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The Highwayman. By Alfred Noyes. P ART O NE. The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees. The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas. The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor, And the highwayman came riding—. Riding—riding—. The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.
Read the full text of the classic poem The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes, a tale of love, betrayal and death on the English moor. Learn about the poem's historical and literary context, themes, symbols and structure.
- Summary
- Structure
- Poetic Techniques
‘The Highwayman’ by Alfred Noyes(Poems) is a gothicnarrative of tells of the story of the highwayman, the red coats who wanted to capture him, and his lover. The poem details the love affair between the highwayman and the landlord’s daughter Bess. Their love is pure and strong. He rides into the inn in the middle of the night to tell her that he’s ...
‘The Highwayman’ by Alfred Noyes(Poems) is a three-part poem that is divided into one set of six stanzas, another of nine, and a final concluding two-stanza section. The stanzas are all six lines long, known as sestets. The sestets follow a simple rhyme scheme of AABCCB, changing end sounds from stanza to stanza as the poet saw fit.The consistent r...
Noyes makes use of several poetic techniques in ‘The Highwayman’. These include but are not limited to, alliteration, metaphor, simile, personification, onomatopoeia, and enjambment. The first, alliteration, occurs when words are used in succession, or at least appear close together, and begin with the same sound. This technique appears numerous ti...
- Female
- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
The poem, set in 18th-century rural England, tells the story of an unnamed highwayman who is in love with Bess, a landlord's daughter. Betrayed to the authorities by Tim, a jealous ostler, the highwayman escapes ambush when Bess sacrifices her life to warn him.
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door. Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard. He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred.
May 13, 2011 · Read the full text and analysis of The Highwayman, a famous ballad by Alfred Noyes. The poem tells the story of a lover who is killed by soldiers while trying to meet his sweetheart by moonlight.
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas, When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor, A highwayman comes riding—. Riding—riding—. A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.