POETRY
THE HIGHWAYMAN – Alfred Noyes
Reading
Check the link below and read the poem again in total silence so that you can answer the
following questions as accurately as possible. The second link will take you to a You
Tube video of the poem. Enjoy!
http://www.teachersfirst.com/share/highwayman/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le727fRZHpA
Questions
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11.
What is the moon compared to in the first stanza of the poem?
What is happening in the first stanza?
How is the highwayman dressed?
What words in the third stanza suggest the actual sounds being made by the
highwayman
“His eyes were hollows of madness”. What does this show about Tim the ostler?
In the fifth stanza, what words of the highway show that he is determined to
return to Bess?
In part two, what do King George’s men do when they reach the inn?
What had Bess managed to do “on the stroke of midnight”?
How does Bess warn her highwaymen?
How does the highwayman react at dawn when he heard of Bess’s sacrifice?
What comments would you make about the love between Bess and the
highwayman?
Extension
12. Summarise The Highwayman in 50 words.
13. What is the historical background of the poem The Highwayman? Wikipedia
would be a useful resource when answering this question.
14. If you have finished write another stanza for The Highwayman. It can go before
the poem as a type of prologue or it can feature at the end of the poem as a type
of epilogue. When writing your extra stanza try to incorporate examples of
rhyme, repetition, alliteration, metaphor, personification, similes, onomatopoeia
and complex vocabulary. This way your stanza will blend right in to the style of
poem Alfred Noyes has written. See below for full explanation of some of the
poetic devices Noyes uses in The Highwayman.
15. Create a list of at least 20 vocabulary words from the poem and define them.
Poetic Devices
Rhyme – Not all poems rhyme, but poems that tell a story usually rhyme, because it
helps the listener or reader to remember the story.
Repetition – For special effects, poetry uses repetition of words, ideas and sometimes
whole versus. Repetition helps us remember the poem and gives it unity.
Alliteration - the repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words.
Metaphor – they say something is or was something else. For example, the moon is a
balloon or the footpath outside our place was a river after the downpour.
Personification - A figure of speech in which a non-human object is given human
qualities. For example, the daffodils danced in the breeze or the cyclone was angry.
Simile - A figure of speech, which makes a comparison between two things using the
word like or as. For example, her teeth looked like pearls, and her skin was as smooth as
finely polished marble.
Onomatopoeia – This refers to the use of sound words – words that actually suggest the
sound that they are referring to. For example, snicker-snack, crack, etc….