Epic Poem: An Analysis Of 'The Highwayman'

One of the books I read this summer was called Adam of the Road. Adam of the Road is based in 13th century England. The story is told from the perspective of Eleven year old Adam. One of Adam’s favorite things to do was to run and play in the fields with his dog, Nick, until that was no longer possible. One day Adam, Nick and Adam’s father, Roger, set out on a journey. They trek through the open fields and the cobblestone paths until they find and Inn to stay in. After they get settled in they eat supper and then they go to sleep, Adam places Nick under his bed and tells him to stay so Nick does not run away. When Roger and Adam wake up in the morning they immediately notice Nick is missing. Another person who is staying at the Inn says that

The atmospheric conditions may represent the hardships that the couple had to go through in their relationship, and may also be used contrast the unpredictability of the outside world compared to the steady relationship that the couple have. ‘A Youth Mowing’ is also a poem about relationships, this time it is between a younger couple. The river ‘Isar’ is a symbol of freedom, it represents the way that the men’s lives are. However, this sense of liberty is broken by the ‘swish of the scythe-strokes’ as the girl takes ‘four sharp breaths.’ Sibilance is used to show that there is a sinister undertone to the freedom that the boy has which will be broken by the news that his girlfriend is bringing. She feels guilty for ‘what’s in store,’ as now the boy will have to be committed to spending the rest of his life with her, and paying the price for the fun that they had.

Have you ever wonder why they built borders? Or who built them? Or who prevents and controls illegals from crossing, and what they do to accomplish them from crossing? In the book, The Devils Highway, by Luis Alberto Urrea defines the effects the desert has to offer for the immigrant’s entrance. The Devils High Way is a measureless desert past Mexico and Sonora, which is one of the most isolated and driest deserts in the U.S. This is a desert which few

Spurs; metal devices attached to the heel of the boot, featuring a small metal shank, usually with a small serrated wheel attached, used to allow the rider to provide a stronger (or sometimes, more precise) leg cue to the horse.

The speaker uses imagery repeatedly in this poem so we always know exactly what is happening. “we drove fast toward smoke” is said in line 4 which seems really basic but the basics are really import to the poem because any little descriptive words shape a poem and that is just what Barecca is doing here. In lines 17 and 18 the speaker describes her father’s smile “my father smiled a smile from a secret, brittle heart” she says he smiles from a secret brittle heart when he sees a Cadillac in a driveway which makes the reader think of a malicious smile on the fathers face. The malicious smile in relation to the Cadillacs and the fact that he likes to see fires in rich neighbourhoods also helps us come to the conclusion that he finds pleasure in seeing houses of upper class citizens burn, because he is less fortunate in losing his job, which is a key part to the poem.

“I’d go on my two bare feet. But when, with my brother’s jack-knife, I had cut me a long limber horse with a good thick knob for a head…The willow knob with the strap jouncing between my thighs was the pommel and yet the poll of my nickering pony’s head,” says the main character. He basks in the glory of his younger years, and longs for a time when he was oblivious to all of the evils of the world. Containing many simple phrases, the structure of the poem brings an airy vibe to the mystical imagery. “My teeth bared as we wheeled and swished through the dust again. I was the horse and the rider, and the leather I slapped to his rump spanked my own behind,” reads the poem. Descriptive verbs allow the reader to see the character’s movements. The reader is able to easily understand that the character is comparing himself to his horse which he becomes one with. The poem is written in a first person point of view in which the character is within and beside

In the Robert Frost poem ‘’The Road Not Taken’’ there is a pervasive and in many ways intrinsic sense of journey throughout. In such, the poem explores an aspect associated with human decision, or indecision, relative to the oxymoron, that choices with the least the difference should bear the most indifference, but realistically, carry the most difficulty. This is conveyed through the use of several pivotal techniques. Where the first such instance is the use of an extended metaphor, where the poem as a whole becomes a literary embodiment of something more, the journey of life. The second technique used is the writing style of first person. Where in using this, the reader can depict a clear train of thought from the walker and understand

Into this atmosphere of spiritual paralysis the boy bears, with blind hopes and romantic dreams, his encounter with first love. In the face of ugly, drab reality-"amid the curses of laborers," "jostled by drunken men and bargaining women"-he carries his aunt's parcels as she shops in the market place, imagining that he bears, not parcels, but a "chalice through a throng of foes." The "noises converged in a single sensation of life" and in a blending of Romantic and Christian symbols he transforms in his mind a perfectly ordinary girl into an enchanted princess: untouchable, promising, saintly. Setting in this scene depicts the harsh, dirty reality of life which the boy blindly ignores. The contrast between the real and the boy's dreams is ironically drawn and clearly foreshadows the boy's inability to keep the dream, to remain blind.

