The Highwayman Poem Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. Who wrote “The Highwayman”?
Rudyard Kipling
Walter de la Mare
Robert Louis Stevenson
Alfred Noyes
2. Why do King George’s men tie Bess up with a musket positioned near her?
They want her to identify the highwayman from a distance.
They are using her as bait while they wait to ambush the highwayman.
They are punishing her for refusing to reveal stolen goods.
They expect her to defend the inn if robbers attack.
3. What is Bess’s purpose in firing the musket?
To signal that she has escaped from the soldiers
To shoot the leader of the waiting redcoats
To frighten the highwayman’s horse away from the inn
To warn the highwayman of the ambush, even though the shot kills her
4. Why does Tim secretly listen to the highwayman and Bess?
He loves Bess and is jealous of the highwayman.
He hopes to join the highwayman’s next robbery.
He suspects Bess has stolen money from the inn.
He has been ordered to guard the inn’s window.
5. What causes the highwayman to ride back toward the soldiers later?
He realizes he left his weapons at the inn.
Tim challenges him to return and prove his courage.
He learns at dawn that Bess died while warning him.
He discovers the soldiers have taken his horse.
6. What happens to the highwayman when he returns?
The redcoats shoot him down on the highway.
He escapes after setting fire to the inn.
Tim captures him and hands him to the soldiers.
He surrenders after finding Bess’s body.
7. After struggling against the ropes for hours, what does Bess finally manage to reach?
The knot securing her hands
The inn window’s latch
The musket’s trigger
A bell used to summon Tim
8. Which description belongs to the highwayman’s coat?
It is made of brown doeskin.
It is decorated with a dark-red love-knot.
It is made of claret velvet.
It is as white as the moonlit road.
9. Who is Bess?
The daughter of a soldier
The landlord’s daughter
The keeper of a roadside tollgate
The highwayman’s sister
10. If his work delays him, what does the highwayman promise Bess?
He will send Tim back with a message before dawn.
He will return by moonlight even if hell bars the way.
He will hide near the inn until the soldiers leave.
He will meet her on the moor at sunset the next day.
11. In the opening stanza, which image presents the road as a bright path across the landscape?
A ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas
A cascade of perfume from the window
A torrent of darkness among the gusty trees
A ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor
12. Where do the soldiers position the musket’s barrel after binding Bess?
Beside the stable door
Against the window glass
Across her knees
Beneath her breast
13. What does the repeated “Tlot-tlot” imitate as the highwayman approaches?
The sound of the horse’s hoofbeats
Bess’s heartbeat as she waits
The soldiers tapping on the shutters
The inn clock striking midnight
14. How does the highwayman initially respond when he hears the gunshot?
He turns and spurs his horse westward.
He charges directly toward the inn.
He dismounts and hides beside the road.
He assumes Bess is welcoming him home.
15. How does the poem’s final ghostly scene connect with its earlier events?
Tim repeatedly confesses his betrayal to travelers at the inn.
The highwayman rides back to the inn, where Bess waits at the window as before.
Bess wanders the moor searching for the highwayman’s horse.
The soldiers return each winter to reenact their ambush.
16. What is Tim’s role at the inn?
He is the landlord who serves the travelers.
He is a soldier posted as a lookout.
He is the ostler who looks after the horses.
He is a messenger employed by the highwayman.