"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a short story that draws on a variety of genres and traditions, including gothic horror, romanticism, satire, and parody. Gothic fiction, which arose around the 18th century, is typified by sweeping landscapes, dark supernatural elements (like ghosts and witches), a pervading aura of mystery, and a blurred boundary between present and past. The lush, spooky town of Sleepy Hollow, which seems to exist outside of time, is heavily influenced by Gothic elements.
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is also filled with Romantic influence. In the literary context, Romance means more than just a love story. After all, Ichabod’s failed suit to Katrina Van Tassel is not exactly “romantic” in the traditional boy-meets-girl sense. Capital-R Romanticism is a literary and aesthetic movement that originated in 18th-century Europe. This movement extolled the beauty of the natural world, elevated human emotion over cold, pure reason, and explored the relationship between present and past. As a result, ancient ruins, old folk stories, and medieval art became popular during this period. "Sleepy Hollow" focuses on natural beauty, old wives’ tales, and the historical record, elements that all stem from its Romantic influences. As a participant in the Romantic movement, Washington Irving, the story’s author, made a name for himself as an American writer among European literary greats. His contributions to Romanticism added a uniquely American perspective to what had once been a solely European tradition.
Finally, Irving uses satire and parody to poke fun at courtship rituals, rural life, and storytellers’ tendency to stretch the truth. The two techniques lend "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" a humorous tone, though they both operate in different ways: satire criticizes society at large, whereas parody plays with the conventions of a specific literary genre. Irving uses satire to expose his characters’ weaknesses, from Ichabod’s gullibility to Katrina’s coquettishness to Brom Bones’ preference for “vicious animals.” Irving uses parody when he refers to Ichabod and From as “knights-errant.” The knight-errant is a heroic wanderer common in medieval chivalric romance literature. Comparing Ichabod and Brom to heroes of old emphasizes the relative pettiness of their feud over Katrina.