The use of symbolism and imagery is beautifully orchestrated in a magnificent dance of emotion that is resonated throughout the poem. The two main ideas that are keen to resurface are that of personal growth and freedom. Furthermore, at first glimpse this can be seen as a simple poem about a women’s struggle with her counterpart. However, this meaning can be interpreted more profoundly than just the causality of a bad relationship.

From the beginning of William Carlos Williams’ poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” the reader is captured by the statement “so much depends” (Williams line 1). As this short work continues the reader is seeing a graceful image that Williams creates. The mind’s eye can envision a painting that is tranquil, yet has the quiet activity of a rural farm home. With this in mind, what exactly is the author sharing with the reader? The poem communicates charmingly the dependence a man has for a vital piece of equipment.

Since “Annabel Lee” and “The Highwayman” are both narrative poems, the speakers of each story influence certain features of the plots. The narrator of “Annabel Lee” is also the affected lover who is recalling the catastrophic incident that is his lover’s death. Since he is actually a part of the storyline, he conveys the plot the way he had experienced it as it began “with a love that was more than love” but progressed onward to the “killing [of his] Annabel Lee”. The passionate narrating establishes his reliability as a narrator as the audience can truly sense his pain for the loss of his lover. However, the narrator of “The Highwayman” is not involved with any aspect of the storyline and, therefore, tells the story from a bystander’s point of view. Even though the narrator is not directly impacted by the events, they are still able to captivate the audience by utilizing lifelike elements, such as the “tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot” of the horse, to institute their trustworthiness as a narrator. Therefore, both narrators within “Annabel Lee” and “The Highwayman” add different elements of persuasion to their narratives to establish an authentic storyline.

Archetypal criticism follows a basic rule of categorizing or relating any work of literature into a set framework. It works from a subjective basis, it is used to determine and grasp the ideas of universal truths messages through literary work. The universal truths and messages are determined by identifying patterns like character types, storylines, settings, symbols. The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a novel that accurately exemplifies the principles of archetypal criticism. This narrative account associates the characters of a young minor and his father to encapsulate the ideas of archetypal criticism. McCarthy presents the novel by setting the scene of a death-defying journey through a post-apocalyptic wasteland of America. The young lad

Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is his post-apocalyptic magnus opus which combines a riveting plot along with an unconventional prose style. Released in 2006, the novel has won awards such as the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award (Wilson). Oprah Winfrey also selected the book for her book club ("Cormac McCarthy”). The author, Cormac McCarthy, was born in 1933 in Rhode Island and is said to have wrote the novel because of his son and their relationship. The Road centers around a boy and his father while they try to survive after an unknown disaster occurs. While some people may argue that the unusual style takes away from the novel, it adds to the tone and meaning of the work.

From the physical journey of driving through a town the reader will experience a second journey, a spiritual journey when they oversee the lives of the people within the town. The composer utilizes a 2nd person perspective to engage his audience and hopefully take them on the same physical and spiritual journey. He uses personification such as “The houses there wear verandas out of shyness” to give the audience a sense of the community and set a harmonizing tone. I believe this poem really captures Les Murrays hypothesized concept of journeys, as it’s much deeper than a simplistic drive.

Imagine yourself living in a barren, desolate, cold, dreary world, with a constant fear of the future. The Road, written by Cormac McCarthy and published in 2006, is a vivid and heartwarming novel that takes us through the journey of a father and a son as they travel South in a post-apocalyptic environment facing persistent challenges and struggles. McCarthy proves that love unleashes immense strength to overcome obstacles, even in times of desperation.