Classicism And Romanticism In Sleepy Hallow

Shannon Devine
English
B block
Mrs.Bernard

In the movie The Legend of Sleepy Hollow there are many examples of Classicism and Romanticism. Romanticism means imagination over reason, common man important, nature and beauty. Classicism is the opposite of that, it is reason over faith, fixed laws of humanity and the idea that society and more important than the individual.
In the movie many characters and places both have characteristics of both Classicism and Romanticism.

In the beginning of the movie Ichabod Crane, one of the main characters, is a prime example of classicism. Crane is a person who believes in science and facts. When he first entered Sleepy Hollow to investigate the killings, he didn't believe the ghost stories about the so called "headless horseman". He believed there was a reason for everything. He said that the heads of the victims could not have just disappeared by magic, that the heads have to be somewhere and someone obviously took them.
Cranes mother also had a big part in showing classicism in the movie. She was not allowed to be free. She believed in witchcraft but Cranes father wouldn't allow it. He didn't believe in it and had a stop to it immediately. The movie also showed classicism by showing how overcrowded the jails were. This showed how important society was

and that society was more important than the individual. Classicism was shown greatly in the beginning of the film. Romanticism was shown greatly in the town of Sleepy Hollow. All of the townspeople believed in the story of the headless horsemen which is an example of romanticism.
The headless horsemen shows examples of mystery and strangeness which is what romanticism is. The witch in the cave also was an example of romanticism. It showed invagination over reason and nature and beauty. The witch, like the headless horsemen was a spirit from another world. The tree of the dead that the headless horsemen rises up from