For the next few sessions, our Literacy lessons will be based around the poem ‘The Highwayman’ by Alfred Noyes. It is our first opportunity to study one poem in-depth in Class 5 so it should be an exciting time. The poem is famous for its strong themes and its rich use of language.
You can read the poem here, whilst you’re reading it think about the following things:
1) What happens in the poem? Think about what happens in the beginning, the middle and the end.
2) What are the main themes within the poem? Can you think of any other poems or stories that are similar to The Highwayman?
3) Describe the main characters. How would you describe Bess, Tim the Ostler and The Highwayman?
4) Think about the language that Alfred Noyes used, try to pick up the rhythm of the poem. Can you find any examples of similes, metaphors or figurative language?
1) The Highwayman meets Bess, Tim the Ostler hears and tells the guard. The guards trapped Bess and Bess kills herself for the Highwayman and then he dies.
2) Sacrifice and love.
3) He ran at the pace of the trot of a horse.
What happens in the poem? Think about what happens in the beginning,the middle and the end.
1.At the start the man said that he was going somewhere and he would be back at moonlight and then some soldiers came and tied the lady up and the lady was still waiting for the man.
3.They seem very quiet and they love each other very much, they also like to have romance.
Think about the language Alfred uses and the similes and metaphors.
4.Alfred’s language is very posh and one simile is ‘cobbled, clattered and clashed’.
(1) What happens in the poem?
The highwayman tried to brake into the inn, and then he tries to get the landlord’s daughter to open the door to him, and while he is doing that Tim took a likening to what he was saying. Then the highwayman says he will be back by morning. The king’s guards come in to the inn the next day and the highwayman still had not come, but they only came in because they wanted a drink. The highwayman came at midnight.
(2) Sacrifice and love because the whole poem has love and sacrifice in it.
(3) The main characters are Tim, who spots the highwayman trying to get into the inn, the landlord’s daughter because she is the one who loves the Highwayman, and last but not least the highwayman.
(4) Things that rhyme in the poem:
Trees-seas;
Moor-door;
Chin-skin;
There-hair;
Creaked-peaked;
Hay-stay;
Night-light;
Hay-day;
And more.
1)The Highwayman comes to see Bess and Tim the Ostler overhears them talking and he tells what he heard to the king’s men who take Bess away. But she kills herself and the highwayman gets killed by one of the men in the highway.
2) Bravery and love
3) The highwayman is a brave character who is hated and loved by people he probably is a runaway.
Bess is a passionate character who will do anything for the highwayman because she loved him.
Tim the Ostler is a nosy person who obviously cares for Bess but he probably had a moment were he had to do something to get rid of the highwayman for good
4) Sown like a dog.
The hours were like years.
He ran like the wind.
1) The Highwayman tries to break into the inn, the Highwayman overhears Tim the Ostler saying that the king’s men want to take Bess away. They actually wanted a drink, she kills herself and the Highwayman gets killed on the highway.
2) Bravery and love.
3) The Highwayman is a brave man because he always put other people before himself.
4) Moor- Door
Down like a dog
Creaked-Peaked
1) At first a man said to a lady that he would be back at midnight, while he was gone some soldiers came and tied up the lady.
2) Sacrifice and love.
3) The highwayman is loved by Bess, the landlord’s daughter and Tim the Ostler hates him because he wants Bess.
4) Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard – this a simile.
THE HIGHWAYMAN
1) What happens in the poem? Think about what happens in the beginning, the middle and the end.
The Highwayman meets Bess, meanwhile Tim overhears them and tells the king’s guards. Then they come and tie Bess up. When the Highway man came back, Bess killed herself before the Highwayman did and then the Highway man gets killed on the highway.
2) What are the main themes within the poem? Can you think of any other poems or stories that are similar to The Highwayman?
Bravery, love, sacrifice.
3) Describe the main characters. How would you describe Bess, Tim the Ostler and The Highwayman?
Bess, a kind-hearted person who never gives up.
The Highway man is a brave person who lots of people think differently about as some people think he is nasty.
4) Think about the language that Alfred Noyes used, try to pick up the rhythm of the poem. Can you find any examples of similes, metaphors or figurative language?
Dumb as a dog
Sown like a dog
1) What happens in the poem?
~ In the poem, the Highwayman tries to speak to Bess but Tim the Ostler heard him and sent his guards to save Bess and lock her away. Bess waits and waits but the Highwayman still hasn’t arrived. Bess ends up killing herself for the Highwayman and he dies because of one of the men on the highway.
2) What are the main themes within the poem?
~ I think the main themes are courage, belief and love because Bess really trusted the Highwayman, and the whole poem was about love.
3) Describe the main characters.
~ Tim is a very cautious and nosy man he must care a lot about Bess as straight after the he heard the conversation he called the guards as soon as he could.
~ Bess is a very believing and enthusiastic figure and is determined for her true love.
