Betrayal, Loyalty, And Death In The Highwayman By Alfred Noyes

"The Highwayman" written by Alfred Noyes seems to be characteristic in the beginning, however it is notable for the narrative and vivid structure. This poem is stowed with perilous fugitives, romance, escapade and death. The vivid imagery Noyes uses creates a dark atmosphere and sets the scene to give the reader a better description of the noises one would hear while reading the poem. "The Highwayman" is packed with exhilaration along with a compelling story. The tale of a Highwayman's visit to see the beautiful Bess at the terrible fate they both encounter. The poet used four main themes love, betrayal, loyalty, and death. To better comprehend the author's reasoning for the poem, one could analyze the characters, themes and variety of imagery.

"The highwayman" took place in England while narrating the story of a gentleman who robs travelers of their most valued possessions. The crook lack's possessing a name and happens to only identify himself as the highwayman. Therefore The highwayman can be described as noticeably affluent by Noyes in the following passage(Shmoop Editorial Team):
He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin
A coat of claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin.
They fitted with never a wrinkle. His boots were up to the thigh.
And he rode with a jeweled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky.(Highwayman 7-12)
Provided there are various ways one might interpret how the highwayman is dressed and why the author chose to describe him like this.

Furthermore, one should analyze the line stanzas from the passage above. Line one indicates that the cowboy's elegant and exotic with his clothing. The highwayman's wearing a French hat with lace tucked underneath his shirt one would describe this as a long-sleeve shirt with ruffles at the neckline. In addition line two describes his velvet jacket made with deep red wine color in the 1800's velvet was a popular item and many wore this type of material. His breeches of brown-doe skin in line three are solid brown leather pants. Furthermore, in line four he states that his boots were up to the thigh, believed the highwayman was a cowboy with well-dressed dark intimate clothing. These lines describe the poem being set in the early 18th century, when individuals dressed in this attire. In conclusion, if one was wearing this apparel today, we would not be too fond of the uncommon

clothing.
In addition to The Highway man's exotic ensemble he also has a secret lover whom he encounters almost every night.

The lover's name is Bess while she is known as the landlord's daughter. Bess can be identified as breathtaking and beautiful. In lines 15-18 Noyes describes Bess as a black-eyed daughter plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair. Dark eyes accompanied by lingering hair is important because the author takes time to go into extreme detail about beauty. Her dark hair braided into a love-knot would be a kind of ribbon intertwined in a knot symbolizing her affection for the Highwayman.(Shmoop Editorial Team) Noticeably the dark knot is red where as red can be associated with intimacy and passion. Furthermore in line 22 Noyes describes in detail about Bess's red lips this help's emphasize the sexiness that the alluring woman carries.(Shmoop Editorial

Team)
In addition there are four main themes in the poem "The Highwayman" these themes can be recognized as love, betrayal, loyalty, and death. Love is undoubtedly shown when Bess tragically murders herself to warn her lover that he was in danger. In lines 75-78 Noyes focuses on how Bess sacrifices her life to try and save the highwayman. Betrayal is revealed when Tim, the ostler went to the redcoats and informed them on how to capture the notorious crook. Here in lines 19-21 Noyes introduces a new character who happens to be eavesdropping. Tim can be identified as a old white man with a pinched face featuring insane eyes and hair of moldy hay. Loyalty is displayed when the highwayman risked his own existence by riding down to the Inn to gain revenge on the Redcoats for the loss of Bess's life. In lines 87-90 Wine-Red is colored with his velvet coat, unfortunately the highwayman was shot down and murdered himself. Displayed in line's 70-90 The Highwayman here's the warning and takes off back west. This was not his most intelligent idea due to the Redcoats were after him. The themes used in this poem are exceedingly strong. They portray the two secret lovers have a love so deep the ocean would be jealous.