The Highwayman

By Alfred Noyes
 Background
"The Highwayman" is a narrative poem written by Alfred
Noyes, first published in the August 1906 issue of
Blackwood's Magazine. The following year it was included in
Noyes' collection, Forty Singing Seamen and Other Poems,
becoming an immediate success.

The poem was written on the edge of a desolate stretch of

land in West Surrey known as Bagshot Heath, where Noyes,
then aged twenty-four, had taken rooms in a cottage.

In his autobiography, he recalled: "Bagshot Heath in those

days was a wild bit of country, all heather and pinewoods. The
Highwayman suggested itself to me one blustery night when the
sound of the wind in the pines gave me the first line." The
poem was completed in about two days.
 Plot
The poem, set in 18th century England, tells the story of a
nameless highwayman who is in love with Bess, a landlord's
(innkeeper) daughter. Betrayed to the authorities by a
jealous ostler (stableman), the highwayman escapes ambush
when Bess sacrifices her life to warn him. Learning of her
death he dies himself in a futile attempt at revenge, shot
down on the highway. In the final stanza, the ghosts of the
lovers meet again on winter nights.
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.
 They fitted with never a wrinkle.
His boots were up to the thigh.

And he rode with a jewelled

twinkle,

His pistol butts a-twinkle

His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under

the jewelled sky.
He’d a French cocked-hat on his
forehead, a bunch of lace at his
chin,

A coat of the claret velvet, and

breeches of brown doe-skin.

Over the cobbles he clattered and
clashed in the dark inn-yard.
He tapped with his whip on the
shutters, but all was locked and
barred.
He whistled a tune to the
window, and who should be
waiting there
But the landlord’s black-eyed
daughter, Bess, the landlord’s
daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into
her long dark hair.
And dark in the dark old inn-
yard a stable-wicket creaked

Where Tim the ostler listened. His

face was white and peaked.

His eyes were hollows of

madness, his hair like mouldy
hay,

But he loved the landlord’s

daughter,

The landlord’s red lipped

daughter

Dumb as a dog he listened, and

he heard the robber say -
‘One kiss, my bonny sweetheart,
I’m after a prize to-night,

But I shall be back with the

yellow gold before the morning
light;

Yet, if they press me sharply, and

harry me through the day,

Then look for me by moonlight,

Watch for me by moonlight,

I’ll come to thee by moonlight,

though hell should bar the way.’
He rose upright in the stirrups.
He scarce could reach her hand,

But she loosened her hair i’ the

casement. His face burnt like a
brand

As the black cascade of perfume

came tumbling over his breast;

And he kissed its waves in the

moonlight,

(oh, sweet black waves in the

moonlight!)

Then he tugged at his rein in the

moonlight, and galloped away to
the west.
He did not come in the dawning. He did not come at noon;
 A red-coat troop came marching –
Marching – marching

King George’s men came

marching, up to the old inn-door.

And out o’ the tawny sunset, before

the rise o’ the moon,

When the road was a gipsy’s

ribbon, looping the purple moor. They said no word to the landlord.
They drank his ale instead.
 There was death at every window;
But they gagged his daughter, and
And hell at one dark window;
bound her, to the foot of her
narrow bed.
For Bess could see, through her
casement, the road that he would
Two of them knelt at her casement,
ride.
with muskets at their side!
 ‘Now, keep good watch!’ and
they kissed her.
She heard the dead man say –

Look for me by the moonlight;

watch for me by the moonlight;
I’ll come to thee by moonlight,
though hell should bar the way !

She twisted her hands behind her;

but all the knots held good!

She writhed her hands till her

They had tied her up to attention,
fingers were wet with sweat or
with many a sniggering jest.
blood!
They had bound a musket beside
They stretched and strained in the
her, with the nuzzle beneath her
darkness, and the hours crawled
breast!
back like years,
 Till, now, on
the stroke of
midnight,
Cold on the
stroke of
midnight

One tip of
her finger
touched it!
The trigger at least was hers!
The tip of one finger touched it. She
strove no more for the rest.
Up, she stood to attention, with the
muzzle beneath her breast.
She would not risk their hearing; she
would not strive again;
For the road lay bare in the
moonlight; blank and bare in the
moonlight;
And the blood of her veins in the
moonlight, throbbed to her lover’s
refrain
 Down the ribbon of moonlight, over
the brow of the hill, The
highwayman came riding, riding,
riding!

Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot! Had they heard

it? The horse-hoofs ringing clear;

Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot, in the distance! The red-coats looked to their

Were they deaf that they did not priming! She stood up, straight and
hear? still.
 Her eyes
grew wide
for a
moment; she
drew one last
deep breath,

Then her
finger moved
in the
moonlight,
her musket
shattered the
Tlot-tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot- moonlight.
tlot in the echoing night!
Shattered her breast in the
Nearer he came and nearer. Her moonlight and warned him – with
face was like a light. her death.
 Not till the dawn he heard it, and
his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord’s daughter,
The landlord’s black-eyed daughter,

He turned. He spurred to the west;

he did not know who stood

Bowed, with her head o’er the Had watched for her love in the
musket, drenched with her own moonlight, and died in the darkness
red blood! there.
 Blood-red were his spurs i’ the
golden noon; wine-red was his
velvet coat;
When they
shot him
down on
the
highway,

Down like
a dog on
the
Back, he spurred like a madman, highway,
shouting a curse to the sky,

With the white road smoking And he lay in his blood on the
behind him and his rapier highway, with a bunch of lace at his
brandished high throat.
And still of a winter’s night, they
say, when the wind is in the trees
And the highwayman came
The moon was a ghostly galleon riding –
tossed upon cloudy seas. Riding – riding –

The road was a ribbon of The highwayman came riding, up

moonlight over the purple moor, to the old inn-door.

Over the cobbles he clattered and
clashed in the dark inn-yard.
He tapped with his whip on the
shutters, but all was locked and
barred.
He whistled a tune to the window,
and who should be waiting there
But the landlord’s black-eyed
daughter, Bess, the landlord’s
daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into
her long dark hair.
 Literary Qualities
• The poem makes effective use of vivid imagery for the
background and of repetitious phrases to create the sense of a
horseman riding at ease through the rural darkness to a
lovers' tryst or of soldiers marching down the same road to
ambush him.

• "The Highwayman" is reputed to be "the best narrative poem

in existence for oral delivery".

• Almost half a century later, Noyes wrote: "I think the success
of the poem...was due to the fact that it was not an artificial
composition, but was written at an age when I was genuinely
excited by that kind of romantic story."
 Vocabulary
• Moor- n. a tract of open, peaty, wasteland, often overgrown
with heath, common in high latitudes and altitudes where
drainage is poor; heath.

• Rapier- n. a small sword, especially of the 18th century,

having a narrow blade and used for thrusting.

• Hilt- n. the handle of a sword or dagger.

• Plaiting- n. anything that is braided or pleated.

