Katrina is described as being a ENGLAND WITCHCRAFT”
“tempting […] morsel.” Her characterization as an object to be As the town schoolteacher, Ichabod is both admired and
consumed relies on stereotypes of women prevalent at the mistrusted for his knowledge. Though many of the women in
time, to be sure, but it also refers back to Ichabod’s obsession the town consider him a perfect gentleman, some of the
with consumption. farmers who send their children to study under Ichabod are
Ichabod’s appetite goes beyond food and women: it extends to prone to be suspicious of book learning and consider
the realm of tall tales and ghost stories, which he “swallows” schoolteachers no more than “drones.” Cotton Mather’s book
eagerly—though with his own version of a stomachache occupies a similarly ambivalent position. On the one hand, it’s
afterwards, when he has consumed so much that he becomes an example of Ichabod’s cleverness and knowledge, and he cites
terrified by the “ghosts” lying in wait for him on the return it whenever possible (indeed, it’s difficult to tell whether
home. Ultimately, Irving’s description of Ichabod’s greed and Ichabod reads anything else at all). On the other hand, this is a
appetite can be situated within a broader social context. In the book of witchcraft—not exactly a chemistry textbook. In that
early post-revolutionary United States, much of the country sense, the “History of New England Witchcraft” symbolizes
still remained to be explored (and claimed). The nation still Ichabod’s uncertain position as he “tarries” in Sleepy
seemed to be a vast repository of natural resources and Hollow—having been educated as a schoolteacher, he has not
abundance only waiting to be consumed. Irving’s depiction of yet matured enough to leave behind dreams and fantasies and
Ichabod serves as an implicit rebuke to this kind of thinking. make a real, practical life for himself (something he does do
While economic consumption (and competition) were once he leaves Tarry Town behind and becomes a successful
necessary to a society on the cusp of modernity, Ichabod’s lawyer and judge).
exaggerated appetite shows the drawbacks of never-ending
consumption as dangerous and unhealthy.
QUO
QUOTES
TES
The color-coded boxes under each quote below make it easy to
SYMBOLS track the themes related to each quote. Each color corresponds
Symbols appear in red text throughout the Summary & Analysis to one of the themes explained in the Themes section of this
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 The best way to study, teach, and learn about books.
MAIN STORY In this by-place of nature there abode, in a remote period of
American history, that is to say, some thirty years since, a
The whole neighborhood abounds with local tales, haunted
worthy wight of the name of Ichabod Crane, who sojourned, or,
spots, and twilight superstitions; star shoot and meteors glare
as he expressed it, “tarried,” in Sleepy Hollow, for the purpose of
oftener across the valley than in any other part of the country,
instructing the children of the vicinity.
and the nightmare, with her whole ninefold, seems to make it
the favorite scene of her gambols. The dominant spirit, •Speak
•Speaker
er: Diedrich Knickerbocker
however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be •Mentioned or related char
characters
acters: Ichabod Crane
commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the
apparition of a figure on horseback, without a head. •Related themes
themes: History and Storytelling
•Theme T
Trrack
acker
er code
code:
•Speak
•Speaker
er: Diedrich Knickerbocker
•Mentioned or related char
characters
acters: Headless Horseman 1
•Related themes
themes: History and Storytelling, Reality, Imagination,
and the Supernatural He would have passed a pleasant life of it, in despite of the
•Theme T
Trrack
acker
er code
code: Devil and all his works, if his path had not been crossed by a
being that causes more perplexity to mortal man than to
1 2 ghosts, goblins, and the whole race of witches put together, and
that was—a woman.
It is remarkable that the visionary propensity I have mentioned •Speak
•Speaker
er: Diedrich Knickerbocker
is not confined to the native inhabitants of the valley, but is •Mentioned or related char
characters
acters: Ichabod Crane, Katrina Van
unconsciously imbibed by every one who resides there for a Tassel
time. However wide awake they may have been before they
entered that sleepy region, they are sure, in a little time, to •Related themes
themes: Reality, Imagination, and the Supernatural,
inhale the witching influence of the air, and begin to grow War and Battle
imaginative, to dream dreams, and see apparitions. •Theme T
Trrack
acker
er code
code:

•Speak
•Speaker
er: Diedrich Knickerbocker 2 3
•Related themes
themes: History and Storytelling, Reality, Imagination,
and the Supernatural
As the enraptured Ichabod fancied all this, and as he rolled his
•Theme T
Trrack
acker
er code
code: great green eyes over the fat meadow lands, the rich fields of
wheat, of rye, of buckwheat, and Indian corn, and the orchards
1 2
burdened with ruddy fruit, which surrounded the warm
tenement of Van Tassel, his heart yearned after the damsel who
I mention this peaceful spot with all possible laud, for it is in was to inherit these domains, and his imagination expanded
such little retired Dutch valleys, found here and there with the idea, how they might be readily turned into cash, and
embosomed in the great State of New York, that population, the money invested in immense tracts of wild land, and shingle
manners, and customs remained fixed, while the great torrent palaces in the wilderness.
of migration and improvement, which is making such incessant •Speak
•Speaker
er: Diedrich Knickerbocker
changes in other parts of this restless country, sweeps by them
unobserved. •Mentioned or related char
characters
acters: Ichabod Crane, Katrina Van
Tassel
•Speak
•Speaker
er: Diedrich Knickerbocker •Related themes
themes: Reality, Imagination, and the Supernatural,
•Mentioned or related char
characters
acters: Ichabod Crane, Brom Bones Consumption, Appetite, and Greed
•Related themes
themes: History and Storytelling, Reality, Imagination, •Theme T
Trrack
acker
er code
code:
and the Supernatural
2 4
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1 2

