Poems that Tell Stories: “The Highwayman”

and “Annabel Lee”

Common Core Focus Standards• Reading Literature 7.5 Analyze how a poem’s form

or structure contributes to its meaning.• Reading Literature 7.7 Compare and contrast a text

to an audio, video, or multimedia version.• Reading Literature 7.4 Determine the meaning of

words or phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds on a specific stanza of a poem.

Check Prior Knowledge

What do you already know about highwaymen?

Thinking Routine (Making Connections): Use these slides of art work to create a story of how this paintings connect.

Connection game: Take these slides of art work to add to your connection story of how this paintings connect.

Thinking Routine

BackgroundThe highwayman in this famous poem is a robber who lived in England in the 1700s. Highwaymen used to stop stagecoaches on the lonely moorlands of northern England and Scotland to rob the rich passengers of money and jewels. Some highwaymen were considered heroes by the Scots because they shared the money with the poor. Highwaymen were sometimes dashing, romantic figures who dressed in expensive clothes. The poem is based on a true story that the poet heard while he was on vacation in the part of England where highwaymen used to lie in wait for stagecoaches.

The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes (p. 161)

The wind was a torrent of darkness upon the gusty trees, The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas, The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor, And the highwayman came ridingRiding ridingThe highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.

He'd a French cocked hat on his forehead, and a bunch of lace at his chin; He'd a coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of fine doe-skin. They fitted with never a wrinkle; his boots were up to his thigh! And he rode with a jeweled twinkleHis rapier hilt a-twinkleHis pistol butts a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky.

Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard, He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred, He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there But the landlord's black-eyed daughterBess, the landlord's daughterPlaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked Where Tim, the ostler listened--his face was white and peakedHis eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay, But he loved the landlord's daughterThe landlord's black-eyed daughter; Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say:

"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart; I'm after a prize tonight, But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light. Yet if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day, Then look for me by moonlight, Watch for me by moonlight, I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."

He stood upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand, But she loosened her hair in the casement! His face burnt like a brand As the sweet black waves of perfume came tumbling o'er his breast, Then he kissed its waves in the moonlight (O sweet black waves in the moonlight!), And he tugged at his reins in the moonlight, and galloped away to the west.

He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon. And out of the tawny sunset, before the rise of the moon, When the road was a gypsy's ribbon over the purple moor, The redcoat troops came marching Marching marching King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.

They said no word to the landlord; they drank his ale instead, But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed. Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets by their side; There was Death at every window, And Hell at one dark window, For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would ride.

They had bound her up at attention, with many a sniggering jest! They had tied a rifle beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast! "Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her. She heard the dead man say, "Look for me by moonlight, Watch for me by moonlight, I'll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way."

She twisted her hands behind her, but all the knots held good! She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood! They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years, Till, on the stroke of midnight, Cold on the stroke of midnight, The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!

The tip of one finger touched it, she strove no more for the rest; Up, she stood up at attention, with the barrel beneath her breast. She would not risk their hearing, she would not strive again, For the road lay bare in the moonlight, Blank and bare in the moonlight, And the blood in her veins, in the moonlight, throbbed to her love's refrain.

Tlot tlot, tlot tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hooves, ringing clear; Tlot tlot, tlot tlot, in the distance! Were they deaf that they did not hear? Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill, The highwayman came riding Riding riding The redcoats looked to their priming! She stood up straight and still.

Tlot tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot tlot, in the echoing night! Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light! Her eyes grew wide for a moment, she drew one last deep breath, Then her finger moved in the moonlightHer musket shattered the moonlightShattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him with her death.

He turned, he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood Bowed, with her head o'er the casement, drenched in her own red blood! Not till the dawn did he hear it, and his face grew grey to hear How Bess, the landlord's daughter, The landlord's black-eyed daughter, Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.

Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky, With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high! Blood-red were his spurs in the golden noon, wine-red was his velvet coat When they shot him down in the highway, Down like a dog in the highway, And he lay in his blood in the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.

And still on a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees, When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas, When the road is a gypsy's ribbon looping the purple moor, The highwayman comes ridingRiding ridingThe highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.

Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard, He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred, He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there But the landlord's black-eyed daughterBess, the landlord's daughter Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair

SOMEBODY WANTED BUT SO

______________________ (name of character)WANTED ______________,BUT __________________,SO ___________________ .Repeat as needed

How does the poem’s form contribute to its meaning?

poetic form = type of poem Ex. narrative, ballad, free verse,

sonnet, haiku, concrete poem

structure = characteristics of the poetic form (what it looks like / sounds like)

structure = EXAMPLEDoes it have a rhyme scheme?Is there a meter?Does the poet use repetition?

stanza = section of a poem (like a paragraph)

meter = regular rhythm of a poem (like a drum beat); based on stressed and unstressed syllables

narrative poem = poem that tells a story

The wind was a torrent of darkness upon the gusty trees,

The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,

The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor,

And the highwayman came ridingRiding riding

The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.

In the first stanza, which lines rhyme?

A

A

B

B

C

He'd a French cocked hat on his forehead, and a bunch of lace at his chin;

He'd a coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of fine doe-skin.

They fitted with never a wrinkle; his boots were up to his thigh!

And he rode with a jeweled twinkleHis rapier hilt a-twinkle

His pistol butts a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky.

In the second stanza, which lines rhyme?

D

D

E

E

F

Label the rhyme scheme for the rest of the poem. How does the rhyme scheme effect your

experience as a reader?

HINT: Start with F

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“STAY GOLD, PONYBOY. STAY GOLD.”

Changes the literal meaning. Includes symbol, metaphor, simile, personification

Example

“Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.”

Gold is a color and it symbolizes ???

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SIMILEHow public—like a frog!

compares two unlike things using like, as, or resembles

Example

“How public—like a frog!”SIMILE

How public—like a frog!

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compares two unlike things (without a word such as like)

Example

That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.

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when an object or thing represents an idea

Example

I wandered lonely as a cloud

The color gold and sunsets in The Outsiders

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when an object or animal has human-like traits

Example

I saw a crowd, a host of daffodils

The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas (l. 2)

Draw a Picture:

• Simile or Metaphor?

• What is being compared?

• What does it mean?

The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor (l. 3)

Draw a Picture:

• Simile or Metaphor?

• What is being compared?

• What does it mean?

SYMBOL

Bess, the landlord's daughter Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair (l. 16)

Blood-red were his spurs

in the golden noon, wine-red was his velvet coat (l. 86)

THE COLOR RED• What does the color red

mean to you?

• What might it SYMBOLIZE in the poem?

Topics Themes = Message or Truth about life (Choose 1)• I think the author message may be…• Maybe the author is trying to say…• People need to…• Life is like this when…

• love• betrayal• death• hope / despair • •

The Highwayman Video

What did you observe in the film?• I noticed• I saw• I observed

Compare:• One similarity between the poem and

the film is…• One difference between the poem and

the film is…• Overall, I prefer _____ because…

Highwayman Music Video• “Highwayman” performed by

Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson

Highwayman Music Video

• How is this perspective similar to / different than “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes?

Highwayman Music Video

• How are the song and poem similar? How are they different?

“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allen Poe

READ AND REREAD

•WHAT DO YOU NOTICE?

READ AND REREAD

•WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE?

READ AND REREAD

•WHAT IS YOUR GOLDEN LINE?

READ AND REREAD

•WHAT ELSE DO YOU NOTICE?

ballad– from medieval times–meant to be heard (sung or

spoken)– usually 4-line stanzas with rhyme

scheme– usually dramatic or tragic

(sometimes comedic)

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• What rhymes do you see in “Annabel Lee”?

• Write some words that rhyme.• Label them as end, internal, or

near rhymes.

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a purposeful exaggeration to make a specific point

Example

The speaker exaggerates about…

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repetition of the same consonant sound for poetic effect

Example

We strike straight. We sing sin.

The s sound works because…

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words or phrases that sound like what they describe

MOREEXAMPLES

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sounds, words, and phrases repeated on purpose in order to create rhythm and emphasize important ideas

Example

What repeats in “Annabel Lee”?

More Poetic Terms

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description that appeals to the five senses

Example“Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard…”

What sense(s) are described?

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an emotional association or feeling that comes with a word;may be positive or negative

ExampleWhich synonyms for hot are positive? Which are negative?

What other synonyms can you think of?

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literal or dictionary definition of a word

ExampleSame denotation but different connotations:

-skinny-slender-slim-thin-scrawny

Topics Themes = Message or Truth about life (Choose 1)• I think the author message may be…• Maybe the author is trying to say…• People need to…• Life is like this when…

• love• betrayal• death• hope / despair • •