Highwayman Annotation Answer Key
TEKS 7.8(D), 7.8(F), 7.9(D) Grade 7 ELAR • Master Teacher Edition
TEACHER ANSWER KEY & ANNOTATION GUIDE
The Highwayman
By Alfred Noyes • Color-Coded Annotation & Guided Analysis (Exemplar Key)
Target Focus: Metaphor, Personification, Tone & Mood
Support Level: IEP / Scaffolded Model Key
Four-Color Annotation Code Legend
Teacher Key displays student text targets + filled responses
Metaphor
Equates two unlike things without like or as.
Personification
Gives human qualities or actions to non-human things.
Tone
The author's attitude toward characters or events.
Mood
The feeling or emotional atmosphere created for reader.
PART ONE: The Arrival, The Vow & The Setting of the Trap Stanzas 1–3 Guided Annotation
1
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees.
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas.
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding—
Riding—riding—
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.
2
He’d a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,
A coat of the 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 jewelled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky.
3
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 daughter,
Bess, the landlord’s daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
Task 1: Opening Metaphors Stanza 1
Highlight 3 metaphors (Blue). What eerie mood do they establish (Red)?
WORD BANK: spooky ✓ mysterious ✓ stormy ✓
COMPLETED SENTENCE STEM:
"The opening metaphors create a mysterious (or spooky / stormy) mood."
Teacher Note: Comparing wind to a flood of black water and the moon to an adrift ship signals imminent doom and Gothic suspense.
Task 2: Tone & Characterization Stanza 2
Attire sensory details: Admiring, romantic tone or fearful (Orange)?
WORD BANK: admiring ✓ romantic ✓ dashing ✓
COMPLETED SENTENCE STEM:
"The author describes the robber with an admiring (or romantic / dashing) tone."
Teacher Note: Noyes romanticizes the outlaw. Despite being a thief, he is portrayed as a gallant aristocrat in rich velvet and gleaming weapons.
Task 3: Symbol & Foreshadowing Stanza 3
Sound words and "dark red love-knot." What does it symbolize?
WORD BANK: true love ✓ passion ✓ danger ✓
COMPLETED SENTENCE STEM:
"The red love-knot symbolizes passion and danger (or true love)."
Teacher Note: The "red" directly foreshadows blood and fatal sacrifice, while the "knot" binds their tragic romantic destiny.
TEKS 7.8(D) Figurative Language • TEKS 7.8(F) Tone & Mood • Teacher Exemplar Guide Page 1 of 4
PART ONE (CONT.) & PART TWO: THE AMBUSH Stanzas 4–8 Annotation Key
TEACHER ANSWER KEY
4
And dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim the ostler listened. His face was white and peaked.
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord’s daughter,
The landlord’s red-lipped daughter.
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say—
5
“One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I’m after a prize to-night,
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.”
6
He rose 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 black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast;
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,
(O, sweet black waves in the moonlight!)
Then he tugged at his rein in the moonlight, and galloped away to the west.
PART TWO: The Red-Coat Ambush & The Silent Hostage
7
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, looping the purple moor,
A red-coat troop came marching—
Marching—marching—
King George’s men came marching, up to the old inn-door.
8
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 at 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.
Task 4: Contrast & Mood Shift St. 4
Contrast Tim with robber. Highlight words shifting mood to sinister jealousy.
BANK: jealous ✓ sickly ✓ creepy ✓
"Tim's description shifts the mood to creepy / jealous."
Key: Animalistic imagery ("dumb as a dog", "mouldy hay") introduces unsettling treachery.
Task 5: The Refrain & Tone St. 5
Underline refrain ("by moonlight"). How does vow establish defiance (Orange)?
BANK: defiant ✓ passionate ✓ devoted ✓
"The speaker's vow creates a passionate / defiant tone."
Key: "Though hell should bar the way" emphasizes fearless, absolute devotion.
Task 6: Metaphor of Hair St. 6
Locate metaphor comparing hair to water ("black cascade", "waves").
BANK: romantic ✓ loving ✓ sweet ✓
"The hair metaphor creates a romantic mood."
Key: Flowing water imagery emphasizes Bess's sensual beauty and tender intimacy.
Task 7: Road Metaphor Evolution St. 7
St. 1 "ribbon of moonlight" vs St. 7 "gypsy’s ribbon". Marching introduces dread?
BANK: dread ✓ tense ✓ threatening ✓
"The marching rhythm introduces a feeling of dread / tension."
Key: The mechanical repetition of "marching—marching" destroys the peaceful night.
Task 8: Chilling Diction & Tone St. 8
Highlight words setting cruel tone: gagged, bound, death, hell.
BANK: cruel ✓ menacing ✓ harsh ✓
"The soldiers' actions establish a cruel / menacing tone."
Key: The soldiers violate domestic peace; they are portrayed as brutal oppressors.
TEKS 7.8(D) Metaphor & Personification • TEKS 7.8(F) Tone & Mood • Accommodated Guide Page 2 of 4
PART TWO (CONT.): THE CLIMAX OF SUSPENSE & SACRIFICE Stanzas 9–14 Annotation Key
TEACHER ANSWER KEY
9
They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest.
They had bound a musket beside her, with the muzzle beneath her breast!