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 The best way to study, teach, and learn about books.
Brom, who had a degree of rough chivalry in his nature, would He saw the walls of the church dimly glaring under the trees
fain have carried matters to open warfare and have settled beyond. He recollected the place where Brom Bones’s ghostly
their pretensions to the lady, according to the mode of those competitor had disappeared. “If I can but reach that bridge,”
most concise and simple reasoners, the knights-errant of though Ichabod, “I am safe.”
yore,—by single combat; but Ichabod was too conscious of the
•Speak
•Speaker
er: Diedrich Knickerbocker
superior might of his adversary to enter the lists against him.
•Mentioned or related char
characters
acters: Ichabod Crane, Brom Bones
•Speak
•Speaker
er: Diedrich Knickerbocker
•Related themes
themes: Reality, Imagination, and the Supernatural,
•Mentioned or related char
characters
acters: Ichabod Crane, Brom Bones War and Battle
•Related themes
themes: War and Battle •Theme T
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2 3
3
In one part of the road leading to the church was found the
The neighborhood, at the time of which I am speaking, was one saddle trampled in the dirt; the tracks of horses’ hoofs deeply
of those highly favored places which abound with chronicle and dented in the road, and evidently at furious speed, were traced
great men. to the bridge, beyond which, on the bank of a broad part of the
brook, where the water ran deep and black, was found the hat
•Speak
•Speaker
er: Diedrich Knickerbocker
of the unfortunate Ichabod, and close beside it a shattered
•Related themes
themes: History and Storytelling pumpkin.
•Theme T
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er: Diedrich Knickerbocker
1 •Mentioned or related char
characters
acters: Ichabod Crane
•Related themes
themes: Reality, Imagination, and the Supernatural,
War and Battle
Local tales and superstitions thrive best in these sheltered,
long-settled retreats; but are trampled under foot by the •Theme T
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shifting throng that forms the population of most of our
2 3
country places.
•Speak
•Speaker
er: Diedrich Knickerbocker
Brom Bones, too, who, shortly after his rival’s appearance
•Related themes
themes: History and Storytelling, Reality, Imagination,
conducted the blooming Katrina in triumph to the altar, was
and the Supernatural
observed to look exceedingly knowing whenever the story of
•Theme T
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code: Ichabod was related, and always burst into a hearty laugh at the
mention of the pumpkin; which led some to suspect that he
1 2 knew more about the matter than he chose to tell.
•Speak
•Speaker
er: Diedrich Knickerbocker
The story was immediately matched by a thrice marvelous
•Mentioned or related char
characters
acters: Brom Bones , Katrina Van
adventure of Brom Bones, who made light of the Gallopian
Tassel
Hessian as an arrant jockey.
•Related themes
themes: Reality, Imagination, and the Supernatural,
•Speak
•Speaker
er: Diedrich Knickerbocker War and Battle
•Mentioned or related char
characters
acters: Brom Bones , Headless •Theme T
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Horseman
•Related themes
themes: Reality, Imagination, and the Supernatural, 2 3
War and Battle
•Theme T
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code: The old country wives, however, who are the best judges of
these matters, maintain to this day that Ichabod was spirited
2 3 away by supernatural means; and it is a favorite story often told
about the neighborhood round the winter evening fire.

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 The best way to study, teach, and learn about books.
•Speak
•Speaker
er: Diedrich Knickerbocker
•Mentioned or related char
characters
acters: Ichabod Crane
SUMMARY & ANAL
ANALYSIS
YSIS
•Related themes
themes: History and Storytelling, Reality, Imagination, The color-coded boxes under "Analysis & Themes" below make
and the Supernatural it easy to track the themes throughout the work. Each color
•Theme T
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code: corresponds to one of the themes explained in the Themes
section of this LitChart.
1 2 MAIN STORY
The story opens with a note Irving uses this framing
MAIN STORY that it has been found among device—in which he is just
His appetite for the marvelous, and his powers of digesting it, the papers of the late Diedrich presenting a narrative found
were equally extraordinary; and both had been increased by his Knickerbocker, the story’s within the papers of someone
residence in this spell-pound region. No tale was too gross or narrator. else—to give his story a claim to
monstrous for his capacious swallow. legitimacy and historical veracity.

