I was just thinking of this poem a couple of days ago and rereading it, and then I came across this post today on Substack! The Highwayman is one of my favorite poems, the way it tells its story is so captivating and its use of language is so beautiful and memorable. It's interesting to learn more about Noyes' career as a whole and how the rest of his oeuvre compares. I always wonder about these literary one-hit wonders, as it were.
So nice to suddenly learn all of this about Alfred Noyes, thanks! Like lots of other commenters here I only know him through this one poem, encountered at high-school age. Never once thought about his life or whether he was a serious poet or even when he lived. Now am interested to learn more!
I've always assumed this poem is not a critics' favorite, but I can't help thinking that there's something wrong with a person who doesn't respond to it.
I discovered this poem when I was young in a collection my mom had on her shelf titled simply Story Poems. I had most of it memorized and I loved to recite it. I'm pretty sure my love for this poem predated my acquaintance with Anne Shirley who famously recited it in Anne of Green Gables. But it was one of the things that made me love Anne. This and The Lady of Shalott.
I read this poem eons ago but remembered details (a few) only from the second-to-last stanza. I did not appreciate the meter then; I'm happy to have the poem brought to mind with a bit more technical understanding.
I sing and play this on the guitar. Listened to this version by Willie and Ray over and over when I was young and on a cross country road trip with my boyfriend (now husband).
I'd forgotten about this poem, after reading it in school (maybe just in fragments there). If I'm recalling correctly, I think this poem appears in "Angela's Ashes," by Frank McCourt. It's while he's laid up in the hospital and falling in love with a doomed girl in the next bed.
I'm a sucker for the old "gallant highwayman" stories — and was delighted when I found today's painting of Lady Aurora dancing her ransom with her captor.
I loved the painting! It caught my eye before I ever got to the poem. In 7th grade we had to memorize a poem for recitation. My best friend chose this one. I chose The Raven by Poe.
Phil Ochs and Loreena McKennitt have two terrific recordings of this (by recordings, I mean set to music), each unique. Tim Murphy once told me every schoolchild in North Dakota was expected to be able to "do" the whole piece in a recitation competition.
I was just thinking of this poem a couple of days ago and rereading it, and then I came across this post today on Substack! The Highwayman is one of my favorite poems, the way it tells its story is so captivating and its use of language is so beautiful and memorable. It's interesting to learn more about Noyes' career as a whole and how the rest of his oeuvre compares. I always wonder about these literary one-hit wonders, as it were.
So nice to suddenly learn all of this about Alfred Noyes, thanks! Like lots of other commenters here I only know him through this one poem, encountered at high-school age. Never once thought about his life or whether he was a serious poet or even when he lived. Now am interested to learn more!
I swear… am I the only one who things of Anne of Green Gables when she reads this? https://youtu.be/YMQMwAO3uI8?si=XACV6NhdhHxtzN4J
Far from it. Any lover of Anne must think of her, right?
Oh good… not just me! LOL
I've always assumed this poem is not a critics' favorite, but I can't help thinking that there's something wrong with a person who doesn't respond to it.
I discovered this poem when I was young in a collection my mom had on her shelf titled simply Story Poems. I had most of it memorized and I loved to recite it. I'm pretty sure my love for this poem predated my acquaintance with Anne Shirley who famously recited it in Anne of Green Gables. But it was one of the things that made me love Anne. This and The Lady of Shalott.
I read this poem eons ago but remembered details (a few) only from the second-to-last stanza. I did not appreciate the meter then; I'm happy to have the poem brought to mind with a bit more technical understanding.
Brought this to mind. Two of my favorite singers:
https://youtu.be/x8A9Y1Dq_cQ?si=V-abU0-8ySyLxraK
I sing and play this on the guitar. Listened to this version by Willie and Ray over and over when I was young and on a cross country road trip with my boyfriend (now husband).
I'd forgotten about this poem, after reading it in school (maybe just in fragments there). If I'm recalling correctly, I think this poem appears in "Angela's Ashes," by Frank McCourt. It's while he's laid up in the hospital and falling in love with a doomed girl in the next bed.
Remember it from high school, not sure if it was required to be memorized, but the story, like a good melody, has lingered on.
An excellent account of a largely forgotten poet who wrote one unforgettable poem.
Thanks!
I'm a sucker for the old "gallant highwayman" stories — and was delighted when I found today's painting of Lady Aurora dancing her ransom with her captor.
I loved the painting! It caught my eye before I ever got to the poem. In 7th grade we had to memorize a poem for recitation. My best friend chose this one. I chose The Raven by Poe.
Debi, Those are great poems to memorize!
Phil Ochs and Loreena McKennitt have two terrific recordings of this (by recordings, I mean set to music), each unique. Tim Murphy once told me every schoolchild in North Dakota was expected to be able to "do" the whole piece in a recitation competition.
I love the Ochs version, Len, and am glad you know it. He sang some other poetry as well (with slight word changes): Poe's "The Bells" and Rooney's "The Men Behind the Guns." (I mentioned Ochs when Sally and I ran the Rooney poem: https://poemsancientandmodern.substack.com/p/todays-poem-the-men-behind-the-guns)