Is there any onomatopoeia in "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes?

Yes, there is onomatopoeia in "The Highwayman," specifically when the highwayman's horse is said to make a "tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot" sound.

PDF

Expert Answers

| Certified Educator

In the third stanza of part 1 of the poem, the highwayman and his horse approach the inn where the landlord's daughter lives. The sound of the horse's hooves approaching the inn over the cobblestone ground is described onomatopoeically: "Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed." The words clattered and clashed onomatopoeically echo the sound of the horse's hooves against the ground.

In part 2 of the poem, in stanzas 6 and 7, the landlord's daughter hears the highwayman's horse in the distance, indicating that he is riding back to her. The sound that the landlord's daughter hears is "Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot." This is a softer, lighter sound than the earlier onomatopoeia of "clattered" and "clashed," indicating that the highwayman and his horse are, at this point in the poem, much further away.

In addition to onomatopoeia, the poem contains several more general examples of sound imagery, including "He tapped with his whip on the shutters," "a stable-wicket creaked," and "shrieking a curse to the sky." The poem's first line may also be said to contain sound imagery, though it is less obvious: "The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees." Though this line describes the darkness of the night, the fact that the speaker can still tell that it is "gusty" indicates the sound of wind.

Approved by eNotes Editorial Team