The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood

Introduction

This ballad was printed on broadsides as Come listen a while you Gentlemen all printed by Clarke, Thackeray and Passinger (1684-6). The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood is a traditional version of Robin Hood Newly Revived (Child #128). That ballad is referred to in Ritson as Robin Hood and the Stranger. Robin Hood and the Stranger was entered on the Stationers' Register March 1, 1675. The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood appears in Songs of the Peasantry (1857). This tune appears in Lucy Broadwood's The English and Scottish Popular Ballads. It was collected from Sussex in 1893. The ballad is also found in New England. The name of the pedlar is Gamble Gold or Gamewell. There is speculation that this is a corruption of Gamelyn. Gamelyn is the hero in the manuscript Tale of Gamelyn (circa 1340). There is also a ballad in the Sloane Manuscript (circa 1450) about Robyn and Gandeleyn which appears to refer to the same.

This ballad is Child Ballad #132.

There are many speculations as to the identity of Robin Hood. According to Sharp Robin Hood was born in the time of Henry II, perhaps Robert Fitzooth, perhaps the Earl of Huntington. His exploits centered around Barnsdale and Sherwood. Legend has it that he died in 1247 at the age of 87 at Kirkley's Nunnery in Yorkshire. Use the links below to explore the legend further.

Robin Hood ballads were extremely popular with the peasantry in England for several hundred years. Thirty-seven of Child's Ballads are Robin Hood ballads.

Concept Map

To access the text of this poem, Click here

Transacting the text

Meaning making

Pictures/ video clips are an interesting way of assisting students to comprehend a poem. A picture helps in creating a visual memory and can also help in understanding new words.

Figures of speech

A figure of speech is the use of a word or words diverging from its usual meaning. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, or personification. Figures of speech often provide emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. However, clarity may also suffer from their use, as any figure of speech introduces an ambiguity between literal and figurative interpretation. A figure of speech is sometimes called a rhetorical figure or a locution. To know more click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_of_speech

Assessment

Ask the learners to write a short paragraph using the hints given below.

Hints:

• What is the poem about?
• Which is the most striking image and why.?