Analysis of The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes

The Highwayman is a narrative poem by Alfred Noyes revolving around the daughter of a landlord named Bess and a highwayman who are in love. During the exposition, the highwayman is described and he goes to Bess’ window, the tension starts rising when we learn that Tim the ostler is overseeing this. The next day, soldiers come into the inn and capture Bess, then lie in wait to ambush the highwayman. Bess manages to set herself free, and once the highwayman comes back along, shoots herself at the window to show that there is danger. The highwayman initially turns to run away, but revises his decision to charge straight at the inn to avenge Bess, resulting in him getting shot by the soldiers. A thematic statement for this poem could be “People can do rash things in the name of love”, as Bess takes her own life in order to try and save the highwayman’s, and the highwayman rushes in blindly because he watched his love get killed. This poem is worth reading as it warns about rash acts and how they can easily have negative results, shown through having both major characters dying to decisions that were made without much forethought. This poem also contains many poetic devices, such as when Tim is described in a simile to have “hair like moldy hay”, showing that he is generally unkempt and dirty (21). Another device can be found when the poem alludes to King George, a monarch of Great Britain and Ireland from 1714 to 1727. A Final example is when it is said that “the hours crawled by like years”, which is a personification of hours (57).