•Speak
•Speaker
er: Diedrich Knickerbocker 1
•Mentioned or related char
characters
acters: Ichabod Crane Knickerbocker describes the Given that the Dutch had only
•Related themes
themes: Reality, Imagination, and the Supernatural, setting of the story, been in North America for a few
Consumption, Appetite, and Greed Greensburgh or Tarry Town—a hundred years, the word
•Theme T
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code: small port town next to the “ancient” exaggerates the truth
river that “ancient” Dutch while also giving the story a ring
2 4 sailors called the Tappan Zee. of the legendary, and, by
extension, claiming a history for
the new nation of the United
POSTSCRIPT
States that could support a
“That there is no situation in life but has its advantages and cultural and literary tradition.
pleasures—provided we will but take a joke as we find it:
That, therefore, he that runs races with goblin troopers is likely 1
to have rough riding of it.
The name of Tarry Town In the story, names tend to stand
Ergo, for a country schoolmaster to be refused the hand of a
derives from the fact that the in for themes and
Dutch heiress is a certain step to high preferment in the state.”
husbands of the women in the characteristics—here, the town
•Speak
•Speaker
er: Storyteller surrounding country tend to as a place that time forgot.
•Mentioned or related char
characters
acters: Ichabod Crane linger or “tarry” at its tavern.
1
•Related themes
themes: History and Storytelling, Reality, Imagination,
and the Supernatural, War and Battle, Consumption, Appetite, Two miles from this village is a Knickerbocker does not often
and Greed valley nestled between hills, insert his own opinions and
which Knickerbocker calls one perspective into the story; here, it
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of the quietest places in the has the effect of further fleshing
1 2 3 4 world. He remembers out the setting, as well as setting
wandering into it while the stage for the contrast
shooting squirrels, and notes between an idyllic, peaceful
“Faith, sir,” replied the story-teller, “as to that matter, I don’t that he would happily choose village and its supernatural
believe one-half of it myself.” this valley to retreat from the hauntings.
world’s noise and distraction.
•Speak
•Speaker
er: Storyteller 1 2
•Related themes
themes: Reality, Imagination, and the Supernatural
•Theme T
Trrack
acker
er code
code:

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 The best way to study, teach, and learn about books.
The place is called Sleepy Again, the name “Sleepy Hollow” This valley is exempt from the The notion of Sleepy Hollow as a
Hollow because of the calm, describes the town as well as changes and developments town that history passes by
even dreamy atmosphere that Knickerbocker’s own taking place elsewhere in New recalls Irving’s other famous
infuses the entire valley. Its descriptions, though more York; instead, the people and story, “Rip Van Winkle,” but it’s
inhabitants are descended succinctly. The “witching its customs remain the same. also paradoxical—as the ghosts
from early Dutch settlers, and influence” is portrayed as The narrator can easily and spirits reveal, the town was
people suspect that an old mysterious and even primordial, imagine returning to Sleepy influenced and even traumatized
German doctor or else an lending the setting a greater Hollow, where he hasn’t been by the war.
Indian chief might have cast a sense of natural history. for years, to find the same
spell over the place. The families living in the same way 1
residents of Sleepy Hollow 1 as before.
tend to be superstitious and
In a “remote period of Again, Irving’s language is used
are prone to see visions and
American history,” or thirty (often humorously) to create a
hear voices.
years ago, a young man named sense of history where little
Sleepy Hollow’s inhabitants This is the first major example of Ichabod Crane, from exists: the “remote history” of the
love telling ghost stories about reality, history, and the Connecticut, spent some time United States is just 30 years
their region. One of the most supernatural melding into one. “tarrying” in Sleepy Hollow as a ago. Ichabod’s physical qualities
pervasive tales is that of the The Revolutionary War certainly schoolteacher. Ichabod is tall are indicative of his dreamy,
Headless Horseman, who caused a great deal of death and and thin with long limbs and a absentminded character—he
rides by on horseback through destruction, but the “authentic small, flat head. He wears his seems to have fallen into his
the night—supposedly it is the historians” also chronicle entirely clothes loose and looks like a position without quite knowing
ghost of a Hessian trooper imaginative affairs. Telling scarecrow. why or how.
whose head was shot off by a stories, of course, is one way for
cannonball during the the villagers to come to terms 1 3
Revolutionary War. The with the turmoil of the war. Ichabod’s one-room wooden The prose in this section is witty,
“authentic historians” of the schoolhouse, located at the clever, and reveals Irving’s
town claim that the ghost rides 1 2 3
foot of a hill next to a brook, is stylistic skill. The narrator seems
out each night in search of his hardly decadent: holes in the to be representing the reader
head, to join it with his body walls are plugged with pages with the full gamut of Ichabod’s
that is buried in the from old copybooks. The hum personality—he’s authoritative
churchyard, and returns to the of the students’ voices but distracted, strict but
churchyard before dawn. contrasts with Ichabod’s ultimately fair. Ichabod may not
It’s not only the inhabitants of Irving’s construction of a ghost authoritative commands and know what he’s doing “tarrying”
Sleepy Hollow who tend to see story leads to some the sounds of a whip used on in Tarry Town, but he has
the Headless Horseman riding ambiguities—it isn’t always clear the slower children. Though he successfully appropriated, and
by at night, but also anyone if Sleepy Hollow is more keeps in mind the maxim of embraced, the social role of
who stays in the valley for susceptible to actual ghosts and “Spare the rod and spoil the schoolteacher.
awhile, and comes to breathe apparitions, or if the whole child,” he takes it to mean that
village, as a sleepy little town, is children should not be 1 3
in the bewitching, dreamy
atmosphere until he too sees more prone to such imaginings. spoiled—and therefore neither
such visions. should the rod. But Ichabod
2 reserves the whip for the
stronger, tough-skinned, sulky
students, while he spares the
weaker, smaller children.

