The Highwayman — Alfred Noyes
In the poem “The Highwayman”, Alfred Noyes used repetition to emphasize specific words. To begin his story, he stated, “The highwayman came riding. Riding-riding… The highwayman came riding to the old inn.” (Noyes, 4-5) By repeating the word “riding”, readers can feel that he came from far away, spent much of his time and energy, just to be at the inn. One would guess that this inn, or the person in the inn, may be important to the highwayman. In the second stanza, the author introduced him as, “He rode with a jeweled twinkle, his pistol butts a-twinkle, his rapier hilt a-twinkle…” (Noyes, 10-12) Both jewels and metal weapons can be described as twinkle/shiny. From what author mentioned above, readers may know that highwayman is a robber. The word “landlord’s daughter” kept appearing in the third and fourth stanza, “landlord’s black-eyed daughter… the landlord’s daughter… love the landlord’s daughter, landlord’s red-lipped daughter.” (Noyes, 16-17, 22-23) This girl/woman must be important to the highwayman, especially when one repeats it multiple times. He is in love with her, using delicate words to describe her. By applying repetition, we can feel those deep emotions he has towards the landlord’s daughter. To end part one, the author stated, “he kissed its waves in the moonlight… sweet black waves in the moonlight… tugged at his rein in the moonlight.” (Noyes, 34-36) Moonlight may be the time when big conflicts happen. It may also be the time when highwayman needs to leave the landlord’s daughter. The author not only, once again, emphasized his love, he is also foreshadowing what would happen when the next moonlight dawns.
In part 2, Alfred Noyes continued using repetition to highlight people’s movements or emotions. In the first stanza, he stated, “A red-coat troop came marching… Marching, marching- King George’s men came marching… “ (Noyes, 40-42) This indicates that their coming closer. Readers feel it intensify, with apprehension. By using the word “marching”, we know that they are soldiers. The mood became more tense, that their arrival may bring big conflicts. Indeed, things started to turn downfall. When describing chaos, the author said, “… death at every window, and hell at one dark window.” (Noyes, 46-47) Obviously, destruction is everywhere, but he is emphasizing a specific window, the “one dark window” (he used hell instead of death, which intensify the anxiety). That window was what helped Bess see the possibility of highwayman dying. She peered out and saw that there is no way highwayman would survive if he comes. She would warn him by killing herself. This word is foreshadowing her death and his. A way to symbolize that they’re doomed. In stanza six, after Bess’ death, the author stated, “The highwayman came riding, Riding, riding!” (Noyes, 70-71) He repeats the line from the first stanza of the poem. But instead of riding to his love, he is riding to his death. Here, the poet uses repetition to make a contrast, the highwayman is getting into more trouble by coming closer to the inn.
The last two stanzas of the poem are basically a repetition from the first and third stanza in part one. To summarize, the highwayman also died, short after Bess killed herself to warn him. These two stanzas are written in italic font, as if it is the echo of highwayman’s remaining spirit, that he will still continue to fight for Bess in their afterlife. This is a clever way to end a story, to convey feelings of longing and the endless desire for each other.
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud — William Wordsworth
In the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, William Wordsworth used personification to create deeper emotions. To describe his sad feelings, he compared himself to a cloud.“I wandered lonely as a cloud, that floats on high o’er vales and hills.” (Noyes, line 1-2) Cloud is not even alive, let alone feelings. The speaker is describing how he walked around. By using “wandered”, it emphasizes the meaning of roaming around without a purpose. Usually, the sun symbolizes happiness, and cloud represents the opposite. So by applying personalize clouds, it creates a mood of melancholy. To describe the beautiful scenery, the author stated, “A host of golden daffodils, fluttering and dancing in the breeze.” (Wordsworth, line 4-6) By applying colors and movements on flowers, it gives readers a wonderful feeling of freedom and joy. Gold usually represents love, compassion, courage, passion, magic, and wisdom. Flowers wouldn’t be able to dance, but by describing them as humans “tossing their heads in sprightly dance” (Wordsworth, line 12), it is easier for readers to capture the moment, of how everything is full of bliss. To further emphasize daffodils, the speaker wrote, “The waves beside them danced, but they, outdid the sparkling wave in glee.” (Wordsworth, line 13-14) Again, the poet imagine waves dancing too. By making two non living things interacting to each other, makes the poem sounds more alive and interesting. Personification is when something that is not human is given human characteristics. Therefore, when we examine these phrases, we know they are examples of personification because both clouds and daffodils are non-human objects that were given actions of a human: being emotional and dancing. Poets rely on figurative language to create strong images in the mind of the reader. Personification in poetry not only makes it more engaging and visually appealing to the reader, but it can help contribute to the central idea or the mood of the poem. In which case, by using flowers, it makes the overall mood joyful.