~ The Highwayman is a very strong and brave figure he is a very changing character, one minute he is trying to send a sneaky message the next he is fighting!
4) Think about the language used.
Alfred is very good at rhyming, here are just a few of this rhyming words:
clear – hear;
night – light;
hay – day.
He has also used alliteration – ‘cobbled, clattered and clashed’
1) At the start of the poem the Highwayman goes to visit the innkeeper’s daughter – his sweetheart, Bess. He tells her his plans to bring back gold but Tim the Ostler has been listening to them talking and he tells the King’s soldiers of his plans. They go to the Inn to visit Bess knowing that the Highwayman will come back. They tie her up and stop her calling out by gagging her. Knowing that the Highwayman’s life is in danger, she shoots the gun to warn him. She dies and then the next day he ends up being shot dead by the King’s soldiers. People say that on a winter’s night, they can hear the Highwayman going to visit Bess.
2) Love, jealousy, devotion, tragedy
3) There are 3 main characters.
Bess the Inn keeper’s daughter – not much is said about her other than how she looks and her love and devotion for the Highwayman.
Tim the Ostler – he looks after the horses that come to the Inn, he likes Bess and is jealous of the Highwayman – he is not a likable character.
The Highwayman who steals money for a living and is not popular with the king as he is planning to steal some gold.
4) ‘The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas.’ I think this is a metaphor – I like it because obviously you don’t get ships in the sky but it is very imaginative. Makes me think of a windy night when the clouds are moving fast.
‘The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor.’ I think this is also a metaphor.
1) What happens in the poem? Think about what happens in the beginning, the middle and the end.
I think the story is about a highwayman who goes to visit an Inn where he loves the landlord’s daughter called Bess and then it tells the tale of what happens to them. She dies trying to warn him that he will be killed if he comes to take her away. The ending has a bit of a mystery and it makes us believe there might be the ghosts of The Highwayman and Bess.
2) What are the main themes within the poem? Can you think of any other poems or stories that are similar to The Highwayman?
Love is the main theme because The Highwayman and Bess really do love each other and Bess sacrifices her life for the Highwayman. Maybe also the theme of describing their appearance. There are loads of words about the clothes and how they look. Also definitely blood is mentioned a lot. The colour red especially. Its quite a violent colour.
3) Describe the main characters. How would you describe Bess, Tim the Ostler and The Highwayman?
Bess is very beautiful and very brave. She kills herself to save her true love, The Highwayman. She did everything she possibly could to save him.
Tim the Ostler has hair like mouldy hay. He looks after horses and loves Bess. But she definitely doesn’t love him. He isn’t very clever and is no match for The Highwayman.
The Highwayman loves Bess but is also a bit of a baddie because he robs from people, probably the rich. I think he is quite an adventurer and brave.
4) Think about the language that Alfred Noyes used, try to pick up the rhythm of the poem. Can you find any examples of similes, metaphors or figurative language?
A simile is usually something that uses the word ‘like’ in a sentence.
So in this poem ” His hair like mouldy hay’ shows that his hair was sort of green and dirty looking.
And “her face was like a light”
Metaphors are comparisons and I found these.
“The wind was a torrent of darkness”
“The road was a ribbon of moonlight ”
“The moon was a ghostly galleon”.
In a poem like this one Ned – a poem that involves people dying – why do you think the colour red is mentioned repeatedly?
1) In this poem, the Highwayman tries to speak Bess, the landlord’s daughter. But when Tim the Ostler overheard them and he told the king’s men who sent Bess away to protect her. But after that Bess kills herself and the Highwayman gets kill by one man on the highway.
2) Sacrifice and Love
3) The Highwayman is very caring because he puts other people before himself.
Tim is a very nosy person because of course he cares very much for Bess, but he probably wanted to something that would get rid of the Highwayman forever.
Bess is a strong and passionate person who would do anything for the highwayman because she loved him.
4)
High – Sky
Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn – yard – simile. In this sentence, he is also using alliteration and the following words are; cobbles, clattered and clashed.
1) The highwayman tried to break into the inn, and then he tries to get the landlord’s daughter to open the door to him, and while he is doing that Tim took a likening to what he was saying. Then the highwayman says he will be back by morning. The king’s guards come in to the inn the next day and the highwayman still had not come, but they only came in because they wanted a drink. The highwayman came at midnight.
2) Sacrifice and Love.
3) Bess the Inn keeper’s daughter – not much is said about her other than how she looks and her love and devotion for the Highwayman.
Tim the Ostler – he looks after the horses that come to the Inn, he likes Bess and is jealous of the Highwayman – he is not a likable character.
The Highwayman who steals money for a living and is not popular with the king as he is planning to steal some gold.
4) And finally, some of the language: cobbled, clattered and clashed.
1)At the beginning of The Highway poem the guards break into the Inn because they want to take Bess and lock her away. She was very scared and killed herself! The Highwayman dies in the road when he heard about it!
2)Sacrifice and Love.
4)He ran as fast as he could.