The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy trees
The road was a ribbon of moonlight, over the purple moor
And the highway man came riding-
Riding, riding
The highwayman came riding to the old inn door
An old ballad, years before we taught was a romantic tale
of a young highwayman and his beloved girl Bess, who sacrificed her life amidst
the terror, waited for him in the moonlight. That ballad gives an inspiration
to poets to invent alliteration, metaphor, and simile to deck their poetry with different
colors. In the ‘Highway man’, Noyes tells a great classic with a powerful imagery,
which is redolent for the readers. The highway is absolutely his masterpiece
with no doubt. It says about the highwayman’s journey to visit the old inn
where Bless, the landlord’s daughter lived and the mysterious death of both the
lovers. Noyes in the end of the poem evoking the souls of the hapless victims and
a persistent ambience created for the readers. The ballad is musical and has a
counted rhythm scheme and the rhyme scheme is so interesting. The versed poem will drag the reader to swim deeper to unbar the suspense
inside. The ballad is incredible enough with elegant metaphors striking one another.
