The two kings engage in endless "battle" reflecting the seasonal cycles of the year: not only solar light and dark, but also crop renewal and growth.
Robert Graves in The White Goddess identifies other legends and archetypes of paired hero-figures as the basis of the Holly/Oak King myth,[1][2] including: Similar comparisons had been previously suggested by Sir James George Frazer in The Golden Bough in Chapter XXVIII, "The Killing of the Tree Spirit" in the section "The Battle of Summer and Winter".
[2][3][4][5] Frazer drew parallels between the folk-customs associated with May Day or the changing seasons in Scandinavian, Bavarian and Native American cultures, amongst others, in support of this theory.
[8] The battle of light with dark is commonly played out in traditional folk dance and mummers plays across Britain such as Calan Mai in Wales, Mazey Day in Cornwall, and Jack in the Green traditions in England that typically include a ritual battle in some form.
Some adherents of Modern Paganism consider the two counterparts as dual aspects of the Horned God waging for the favour of the Goddess.