“Now, keep good watch!” and they kissed her. She heard the doomed 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!
10
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, now, on the stroke of midnight, Cold, on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!
11
The tip of one finger touched it. She strove no more for the rest.
Up, she stood up to attention, with the muzzle 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 of her veins, in the moonlight, throbbed to her love’s refrain.
12
Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horsehoofs 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 red coats looked to their priming! She stood up, straight and still.
13
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 moonlight,
Her musket shattered the moonlight,
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him—with her death.
14
He turned. He spurred to the west; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o’er the musket, drenched with her own blood!
Not till the dawn he heard 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.
Tone of Mockery (St. 9) Orange
Contrast soldiers' "sniggering jest" with solemn promise.
BANK: taunting, cruel, heartless
"The soldiers show a taunting / cruel tone."
Personification / Simile (St. 10) Yellow
"Hours crawled by like years." How does it build agony?
BANK: agonizing, painful, slow
"Personifying time makes the wait feel agonizing / painful."
Internal Tension (St. 11) Red
Blood "throbbed to her love's refrain." What mood takes over?
BANK: determined, heroic, desperate
"The mood shows Bess's heroic / desperate resolve."
Sound & Suspense (St. 12) Onomatopoeia
"Tlot-tlot": How does rhythm mirror horsehoofs/heart?
BANK: racing, urgent, intense
"The sound makes the scene feel urgent / intense."
Personification & Climax (St. 13) Yellow
"Musket shattered the moonlight." Why use this verb?
BANK: explosive, shocking, violent
"The verb 'shattered' makes gunshot feel violent / shocking."
Tone of Grief (St. 14) Orange
"Face grew grey to hear." What words establish grief?
BANK: grief-stricken, tragic, heartbroken
"The words show a tone of grief-stricken / tragic sorrow."
TEKS 7.8(D) Figurative Language • TEKS 7.8(F) Tone & Mood • Accommodated Guide Page 3 of 4
PART TWO (CONCLUSION) & TEKS EVIDENCE-BASED ANALYSIS Stanzas 15–17 & Extended Analysis
TEACHER ANSWER KEY
15 Stanza 15: The Retaliation & Outlaw's Death
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 on the highway,
Down like a dog on the highway,
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with a bunch of lace at his throat.
★ Stanzas 16–17: The Legend / Ghostly Refrain
...And still of 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 ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
A highwayman comes riding— Riding—riding—
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door...
✓ Teacher Annotation: The ghostly refrain repeats Stanza 1, immortalizing their love and elevating the narrative from mere tragedy into timeless folklore.
Evidence-Based Analysis Prompts (TEKS 7.8.D, 7.8.F, 7.9.D) Model Responses & Scoring Guidance
1 Metaphors & Sensory Mood (TEKS 7.8.D & 7.8.F)
WORD BANK: spooky ✓ mysterious ✓ gloomy ✓
In Stanza 1, Noyes creates three consecutive metaphors: wind (torrent of darkness), moon (ghostly galleon), road (ribbon of moonlight). How do these establish the mood?
Exemplar Stem & Response:
The metaphor comparing the moon to a "ghostly galleon" creates a mysterious / spooky mood. This makes the setting feel haunting, dangerous, and isolated because it portrays the moon as an ancient, ghostly sailing ship battered by storm clouds, which instantly casts an ominous shadow over the moor and foreshadows that the characters' voyage will end in shipwreck and disaster.
2 Personification & Climactic Suspense (TEKS 7.8.D & 7.9.D)
WORD BANK: agonizing ✓ slow ✓ violent ✓
Analyze personification in Stanza 10 ("hours crawled by like years") and Stanza 13 ("musket shattered the moonlight"). How does giving time and the gun action build suspense?
Exemplar Stem & Response:
Describing time as "crawling" builds suspense by making the wait feel agonizingly slow. Saying the musket "shattered" the night emphasizes how violent and explosive the shot was. By giving time a deliberate physical struggle, Noyes forces the reader to endure Bess's intense physical and emotional torture. Then, by describing moonlight as shattered glass, the sudden blast breaks the icy silence with shocking finality.
3 Tracing the Tone Shifts (TEKS 7.8.F)
WORD BANK: romantic ✓ sinister ✓ tragic ✓
Trace how author’s tone changes across the poem: romantic gallantry (Part 1) to cruel malice (St. 8-9) and tragic fury (St. 15). Provide textual evidence.
Exemplar Stem & Response:
In Part One, the author's tone toward the outlaw is romantic and admiring (e.g., describing his "jewelled twinkle" and "claret velvet"). Later in the poem, the tone shifts to sinister and cruel when the soldiers "gagged his daughter, and bound her" with "many a sniggering jest." Finally, the tone shifts to tragic fury in Stanza 15 when the highwayman learns of her death and is "shot down like a dog on the highway," before concluding with a reverent, mythic tribute.
IEP & Scaffolded Grading Guidance: Accept synonymous word bank selections (e.g., "gloomy" for "spooky", "dashing" for "romantic", "defiant" for "passionate"). Give full credit for Prompt 1–3 responses that accurately identify the emotional impact or author's perspective even if student uses simplified phrasing.
TEKS 7.8(D) Metaphor & Personification • TEKS 7.8(F) Tone & Mood Analysis • Accommodated Guide Page 4 of 4