To find the shift of a poem, one has to be able to identify a clear change in the speaker’s voice. In “The Highwayman”, Alfred Noyes stated keywords to describe the robber’s feelings toward Bess, the landlord’s daughter. “Riding, riding… came riding up to the old inn… loved the landlord’s daughter… dumb as a dog he listens.” (Noyes, line 5-6, 22-24) In part one, the highwayman described her as beautiful and breathtaking. He spent so much time riding to the inn to meet her, falling head over heels. Just from listening to her voice can make him drunk. The emotions here is pure love, craving the presence of each other. At the end, the poet emphasizes their deep affection for each other yet again. “Watch for me… I’ll come to thee by moonlight… one kiss, my bonny sweetheart… she loosened her hair, black cascade of perfume came tumbling… he kissed its wave in the moonlight“ (Noyes, line 28-30, 32-34) By applying words like sweetheart and kiss, readers can definitely feel the endearments, how highwayman truly cares about Bess’s well-being. Even when leaving, he made a sincere goodbye, already longing for her the second he took off. From the beginning ‘till now, Noyes creates a peaceful atmosphere of love, a promise of happy eternity. In part 2, things started to get upside down. The section started off with a broken promise. “He didn’t come in the dawning, he did not come at noon.” Highwayman vowed to come back for Bess before midnight, but so far, he had not returned. The poet had created the feeling of apprehension, that something unpleasant would lash out any second. The plot took a dramatic shift here, one can sense the change in the character’s mood. This line is like a warning for the conflict’s arrival. Readers, at this point, may guess the ending of this poem may not sound as perfect as part one has described. Speaking of the devil, here it is. “King George’s man came marching… said no word to the landlord, drank his ale, gagged his daughter and bound her… with muskets at their side.” (Noyes, line 42-45) From the actions above, one knows the intruders are discourteous, disrespectful, and straight up savage. This is the conflict Noyes was foreshadowing before, the big aspect that would bring the downfall of their love life. The poem ends with a tragic death, “Warned him, with her death… He has watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.” (Noyes, line 78,84) The poem’s ending turned out to be a completely different setting compare to the first scene. Warm sunshine of love twisted into pitch black death. Showing the cruel side of love. On the other hand, with the same usage of shifting mood, William Wordsworth set up a whole new scenario. From the poem’s title “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, readers obviously recognize author’s mood – melancholy, and probably a little dread. Cloud is connected to rain, which represents sadness. Throughout the poem, beautiful things kept appearing in the author’s life. Such as dancing daffodils, stars that shine, sprightly dance, sparkling waves in glee. But his feelings did not waver, heck, he doesn’t even take it for granted. “I gazed and gazed, but little thought.” (Wordsworth, line 17) He doesn’t understand what he’d gain from these experience, still that “lonely cloud”. Until the sudden mood shift came in. The readers notice the author’s attempt to accept it. “In the pensive mood, they flashed upon that inward eye, which is a bliss of solitude, my heart with pleasure fills.” (Wordsworth, line 20-22) The poet finally fully appreciate what he had. He’d seen through the mist to find the truth behind. The beautiful heaven once hidden in those gray clouds he was covered in, would be revealed. Within a story, there are shifts in the mood, or tone, as the story progresses. These tone shifts are what makes the story exciting, taking the reader through a wide range of emotions. A tone is one tool that an author uses to define characters and set the scene. Both poems have dramatic tone shift, but one is from happy to sad, while the other one presents the opposite. The comparison above shows the various ways an author can use the tools of their trade to create a tone shift.
