Why was the poem highwayman written?
There are ominous descriptions throughout the poem, such as the wind being a “torrent of darkness” and the “Ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas” (galleon here refers to a kind of ship). This is all foreboding imagery that foreshadow the tragic end. A ‘moral’ or ‘message’ to the poem could be interpreted as greed, jealousy and vengeance lead to downfall and destruction, similar to the story of Rome and Juliet. It could be interpreted many different ways however.
