Welcome, aspiring literary explorers, to a journey into the heart of a timeless narrative poem, “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes. Prepare to be captivated by its rhythm, its vivid imagery, and its tragic tale of love, loyalty, and sacrifice. Before we delve into its depths, let us first immerse ourselves in the poem itself.
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Part One
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.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;
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.Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
And 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 Bess, the landlord’s daughter,
The landlord’s daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black 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 daughter,
The landlord’s daughter, and he hated the highwayman.He’d a brand on his forehead, no doubt, for he loathed the red-coats’ call;
For his father had been a rebel, and he’d fought for the King and all;
But he loved the landlord’s daughter,
The landlord’s daughter,
The landlord’s daughter, and he hated the highwayman.He said to the landlord’s daughter, “A kiss in the dark, sweet Bess.”
She laughed in the darkness, and answered, “You’ll get it, my love, no less.”
And he kissed her sweet lips, and departed; but, as he rode away,
He heard a whisper, “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 stretched forth her arm and touched him; she was a brave, brave landlady’s daughter,
And he rode away, with a laugh and a curse, to the west, to the west, to the west,
And he heard the whisper, “Look for me by moonlight;
Watch for me by moonlight;
I’ll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way!”Part Two
He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon;
And out of the tawny sunset, before the rise of the moon,
When the road was a gypsy’s ribbon, looping the purple moor,
A troop of red-coats, marching,
Marching, marching,
King George’s men came marching, up to the old inn-door.They said no word to the landlord, they said no word to his wife;
But they gagged his daughter and bound her, to an old oak table tight;
And they fastened a musket beside her, with a barrel beneath her breast!
“Now keep good watch!” and they kissed her!
She heard the dead man’s cry!
She heard the dead man’s cry! and she knew that they meant to kill her.They had tied her up to the table, with a musket beside her breast;
“Now keep good watch!” and they kissed her!
She heard the dead man’s cry!
She heard the dead man’s cry! and she knew that they meant to kill her.She had waited all the night for him, and waited all the day;
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