Highwayman And Bess example essay topic

an English poet, a traditionalist remembered chiefly for his lyrical verse and was born in Wolverhampton on 16 September 1880. He was educated at Exter college, Oxford during which he published his first volume of poems, The Loom of Years (1902). He won the honorary D. Litt, from Yale university and was also elected the Professorship of Modern University in 1914, which he resigned in 1933. Of Noyes's later works, the most notable is the epic trilogy Torch-Bearers (1922-30), which took as its theme the progress of science through the ages. His autobiography, Two Worlds for Memory, appeared in 1953. One of his most remarkable works, Drake an epic in blank verse which first appeared in Black woods magazine was published in two volumes.

Noye's best loved poem the 'Highwayman', was included in the volume Forty singing seamen and other hard's Bay (1939). He is a profile contributor to 'Cornhill'; 'Fortnightly Review', Atlantic Monthly' along with his publications "The flower of Old Japan', "Tales of the Mermaid Tavern (1912). The 'highwayman' is a splendid example of a modern ballad. It is rich with romance adventure thrill and excitement and at the same time it is full of that beauty of phrase and pictures we come across in lyrical poetry. The ballad relates story in which is depicted a girl's sacrifice of her life for her love's sake.

Although the hero is a highwayman or a bandit, the poem arouses sympathy and admiration for their devotion and courage. Words flow like silk and from the first line you are entranced. The wind blew like a flood of darkness amidst the trees swept by the wind. The moon sailed through the cloudy heavens like a 'spectre ship' tossing upon the stormy seas. The road shone faintly with a strip of moonlight running over purple barren land. The highwayman came riding up to the old Inn door.

He wore on his head a French Hat bent upward and a bunch of lace at his chin. He had a coat of dark red velvet along with trousers of brown doe-skin which fitted him so perfectly that there wasn't a crease to be seen anywhere. He rode steadily with his boots till his thigh, jewels twinkling, with his pistil ends shining and with the hilt of his sword glinting under the sky bedecked with stars. The Highwayman hastened into the dark Inn-yard riding over the stones with a rasping sound. He knocked with a whip at the shutters of the window but all was locked from within. Undaunted, he whistled a melodious tune and was rewarded by a familiar and beloved face of Bass, the landlord's black-eyed daughter, fastening a ark-red knot of love into her black hair who smiled upon him.

They met at a night when everybody is sleeping and only a pale moonlight is falling on objects around them. In the old dark inn-yard, a stable door creaked on its hinges. Tim the jealous ostler pricked his ears up to listen to what passed between the highwayman and Bess. His face was white and pale, his deep, sunken eyes made him look fanatical and his hair was like old, stale hay. He had once been the lover of the landlord's red-lipped daughter, but had now been thrown overboard and the highwayman had taken his place.

He listened intently to the conversation between the girl and the highwayman in which the bandit asks Bess for a kiss and that he was going to win a loot to-night, but he would be returning to her with dazzling yellow gold before the sun rose. If the chasers press him hard or bother him throughout the day, then to expect him by moonlight, when he will come though insurmountable difficulties and obstacles, even if hell would impede his path. The highwayman stood upright in the stirrups, but he could barely reach the hand of his beloved. As she loosened her hair at the window his face burnt red like a piece of wood with excitement, as the perfumed dark hair of his sweetheart came rolling over his breast. As the perfumed hair of his beloved floated in the moonlight, highwayman kissed them. (It was indeed very charming for the highwayman to kiss the perfumed hair of his beloved waving in the moonlight.

Then he pulled the bridal of his hoarse and galloped away to the west. PART 2 The highwayman did not come in the morning or at noon. At the golden sunset, before the moon appeared in the sky the road looked like a dark and dirty gipsy women's ribbon. The object of the ostler's overhearing was to find the time and place of their meeting, and inform the soldiers about it and get the highwayman arrested. And that's just what he did. A number of king George's soldiers dressed in red coats came marching unto the old inn-door.