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 The best way to study, teach, and learn about books.
Ichabod also plays with some In the early American republic, Most people think Ichabod has Here’s another situation in which
of the older boys after school going to school was far from a an easy, tranquil life. The Ichabod adapts his behavior to
or accompanies the smaller given. Since most of the children women in the town admire his his audience, knowing which
ones home. It is in his best would eventually be meant to taste and education, which he aspects of his character to stress
interest to be on good terms work on and inherit their parents’ takes advantage of in order to and which to hide in order to
with the families of his farms, it’s not surprising that guzzle down the treats they lay gain the most out of his
students, who can be there’s a tension between “book- before him, or to pass Sundays acquaintances. Cotton Mather
suspicious of book-learning learning” one hand and practical gathering grapes for them or and his book will come up
and tend to consider knowledge and getting children wandering with them around multiple times in the story,
schoolteachers as “drones.” to work as field hands and help the millpond. He takes gossip symbolizing both Ichabod’s
Besides, Ichabod has a massive support their families as soon as with him along with his few abstract knowledge and his
appetite, and as his income possible on the other. Ichabod is belongings from house to overly imaginative spirit.
isn’t enough to satisfy him, he acutely aware of this tension. He house, and the women in
rotates among the farmers’ knows how to change his particular admire how he’s 2 4
families, who lodge and feed behavior based on the situation finished “several books” and
him for a week at a time in in which he finds knows Cotton Mather’s
exchange for some light labor himself—conscious that social “History of New England
and errands. So that the relations are often a battle Witchcraft” by heart.
families don’t consider the requiring strategy like any other.
Ichabod, in fact, may be clever The quotes in this section reflect
schoolteacher too much of a And it’s in his best interest to do
and manipulative but also the fact that Irving himself often
burden—especially as he fills so, since he can be sure to get a
believes strongly in magic and employs the language of appetite
their children’s minds with good meal out of it.
witchcraft. He has an and consumption even when
abstract learning and removes
3 4 enormous “appetite” for talking about things other than
them from their farms, where
“digesting” marvelous stories, a food. Indeed, Ichabod’s appetite
they could work—he charms
quality that his time in the for meals and for stories is
the mothers by playing with
region only exaggerates. He portrayed as one and the same,
the young children, and is
often spends his evenings after emblematic of his greedy nature.
ingratiating with the parents
school “swallowing” Cotton His ability to “swallow” stories
rather than domineering as he
Mather’s stories until it’s too whole also helps to explain why
is in the classroom.
dark to read. Afterwards, as he he’s unable to rid himself of them
Ichabod also teaches singing Given Irving’s constant but returns to his lodgings, the afterward and continues to be
and leads the Sunday chorus at subtle irony, we might suspect stories so affect him that he is afraid.
church. He believes himself to that Ichabod’s voice is not as frightened by any birdcall,
be quite talented, and takes spectacular as he believes it to rustling in the forest, or 2 4
pride in this role—indeed, as be. twinkle of a firefly. He tries to
Knickerbocker notes, some distract and calm himself by
quiet Sunday mornings you 3 singing psalms.
can still hear the echoes of
Ichabod also enjoys spending Along with (and despite) his less
Ichabod’s resounding voice in
evenings with the elderly admirable characteristics,
the chapel.
Dutch housewives, who Ichabod is clearly likable. As a
enchant him with ghost stories newcomer, his likability gives him
and tall tales that take Sleepy an entrance into the village
Hollow and the fields, brooks, folklore, which the reader has
and haunted houses already learned about from the
throughout it as their setting. narrator earlier in the story.
The Headless Horseman, or
Galloping Hessian of the 1 2
Hollow, is one of them.
Ichabod joins in with stories
taken from Cotton Mather or
from his past in Connecticut.

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 The best way to study, teach, and learn about books.
All these exchanges delight Ichabod, unlike the Dutch wives, Such abundance attracts Mixed with Ichabod’s enormous
Ichabod, but he pays for it with cannot simply tell stories and Ichabod to Katrina even more. appetite is his wild imagination,
absolute terror as he walks then go on living as if nothing He quickly imagines growing allowing him to picture himself
home from the gatherings. He had changed; for him, ghost rich from the farm, reinvesting married and settled down before
mistakes bushes for ghosts, his stories become a part of reality the gains, and setting off for his courtship has really started.
own steps for those of a rather than a break from it. the West in a wagon with all
specter behind him, and a gust his riches packed in, as well as 2 4
of wind for the Headless 2 Katrina and all their children
Horseman following him. But mounted on top.
by morning, daylight cures him
Ichabod’s heart is definitively Abundance, here, is grafted onto
of all his fears.
“conquered” once he enters the language of war, as the
Indeed, during the day This (humorous) comparison of the farmhouse, with its early narrator begins to intimate that
Ichabod finds himself Katrina to ghosts and witches Dutch style of an open porch Ichabod will have to fight to
confronted with a more foreshadows just how much and hall bedecked with pewter, achieve it.
terrifying being than ghosts trouble Ichabod’s admiration of fruits, and elaborate
and witches: a woman, or more Katrina will get him into. The decorations. 3 4
precisely Katrina Van Tassel, description of Katrina portrays
Though Ichabod has fixed his Here we have an explicit
the only daughter of a wealthy her largely as another of
sights on Katrina, he is now comparison between Ichabod’s
Dutch farmer, whom Ichabod Ichabod’s material desires, as
faced with difficulties—those courtship of Katrina and the
meets through his chorus something to be consumed—and
more complicated than the travels of a knight
lessons. Katrina is plump and ultimately as something to fight
giants, dragons, and enemies errant—another example of a
lovely, and a bit of a flirt—she for.
of knights errant in stories, fictional story seeming more
shows off her looks with attainable, more “real,” than
3 4 who never seem to struggle
golden jewelry and a reality. It also connects Ichabod
much to surmount these
shortened petticoat. to another knight-errant who’s
hurdles and win the heart of
Ichabod deems Katrina “so Several paragraphs are taken up the lady. Katrina cannot be so imagination overpowers him:
tempting a morsel” as to with this description, as seen easily won over, first since she Don Quixote.
warrant his through the eyes of Ichabod. is capricious, and second since
attention—particularly once he Such detail regarding the farm’s Ichabod is only one of many 2 3
visits her at the farm of her abundance underlines Ichabod’s admirers.
father, Baltus Van Tassel. The massive appetite—he’s not
His most daunting opponent is Another example of names
farm, situated along the simply greedy for the trappings of
Abraham Van Brunt, a strong, serving as a powerful descriptor
Hudson, is sheltered by an elm wealth but for the consumption
broad-shouldered, powerful of characters or places. Brom
tree next to a bubbling spring that goes along with it
young man nicknamed Brom Bones doesn’t exactly map onto
and brook. Its barn bursts with (somewhat understandably,
Bones. Brom Bones is known the knight errant
the farm’s goods, from pigeons given his humble status as a
for being a skillful horseman comparison—he’s mischievous
and pigs to geese, ducks, schoolteacher in rotating
and an excellent racer, fighter, rather than being a truly evil
guinea fowls, and the master lodgings). Getting his hands on
and prankster, though he is enemy. Brom’s reputation in the
cock. As Ichabod looks on, he that farm would change his life,
more mischievous than evil village backs up this
imagines each of the animals shoot him upward in society, and
and wanders the countryside characterization, and sets the
as part of a winter’s feast, fill his belly for the rest of his life.
with his several sidekicks in bar higher for Ichabod to
presented at the table with attempt to battle him. The
3 4 search of fun and battles.
gravy and accompaniments. surname “Bones” also connects
People in the village are
He is even more impressed by Brom to the supernatural, but in
generally amused and
the meadows of wheat, rye, a humorous way.
admiring of Brom Bones, and
and corn, as well as the fruit
tend to think of him whenever
orchards. 3
there’s a practical joke or brawl
in the vicinity.

