The Highwayman
BY: Madison Forcier
What It's All About
In this poem titled "The Highwayman", many interesting events occur, telling a story of love and violence. It takes place during the American Revolution, when being a highwayman, or robbing, was very common. One very eve, the highwayman, finely dressed, arrived at a dark and mysterious inn. He was searching for a certain someone named Bess, a woman he had much affection for. He told her that he would be back after he succeeded gathering his "prize". Nearby, a creepy man named Tim had been eavesdropping, but that was not known by Bess and the highwayman. Tim had also loved Bess, but he did not like the highwayman. He was gone mostly all the next day when British troops marched up to the door of the inn. They tied Bess up to the bed, gagged her, and bound a musket to her, the barrel pointing up. She managed to get one hand free, but she was in severe pain. She saw the highwayman finally come, but as a warning she fired, and died. The highwayman turned to go back to the inn as an act of love, but was also killed. It is said that their spirits still roam the old, dark inn, but their love for each other will never die.
Musket
This was the gun that was bound to Bess and that sadly killed her.
Bess and the Highwayman
Redcoat
British soldiers, such as the one in this picture, marched to the inn.