all the pastorals Time
ambles. But, on the other hand, Tennyson's piece is not a match for
either of those Shakespearean works, in massiveness of dramatic
signification or in the element of opportunity for the art of acting.
Character, poetry, philosophy, humour, and suggestion it contains; but
it contains no single scene in which its persons can amply put forth
their full histrionic powers with essentially positive dramatic effect.
Its charm resides more in being than in doing, and therefore it is more
a poem than a play, and perhaps more a picture than a poem. It is not
one of those works that arouse, agitate, and impel. It aims only to
create and sustain a pleased condition; and that aim it has
accomplished. No spectator will be deeply moved by it, but no spectator
will look at it without delight. While, however, _Robin Hood_ as a drama
is frail, it is not destitute of the dramatic element. It depicts a
central character in action, and it tells a representative love story--a
story in which the oppressive persecutor of impoverished age is foiled
and discomfited, in which faithful affection survives the test of trial,
and in which days of danger end at last in days of blissful peace.
Traces of the influence of Shakespeare--exerted by his pastoral comedies
and by the _Merry Wives of Windsor_--are obvious in it. There is no
imitation; there is only kinship. The sources that Scott explored for
some of the material used in _Ivanhoe_ also announce themselves. Many
stories could be derived from the old Robin Hood ballads. The poet has
only chosen and rearranged such of their incidents as would suit his
purpose--using those old ballads with perfect freedom, but also using
them with faultless taste.

Robin Hood was born at Locksley, in the county of Nottingham, about
1160, when Henry the Second was king. His true name was Robert
Fitzooth--a name that popular mispronunciation converted into Robin
Hood--and he was of noble lineage. Old records declare him to have been
the Earl of Huntingdon. He was extravagant and adventurous, and for
reasons that are unknown he preferred to live in the woods. His haunts
were chiefly Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire, and Barnsdale, in
Yorkshire. Among his associates were William Scadlock, commonly called
Scarlet; Much, a miller's son; Friar Tuck, a vagabond monk; and Little
John, whose name was Nailor. Robin Hood and his band were kind to the
poor; but they robbed the rich and they were spec