They said nothing to the proprietor instead they drank his ale. The soldiers forcefully thrust cloth into her mouth to prevent from speaking or weeping and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed. Two soldiers sat next to the window and watched by with guns for fear lest she should run away. So there was death at every window. but at the window, where Bess, waited for the coming of her lover, there was perfect hell, for she could se through her window the road by which her lover would come to meet her but consequently meet his doom.

They had tied her up to attention with many an obscene and half-suppressed secretive laughter they bound a gun beside her with its mouth beneath her breast to show that she would be at once shot if she made the least movement or uttered even the slightest sound. The soldiers asked the landlords daughter to keep an eye out for her lover while they kissed her. The girl passes her time in a state of trance as she feels as if he hears the ghost of her lover crying to her", Except me by the moonlight, watch for me by the moonlight; I will come to see you even though hell should stand in my way". She twisted her hands tied behind her back in frantic efforts to release herself, but found that all the knots held fast. She twisted her fingers in severe pain, but she still could not release them, thought they became wet with sweat and blood. They resisted and fumbled, she suffered with such acute agony that the hours seemed to pass slowly and tediously like years.

At the time when it just struck midnight, the end of one finger touched the gun, and the trigger was now in her grasp. She could now at any time put an end to her life. She struggled no longer to release her purpose was served her hand and stood up to attention with the end of the gun pointing towards her breast. But the road lay deserted and bare in the moonlight and the blood in her veins pulsated in unison with the last words of her lover, "I will come to you by moonlight, though hell should bar the way" She now heard the hoofs to her lover's hoarse ringing clearly. She wondered as too whether the enemies had heard the clattering sound created by the hoofs striking against the stones. She once again heard the horse's hoofs in a distance.

The soldiers might have been deaf that they did not hear the clattering sound produced by the horse's hoofs. The highwayman came riding down the road that looked like a mere strip of light running across the face of the hill, the soldiers in their red uniforms reached their gunpowder placed in a musket, the soldiers were now alert with their guns loaded ready to shoot when the highwayman turned up. She stood up straight and still. She heard the hoofs of her lover's horse ringing and echoing in the silence of the cold night.

The highwayman came nearer and nearer. Her face burnt like light as she was now going to make the sacrifice for her lover, her eyes widened with joy for a moment. She took he last breath. Then she touched the trigger with her finger, the firing of the gun shattered her breast into pieces. There she lay dead, as sorts of a warning to her lover that the danger to his life was lurking near.

With her death, she warned the highwayman of the danger to his life so that he might run away and thus save himself. There couldn't have been a greater sacrifice than this, The highwayman turned and galloped towards the West on hearing the firing of the gunshot. As it was somewhat dark, the highwayman could not recognize that it was Bess, his beloved that stood bent, with her head over the musket steeped in her own blood. It was not till dawn that he came to know of the death of landlord's black-eyed daughter.

His face turned pale on having learnt that Bess has given her life in an attempt to warn him of the danger that awaited him at the inn. He became mad with anger, the highwayman spurred his horse back hurling curses on the soldiers he turned his horse towards the inn and galloped at break-neck speed to avenge himself on those who had ill-treated his beloved. As the horse sped towards the inn, trailing clouds, smoke and dust arose behind, but the highwayman galloped on flourishing his sword in a menacing way. In the bright light of the afternoon sun, his spurs seemed blood -red in colour and his coat of deep red velvet could be seen when the enemies shot him down like a cur on the highway. The highwayman lay drenched in his own blood, on the highway with a bunch of lace on his throat. The people say that even on a winter night when the trees are swept by the gusty winds, when the eerie moon is tossing like a ship in the cloudy heavens and when the road resembles a mere strip of moonlight running across the purple moor, people say that the highwayman comes riding clattering over the stones and dashes up the inn-door and knocks with his whip at the shutters of the window but all was locked from within.

He whistles a tune to the window, and Bess, the black-eyed daughter of the landlord greets him with dark-red love knot fastened into her long black hair.