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Robin Hood's lone brush with the supernatural in Ben Jonson's final play

Original: The only pre-modern story in which Robin Hood directly confronts the supernatural is Ben Jonson's play "The Sad Shepherd

Ben Jonson's unfinished play "The Sad Shepherd", published in 1641, is noted as the only pre-modern Robin Hood story in which the outlaw directly confronts the supernatural. In it, Robin must stop the witch Maudlin of Papplewick, who uses shapeshifting and illusions to trick, rob and torment local people. Readers of literary and theatre history are highlighting the unusual fusion of folk hero and witchcraft motifs in Jonson's late work.

Why now: Interest in how a famous folk hero was reworked with supernatural elements by a major Jacobean playwright is circulating among literary history enthusiasts.

Robin HoodBen JonsonThe Sad ShepherdMaudlin of Papplewick

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Evidence

• The only pre-modern story in which Robin Hood directly confronts the supernatural is Ben Jonson's play "The Sad Shepherd" (1641). Robin has to stop the malevolent witch Maudlin of Papplewick from using her shapeshifting and illusions to trick, rob, and torment the local… · bevanthomas@mstdn.ca · 1

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