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 The best way to study, teach, and learn about books.
Brom Bones is also in pursuit War is not always waged out in One afternoon in autumn, In contrast to the earlier scene,
of Katrina, which discourages the open, but often takes place Ichabod is sitting in the front here Ichabod is comfortably at
other candidates, who through more subtle, strategic of his classroom swinging the top of a different social
withdraw in despair. But moves. However, Ichabod’s around his birch whip, while hierarchy. His confidence at the
Ichabod, who is cheerfully choice to continue shows at least his students scribble dutifully schoolhouse is only increased by
persistent against pressure, a bit of delusion compared to the or whisper to each other in the invitation he receives to the
decides not to openly wage other candidates. hushed tones. A black man quilting frolic, which confirms
war against Brom Bones but atop a ragged-looking colt that he has at least succeeded in
rather quietly continue his 2 3 arrives at the door of the becoming one of the candidates
own courtship. school, with an invitation for to Katrina’s hand.
Ichabod to attend a quilting
Katrina’s parents allow both The stage is set and any 3
frolic to be held at the Van
rivals to continue: Baltus Van obstacles to a potential battle,
Tassel farm that evening. The
Tassel tends to spoil his such as Katrina’s parents, are
messenger rushes away,
daughter, and his wife swept aside.
evidently feeling his mission to
considers that she can take
3 be critical.
care of herself.
Suddenly, the classroom’s With the possibility of the
Knickerbocker claims not to Here, again, Knickerbocker
atmosphere grows rowdy: abundance of Van Tassel’s farm
know how women’s hearts inserts himself into the narrative
Ichabod rushes the students replacing his meager income as a
function: some are won over to earnestly question the motives
through their lessons and has schoolteacher, Ichabod brushes
easily, while others are and actions of the
everyone leave their inkstands aside his current duties—again,
variable and require constant characters—fitting with the
and books wherever they like. perhaps being overly imaginative
struggle to vanquish. Brom conceit that he’s a real person
He lets them leave an hour about his ability to win over
Bones seems not to be able to considering a true story. In the
early so that he can spend an Katrina’s heart.
exclusively conquer Katrina’s initial battles between Ichabod
extra thirty minutes preparing
coquettish heart. He comes and Brom, the result seems to 2 3
for the party and putting on his
less and less to her farmhouse, remain a draw—even if Brom
only suit. Looking like a knight
and begins to desire open Bones has the upper hand in
errant, he mounts the horse
combat with Ichabod. The terms of dreaming up practical
he’s borrowed from an old,
schoolteacher, however, jokes to play.
grumpy man named Hans Van
knows he would never win a
3 Ripper.
duel against Brom Bones, and
avoids him. Brom Bones has to Since Knickerbocker wants to Irving, of course, helped to found
resort to playing practical tell a true “romantic story,” he the genre of American
jokes on him, like plugging the pauses to describe the scene: Romanticism, which believed in
chimney of his singing school an elderly, ragged, one-eyed the primacy of the imagination
so it fills with smoke, or plow-horse named above purely rational thought,
ridiculing him while Katrina is Gunpowder that nevertheless the importance of personal
present. However, nothing retains some of its youthful freedom, and the authenticity of
seems to work definitively. spirit, and Ichabod’s gangly nature. But this description is
figure with his elbows stuck more of a parody of romanticist
out and arms flapping as he prose, as Irving pokes fun at the
rides. battle into which Ichabod is
riding.

