The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving | Summary & Analysis

Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow explained in just a few minutes! Course Hero Literature Instructor Russell Jaffe provides an in-depth analysis of the plot, characters, symbols, and themes of Washington Irving’s short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Download the free study guide and infographic for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow here: Narrated by Diedrich Knickerbocker, a fictional historian, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is set in the dreamy Hudson River Valley in the 1790s. The area is supposedly haunted by a ghostly Headless Horseman killed in the American Revolution. Weaving social commentary with creepy mythology, Irving creates an evocative portrait of 19th-century New England. His scathing portrayal of the foolish schoolmaster Ichabod Crane and his place in local society is set against a grim local legend about the ghost of a headless horseman. Crane, who is obsessed with gossip and ghost stories, is ultimate