Shakespeare In The Mountains

In my last post, I read the poem Lob by Edward Thomas. “Thou lob of spirits” is how the sprite addresses Robin Goodfellow in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Edward Thomas suggests to us that Shakespeare tapped into English tradition when he created Robin Goodfellow. Think of that other famous Robin, Robin Hood. He also dwells in the woods with his band of Merry Men and is a famous trickster. Modern film versions like to make him dirty and “realistic” with the peasants he protects living lives of unmitigated misery in filthy hovels whilst the evil Sheriff of Nottingham hides in a draughty castle sending his bullies out to collect the taxes. Kevin Costner is the all-American Robin hero, righting wrongs and standing up for the little guy against the English sheriff. Errol Flynn was a different Robin, wasn’t he? He dressed in bright colours and slapped his thigh a lot in good humour. Think of these two ways of seeing: the dirty realistic, and the colourful fantastic. Which of the two is more real?