• Wicket- n. a window or opening, often closed by a grating

or the like, as in a door, or forming a place of
communication in a ticket office, a teller's cage in a bank,
etc.
 Vocabulary
• Ostler- n. a stableman, especially one at an inn
• Harry- v. (used with object) 1. to harass, annoy, or
prove a nuisance to by or as if by repeated attacks;
worry: He was harried by constant doubts
• Casement- n. a window sash opening on hinges that are
generally attached to the upright side of its frame.
• Jest- n. a joke or witty remark; witticism
• Priming- n. the powder or other material used to ignite
a charge.
• Brandish- v. (used with object) to shake or wave, as a
weapon
 Romantic
Adjective
• of, pertaining to, or of the nature of romance;
characteristic or suggestive of the world of romance: a
romantic adventure.
• fanciful; impractical; unrealistic: romantic ideas.
• imbued with or dominated by idealism, a desire for
adventure, chivalry, etc.
 Highwayman
• noun, plural -men. (formerly) a holdup man, especially
one on horseback, who robbed travelers along a public
road.
Reference to King George III
• Ruler of Great Britain from 1760-1820
• Succeeded his father, King George II
• Hero to Great Britain (Loyalists)
• Evil Tyrant to the Colonies (Patriots)
1: Who were the Highwaymen?
• What did they do?
• How did they get away with their crimes?
• Were they always ‘bad’?
 2: Amazing Images
• This poem is filled with wonderful images.
• Read through your copy of the poem, highlighting
when you see simile and metaphor being used.
• Pick 1 simile and 2 metaphors and explain what is being
compared and what it makes you imagine.
 SIMILE
• his hair like mouldy hay,
• Dumb as a dog he listened,
and he heard the robber say
• His face burnt like a brand
• and the hours crawled back
like years,
• Her face was like a light.
• Back, he spurred like a
madman, shouting a curse
to the sky,
METAPHOR
• 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
• His eyes were hollows of
madness, the black
cascade of perfume came
tumbling over his breast
• When the road was a
gipsy’s ribbon
 3: Sounds Like?
• Another important feature of this poem is the use of
sound techniques, including onomatopoeia and
alliteration.
– Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the
dark inn-yard.
– Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot!
– He tapped with his whip on the shutters,
– He whistled a tune to the window,
 4: Mood and Atmosphere
• Mood: a distinctive emotional quality or character: “The
mood of the music was almost funereal”; “the mood
was tense.”
• Atmosphere: a particular environment or surrounding
influence: "there was an atmosphere of excitement”;
“the atmosphere was electric.”
 Mood and Atmosphere
• Think carefully about the emotions the poem ‘The
Highwayman’ stirs in you as it is read. From the words
below, pick three which you think could be used to describe
the mood/atmosphere in the poem.

Tense Scary Joyful Mysterious Angry

Dramatic Romantic Exciting Dreamy Sinister
Gloomy
Can you explain why it makes you feel this way?
Example: The mood is very sinister when it describes how Bess
is captured: ‘There was Death at every window, And Hell at one
dark window.’ The personification of Hell and Death makes it
seem as though no-one can escape evil, and hints that Bess will
die.
 The Highwayman – villain or victim?
• What is your first impression of the Highwayman? Does he
seem evil? What about brave? Or mysterious? Pick a quotation
to support your answer.
• When you read about his relationship with Bess, what does this
make you think of the highwayman? Why?
• How do you feel when you discover that the pair are being spied
on? Explain your reasons for feeling this way.
• How do you feel when you read about what happens to Bess?
Again, explain your reasons.
• What do you think of the highwayman when you read about his
reaction to the news of Bess’ death? Explain.
• How are you left feeling towards the highwayman at the end?
Reasons please.
 Essay Questions
• What makes ‘The Highwayman’ such a dramatic
narrative poem?

• How does the poet Alfred Noyes create sympathy for

the Highwayman?
 How to answer essay-type questions
• Remember you must include the following:
• The title – ‘The Highwayman’.
• The name of the poet – Alfred Noyes.
• The type of text – narrative poem.
• A brief summary.
• Key words from the question.
 Main Paragraphs
• Each paragraph must have the following:
• A clear topic sentence.
• Evidence from the poem (sum up what happens and
introduce quotations).
• Comments on what the evidence reveals or the effect it
achieves.
• A clear link back to the topic.
 Example
When we first meet the highwayman, he seems to be a very
mysterious and interesting character.

In the opening lines, the poet describes the highwayman’s appearance

as he gallops over the hills. His clothes are very sophisticated,
including a ‘coat of claret velvet’ and ‘a bunch of lace at his chin’. He
also seems to be carrying a few weapons, as we are told that he has
both a knife and pistol.

We get the impression that he is not a common criminal, as he seems

well dressed and not at all scruffy. Even though he is carrying
weapons, his nice clothes don’t make him seem like an aggressive or
frightening character.

This is important because we are made to find him interesting which

makes us feel more sympathy when things go wrong for him.