1 3

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 The best way to study, teach, and learn about books.
It is a beautiful autumn day, By creating such an idyllic scene, When Ichabod enters the By now we should expect that
with chirping birds fluttering the story sets up a future home, his eyes rest not on the Ichabod would make a beeline
around the brilliantly colored contrast between this peaceful beautiful women but rather on for the dessert table. The
trees of the forest, from the afternoon and the same journey the tea-table heaped with traditional Dutch food on offer
blackbird to the woodpecker, home later that night. Ichabod, Dutch delicacies like adds another touch of tradition
cedar bird, and blue jay, each once again, can’t help but doughnuts, sweet cakes, and age to the story. Ichabod’s
with its own coat and consider nature not in its passive ginger cakes, and all sorts of gloating thoughts, meanwhile,
idiosyncrasies. Ichabod looks beauty but in terms of what it pies. Knickerbocker has no reflect his sense of social
upon these treasures as if they can offer him—particularly if he time to enumerate them all, competition and his acute desire
were a feast to be can win the battle for Katrina. though Ichabod gorges himself to climb the social ranks.
devoured—especially the on all these treats, laughing to
apples, Indian corn, yellow 3 4 himself as he imagines being 1 3 4
pumpkins, and buckwheat the master of all this
fields. These remind him of the abundance. When he is lord of
abundance awaiting him if he the estate, he thinks, he would
manages to marry Katrina. no longer associate with the
likes of Hans Van Ripper and
As Ichabod crosses the These kinds of details are typical
other impoverished
Hudson, a “sloop” or sailing of American Romanticism, a
schoolteachers.
boat is bobbing in the distance, genre Irving is helping to forge
and through a trick of the sky’s through every description in his After the feast comes the This is the first moment at which
reflection looks like it’s story. dance. This delights Ichabod, it seems that Ichabod is finally
suspended in the air. who takes almost as much gaining the upper hand against
1 2 pride in his dancing as in his Brom Bones. The description of
By the evening, Ichabod The description of the guests’ singing. Outside, there are the black people outside,
arrives at the Van Tassel castle, clothing underlines Tarry Town’s black people—presumably however, reminds us that beyond
already packed with the most status as a place devoid of uninvited, perhaps servants or Ichabod’s social strivings, there
well-to-do farmers and their history—though the ribbons slaves—crowding at the were far clearer and more serious
wives and children, clothed in suggest that even Tarry Town windows to peer in, and they social hierarchies at the
traditional dress (though a few cannot fully escape changing are amazed at the sight. time—these black people were
of the daughters boast a times and traditions. Ichabod is thrilled to have likely slaves.
slightly modern addition like a Katrina as his dancing partner.
1 Brom Bones sulks jealously in 3
ribbon or straw hat). Brom
Bones stands out from the the corner.
crowd with his horse Afterward, some of the older Though Tarry Town seems not to
Daredevil, a mischievous guests gather around Ichabod have changed in years, the war
creature like himself. to gossip and tell war certainly impacted the lives of its
stories—this neighborhood, inhabitants. As major events
indeed, was an important site recede into history, however, it
during the Revolutionary War. becomes easier to build up
The war is far enough in the stories and traditions around
past that each person can them—even if these tales blur the
exaggerate and slightly line between history and
fictionalize his story. Doffue storytelling.
Martling, for instance, claims
to have nearly destroyed a 1 3
British ship singlehandedly,
and others similarly claim to be
the heroes of their own
stories.

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 The best way to study, teach, and learn about books.
After the war stories come the Given the blurred line between The guests tell of old Brouwer, In the topsy-turvy world of
tales of ghosts and specters, history and stories, it is who didn’t believe in ghosts Sleepy Hollow, those who are too
which also are typical of the unsurprising that war stories until he met the Horseman on anchored in reality will ultimately
region, and are able to last yield easily to ghost his way back from Sleepy be punished by the supernatural.
longer since the population stories—especially since many of Hollow. They raced each other Brom Bones’s addition to the
has remained stable for so these tall tales draw on the on horseback until reaching story are obviously boastful tall
long. After all, ghosts are more historical war for their characters the bridge, at which point the tales, but they underline his
likely to haunt places where and plots. The supernatural is Horseman turned into a eagerness to seek out
they’re acquainted with the closer to reality in this village, skeleton and hurled Brouwer competition wherever he can find
inhabitants, such as in the particularly for Ichabod but to into the stream. Brom Bones, it. Looked back on from later in
long-established Dutch some extent for everyone. in turn, claims that he also the story, Brom’s tales here will
villages like these. And since raced the Horseman once for a also suggest that perhaps he was
this neighborhood is so close 1 2 bottle of punch, and that he laying the foundation for another
to Sleepy Hollow, the dreamy, and Daredevil would have won of his pranks. Ichabod, for his
haunted atmosphere has if the Horseman hadn’t part, believes too earnestly in the
contaminated the settlement. vanished at the last minute. reality of the ghost stories to
And Ichabod adds his own make up his own tales. He takes
Some of the guests who are Many of these ghosts, once
stories taken from Cotton his tales from his book.
residents of Sleepy Hollow tell again, were either real historical
figures or have some kind of Mather and his nightly walks
about the kidnapping of Major 2 3
relationship to the Revolutionary around Sleepy Hollow.
André, the woman in white
who haunts Raven Rock, and, War. The description of the The party comes to a close, Again, Knickerbocker is not quite
above all, the Headless church reveals how suitable it is and Ichabod lingers, confident an omniscient narrator—there
Horseman who has been for stories of haunting and in his imminent success, in are things he doesn’t know, which
recently spotted tethering his ghostliness, since it is isolated, order to speak to Katrina. paradoxically makes us more
horse to churchyard graves. dark, and gloomy. Knickerbocker does not know willing to accept his narrative as
The church is isolated, located what happened at this realistic. Instead he reads
between a forest and the 1 2 3 meeting, but believes between the lines—something
Hudson River, with a road something went wrong, since must have gone wrong if Ichabod
leading to a stream and a Ichabod soon exits the castle is no longer enraptured by the
wooden bridge overhung by looking crestfallen. Instead of abundance around him. The
thick trees and brush. This is gazing upon the abundant suggestion is that Katrina has
one of the favorite haunts of fields and orchards, he mounts rejected him, that he now knows
the Headless Horseman. his steed and heads off. he has no chance with her.

