Metaphors and Prophecies of Noyes
...Soon the highwayman approaches his love and “Her musket shattered the moonlight, shattered her breast in the moonlight and waned him – with her death.” The highwayman turns, clueless of the death of his love. However, he soon realizes that the musket took the life of Bess. The highwayman “…spurred like a madman…” back to his love and “…they shot him down in the highway….” The sacrifice for love lives on as a legend and a tale. “When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas…A highwayman comes riding…He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred….” Metaphors are used in many places by Alfred Noyes’ in “The Highwayman.” One use of it is to portray the image of the setting. “The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees…” (Line 1) illustrates a strong rainstorm on the road. The curvy road shining by the moonlight compares to “…a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor….” There is also the use of metaphors to describe the feelings of the characters. “His face burnt like a brand as the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast…” (Sixth stanza) portraits the strong love that the highwayman had for Bess. While Bess was tied up by the King’s men, she struggled to warn her love. “She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!” (10th stanza) is the metaphor about her love and her determination to save her lover. In addition to the use of metaphors as a technique, Noyes also uses some foreshadowing in the poem. When Tim is spying on the lover’s conversation, one can suspect some mischief from him because he loves Bess. “Tim the ostler…loved the landlord’s daughter…dumb as a dog he listened, and heard the robber say…I’ll come to thee by moonlight…” (4th stanza); these lines show that Tim finds out information that could kill the highwayman, which foreshadows the highwayman’s tragedy. In the eighth stanza, Noyes describes the window ...