Different perspectives conveys different feelings. WIlliam Wordsworth start off with the line “I wandered lonely as a cloud.” (Wordsworth, line 1) From this line, readers know the whole poem will be taught in first person. Everything that occurs has to be filtered through the narrator’s perspective. Like this line, it only focuses on the speaker’s feeling, which is sadness. Everything the reader sees is therefore infused with the narrator’s personality and pathos. Things don’t just happen in a first person narrative, they happen through the narrator’s perspective. The really compelling first person narrators are the ones where a unique character is giving you their take on something that is happening, and yet it’s clear to the reader that it’s not the whole story. “A host of golden daffodils… fluttering and dancing in the breeze… tossing their heads in sprightly dance… In such a jocund company, I gazed and gazed but little thought.” (Wordsworth, line 4,6,12,16-17) Maybe if readers were to experience these things themselves, one would appreciate it. But one is getting a biased look at the world, which is central to the appeal of the first person narrative. One of the great tensions in a first person narrative, then, is between what the narrator is saying and what the reader senses is really happening beyond the narrator’s perspective. This doesn’t necessarily have to mean that the narrator is unreliable, it just means that we’re seeing the world through a very unique character’s eyes — and only through that character’s eyes. Without using any “I”s, readers know “The Highwayman” is written in third person. Third person narratives jump into character’s heads to show their thought processes but leave some distance between what is happening on the outside and what the characters are thinking. Take the example of the time when Bess is trying to escape from the intruders. “She twisted her hands behind her, but all knots held good… the tip of one finger touch it, she strove no more for the rest…” (Noyes, line 55,61) From the description above, readers can see she is trying to free herself, determined and brave. “Her musket shattered her breast in the moonlight, and warned him — with her death.”(Noyes, line 78) But from her actions here, readers can tell she feels hatred and dread. She rather sacrifice herself than letting her boyfriend die. On the other hand, the highwayman doesn’t receive the warning, so he also end with agony. “Had watched her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.” (Noyes, line 84) Rather than knowing exactly what the character is thinking, the reader does the work to try and empathize with what the character is feeling in that moment and based upon a character’s actions. Using third person can describe multiple characters feeling and perspective at the same time. Letting the audience see what actions the characters take from both highwayman and Bess’ point of view. The tension in first person is between a character’s unique perspective and what is actually happening in the outside world. While the tension in third person is between what the reader sees in the outside world and what is actually happening from the characters’ perspectives.
Pawn
I was born to be the weak-minded pawn,
To be wielded under the King’s mighty palm.
While the queen leads the army to fend off attacks,
I still here trying to climb on horse backs.
I’m meant to be sacrificed and cast aside,
No one would really care if I died.
I’m just a bait that is spent like a penny.
When there are rewards, I wouldn’t get any.
But I’m the survivor when the rest have gone
The one that would carry the legacy on.
God granted me something none ever seen
When reach the end shall I become the queen.
Ignore the comments of what they called me
They are just jealous of what I can be.
I’m the fearless fighter, aren’t scared of attack
All pawns vowed to never go back.
I would be the one to end the game.
To earn the victory without any shame.
This is the time where truth shall dawn.
Or am I just the weak-minded pawn?
Redeem
Plummet down to the lands for dead,
Tasting sorrow scarlet blood of dread.
Time had broke away memories and soul,
Only left whispers, of underworld call.
Reaching up to hold the dim lifeline,
My only tie to the world once mine.
“The lilac scented breezes blow,
Fragrance of hope spring bestow.”
Felt burden reside in my chest,
Forcing my limbs to drop and rest.
But still, I hold on tight to the rope,
Refuse to give up my only hope.
Rough and coarse, burning my skin.
Pain surge through, making me spin.
I clench my teeth, struggling up
Sensing paradise awaiting at top.
For a thousand years, I yearn to redeem,
Finally now, shall I shine and beam.
To embrace the days without grief
Let despair drift and leave.