1 4
It is late at night by this point, Sleepy Hollow’s picturesque
and it is silent enough that isolation makes it attractive
Ichabod can hear a watchdog during the day, but an ideal
barking from far off across the setting for hauntings at night.
Hudson, as well as an Ichabod doesn’t need much more
occasional cricket or bullfrog. encouragement than that for his
Suddenly, he recalls all the imagination to begin imbuing the
ghost stories and tall tales nature around him with all kinds
recounted at the party, and of supernatural qualities and
realizes that he is approaching creating his own reality out of
the scene of many of them. In them.
front of him is a massive tulip
tree with large, gnarled 2
branches, not far from where
Major André had been
kidnapped.

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 The best way to study, teach, and learn about books.
Ichabod rides closer to the As we reach the climax, events As the race continues, Even while in a race for his life,
tree. He starts to believe that begin to pile atop each other and Ichabod’s saddle slips from Ichabod is fearful at having lost
every sound is the sign of a the cadence of the prose grows under him—an expensive one, the saddle. We already know he
spirit, though he passes the quicker and more dramatic. Even and he immediately thinks of prefers to avoid confrontation, so
tree safely. But two hundred as Ichabod is frightening himself how angry Van Ripper, who it’s easy to imagine how terrified
yards later, he approaches into desperation, he draws on owns the saddle, will be—but he might feel about returning to
Wiley’s Swamp, where a few real historical events like Major he manages to cling to the grumpy Van Ripper having
logs make a bridge over a small André’s to justify his fear. By the Gunpowder and avoid falling lost the man’s saddle.
stream and huge trees cover time the massive figure rises out off, though barely.
the ground in darkness. It was of the shadows, we are almost 3 4
precisely here where André unsurprised, so well has Ichabod Ichabod sees the church in Again, Ichabod interprets his
had been captured, and the (and Irving) built up a foreboding front of him, and thinks that if own reality in terms of the stories
stream is known to be of disaster. he can reach the bridge the he’s heard, especially that of
haunted. Ichabod, his heart ghost will disappear, as it did Brom Bones. In this case, though,
pounding in fear, attempts to 1 2
for Brom Bones, and he’ll be the head is no longer simply an
race over the bridge, but safe. Gunpowder leaps onto eerie, ghostly apparition but an
Gunpowder rears up and runs the bridge, and Ichabod object of battle wielded by the
side to side before pausing just reaches the other side, but as horseman against Ichabod.
before the bridge. Ichabod he looks back he sees the
hears a splash beside him. figure hurl his head at him. 2 3
Within the shadows, he sees Ichabod fails to dodge it and it
an enormous towering shape. crashes into his own head. He
Terrified, Ichabod stammers, Already, we see that Ichabod is falls from his horse and the
“Who are you?” but is not not only frightened by the figure rider gallops by.
answered. He closes his eyes on a horseback, but by what that The next morning Gunpowder Until this moment, we’ve
and starts to sing a psalm. At figure represents—particularly, is found without its saddle or experienced the climax solely
that moment the monstrous here, the role it played in the rider. Ichabod does not show through the eyes of Ichabod.
object begins to move, and story told by Brom Bones. While up for meals or at school, and a Now, the perspective becomes a
reveals itself to be a massive to the reader, Brom’s tale was search party sets out, soon more distanced, objective point
horseman on a black horse. obviously mere embellishment finding the saddle in the dirt by of view. Knickerbocker doesn’t
Gunpowder finally breaks into and bragging, Ichabod holds no the church. Nearby are found explain the meaning of the
a trot and the horseman trots such certainty. Given the tracks of horses’ hoofs in the shattered pumpkin—as readers
along behind him. Ichabod framework through which he road that are traced to the more rational than Ichabod,
immediately thinks of Brom sees reality, he has almost no bridge. On the bank of the we’re supposed to put the pieces
Bones’ story about racing the choice but to assume that the stream under it, the searchers together ourselves: that it is a
Headless Horseman, but round object held by the find Ichabod’s hat resting next pumpkin that hits Ichabod and
when he quickens his pace, his horseman is his head—indeed, to a shattered pumpkin. not a head suggests the
follower does as well. As they the narration encourages us to Horseman was no ghost, and the
race up a hill, Ichabod, think so too. chase a prank. So: Brom Bones is
horrified, realizes that the a prankster and told the story
horseman is headless, and 2 3
about the Horseman being in this
carries his head upon his part of the forest. It seems very
saddle. The two sprint along likely that Brom is pretending to
the road, until Gunpowder be the Headless Horseman.
misses the path to Sleepy
Hollow and instead dashes 2
downhill to the left towards
the famous bridge and church.

