When I was a child, I found a book with "The Highwayman" in it at my grandmother's house (Alfred Noyes, 1906).
Not this guy.
I remember reading it then and even now have the same experience when I do: the first part is just magical, the romance palpable. The ending, on the other hand, is devastating. The foreshadowing is so obvious, even as a child I knew what would happen and dreaded it, but I couldn't stop reading, hoping that somehow it would end differently, heartbroken when again it ended tragically.
Loreena McKennitt performing her beautiful musical version of the poem.
Even as a child I was seduced by this Highwayman, with his lace and velvet and promises. I didn't know what a Highwayman was, obviously, but despite this (because of it?) I fell in love with him. Who wouldn't? And the maiden "Bess, the landlord’s daughter,/ Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair." A woman lucky (and beautiful) enough to be loved by him.
They're Everywhere! I had never seen the video of one of my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs, so I never realized it was based on the poem!
Noyes later said "I think the success of the poem... was because it was not an artificial composition, but was written at an age when I was genuinely excited by that kind of romantic story." He wrote it before he knew that life couldn't actually be that romantic, I guess. But in doing so he captured the feeling so successfully that we are all able to escape back to that mindset when we read the poem.
A different sort of Highwaymen, with a different sort of romantic vision of Highwaymannery, but impressive enough in their own right to be included.
I wouldn't be myself without pointing out, however, that I always got pretty jealous that the Highwayman got to have his exciting adventures in lace and velvet while Bess had to shoot herself in the breast while tied to a bedpost. Doesn't seem entirely fair.
Guess in the afterlife she's still waiting around in her bedroom all day. (Image from this place.)
Oh well.
xoxo,
Charity :-)
I remember reading it then and even now have the same experience when I do: the first part is just magical, the romance palpable. The ending, on the other hand, is devastating. The foreshadowing is so obvious, even as a child I knew what would happen and dreaded it, but I couldn't stop reading, hoping that somehow it would end differently, heartbroken when again it ended tragically.
Even as a child I was seduced by this Highwayman, with his lace and velvet and promises. I didn't know what a Highwayman was, obviously, but despite this (because of it?) I fell in love with him. Who wouldn't? And the maiden "Bess, the landlord’s daughter,/ Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair." A woman lucky (and beautiful) enough to be loved by him.
Noyes later said "I think the success of the poem... was because it was not an artificial composition, but was written at an age when I was genuinely excited by that kind of romantic story." He wrote it before he knew that life couldn't actually be that romantic, I guess. But in doing so he captured the feeling so successfully that we are all able to escape back to that mindset when we read the poem.
A different sort of Highwaymen, with a different sort of romantic vision of Highwaymannery, but impressive enough in their own right to be included.
I wouldn't be myself without pointing out, however, that I always got pretty jealous that the Highwayman got to have his exciting adventures in lace and velvet while Bess had to shoot herself in the breast while tied to a bedpost. Doesn't seem entirely fair.
Oh well.
xoxo,
Charity :-)
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