ABSTRACT
The myth of Robin Hood endures, not least, because of its capacity for transformation. This propensity for reinvention has seen the outlaw hero shift over time from ruthless yet courteous anti-authoritarian yeoman, through genteel but dispossessed nobleman, to Green Lord of the Wildwood, the spirit of Spring. The romantic, somewhat sentimental view of Robin Hood popular is a byproduct of his gentrification. His characterization as a carnivalesque spirit of nature is a more recent transformation. For most people under the age of thirty, for example, Robin Hood is Kevin Costner, Prince of Thieves. This ability of Robin Hood to embody the zeitgeist is not limited to popular culture. Artistic interpretations of the myth that invent and pick and mix narrative elements from the past in order to engage with the present are part of the tradition of Robin Hood literature.