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 The best way to study, teach, and learn about books.
Hans Van Ripper is appointed Ichabod’s pride in his Several years later, an old Here, Knickerbocker introduces
to go through Ichabod’s intellectualism and singing chops farmer returns from New York another element of uncertainty,
possessions—which includes is now portrayed as somewhat with the news that Ichabod is with a competing conclusion of
only several pieces of clothing, silly rather than as objects of still alive: he had left the village the tale. Ichabod left town not
a razor, and a book of psalm- admiration. Van Ripper’s attitude partly in fear of Van Ripper’s merely out of fear of the
tunes. After also finding about school stems from the reaction to losing his saddle, horseman, but more out of the
Cotton Mather’s “History of ambiguous position of Cotton and partly from more pragmatic fears of having
New England Witchcraft”, an Mather’s book, as both a embarrassment at being lost Ripper’s saddle and the
almanac, and a book of repository of “book-knowledge” rejected by Katrina. He had social embarrassment of having
fortune-telling among and of irrational supernatural continued teaching and also lost the battle for Katrina.
Ichabod’s possessions, Van tales. Ripper seems to think: if embarked upon the study of Moreover, this conclusion
Ripper decides it’s not worth intellectual people believe in this the law, before becoming a suggests that in leaving the
sending his children to school nonsense, then I don’t want my politician, journalist, and finally sleepy town of Sleepy Hollow,
any longer. At church, the kids wasting their time with a justice of the “Ten Pound Ichabod himself became less
attendees gossip about the school. Nevertheless, the other Court.” dreamy, less focused on lucking
event, and conclude that villagers easily assimilate this into wealth and abundance
Ichabod must have been new element into the traditional through marriage, and instead
carried off by the Headless town ghost stories. diligently made a successful
Horseman. Since he didn’t career for himself. In this
have family or any debt, people 2 3 conclusion, Ichabod’s path seems
soon forget about him. to mirror that of the United
States, which at the time of the
story’s publication was
transitioning from a small-town
agrarian society to one
dominated increasingly by
commerce, one where “striving”
was valued and could make a
career, one in which hard-headed
reality was prized over fuzzy-
headed beliefs in ghost stories.

1 2
Brom Bones married Katrina Another hint that Ichabod’s
shortly after Ichabod’s perspective on what happened
disappearance. He tends to put that fateful night is not the
on a knowing look anytime perspective the reader should
someone tells the story, adopt.
especially laughing when the
pumpkin is mentioned. 2

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 The best way to study, teach, and learn about books.
The old country wives, though, By ending with the opinions of The wary gentleman seems Throughout “Sleepy Hollow,”
who Knickerbocker claims are the old Dutch wives, Irving can even more confused by this claims about the story’s veracity
generally the most be sure that his tale will “count” logical syllogism, as the have competed with hints that
knowledgeable in the village, as a ghost story—even if he’s storyteller looks back at him it’s no more than an imaginative
insist that Ichabod was carried introduced alternatives to the triumphantly, before the tale. Here, Irving seems to wink
away by the Horseman. The haunted, supernatural narrative. gentleman claims that he still at the reader, implying that the
story becomes a favorite one And even if the tale of the has doubts about the tale. The tension will remain unresolved.
in the neighborhood, and since horseman isn’t “true,” it’s become storyteller responds that he
the bridge is feared more than solidly incorporated into the doesn’t believe half of the 1 2
ever, the road to the church is tradition and legacy of the story himself.
altered. The school is moved town—and, by extension, of the
elsewhere and the old budding American nation.
schoolhouse deserted. It is HOW T
TO
O CITE
said to be haunted by Ichabod. 1 2
It's easy to cite LitCharts for use in academic papers
The plowboy, when wandering
and reports.
home on a summer evening,
sometimes imagines he hears
Ichabod’s voice from afar MLA CIT
CITA
ATION
singing a psalm tune. Ben Florman and Justin Kestler, LitCharts Editors.
POSTSCRIPT "LitChart on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
By introducing yet another
LitCharts.com. 11 Mar 2016.
Knickerbocker says that he
first heard this story at a framing device to the story, in
Corporation meeting among which Knickerbocker himself got CHICA
CHICAGO
GO MANU
MANUAL
AL CIT
CITA
ATION
burghers in the “ancient city” the story from another Ben Florman and Justin Kestler, LitCharts Editors.
of Manhattoes (i.e. storyteller, Irving simulates the
"LitChart on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
Manhattan), told by a shabby historian’s job of sifting through
old man (the storyteller). Most archives and witness LitCharts.com. 2016. http://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-
of the attendees enjoyed the testimonials. The elderly legend-of-sleepy-hollow.
tale, but one other elderly gentleman provides a
gentleman seems doubtful and counterpoint to this emphasis on AP
APA
A CIT
CITA
ATION
not amused, as if wary of the fact.
Ben Florman and Justin Kestler, LitCharts Editors
tale.
1 2016. LitChart on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
This logical syllogism has
Retrieved March 11, 2016 from
He asks the storyteller what
the moral of the story is. The spawned countless http://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-legend-of-sleepy-
storyteller answers that every interpretations over the hollow.
situation in life has its centuries. There’s certainly some
advantages, as long as you kind of relationship meant to be
keep in mind the following drawn between Ichabod’s
joke. Someone who races doomed courtship, his dreamy,
goblin troopers will probably imaginative temperament, and
have a rough ride. Therefore, if his later success—but it’s also
a country schoolteacher fails possible Irving is just playing with
to win the heart of a Dutch the reader as well.
heiress, he is certain to achieve
success in politics. 1 2

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