Noyes, << noyz, >> Alfred (1880-1958), was one of the most popular English poets of the early 1900’s. He became famous for his ballads and lyric poems about English history. Many of Noyes’s poems also show his love of the sea. His reputation has declined since the mid-1900’s, but some of his poetry remains popular with children, especially the exciting ballad “The Highwayman” (1906).
Noyes was born on Sept. 16, 1880, in Wolverhampton. His first volume of poems, The Loom of Years, was published in 1902. Noyes established himself as a leading poet with Drake, an epic poem published as a serial from 1906 to 1908. This work deals with the famous English sea captain Sir Francis Drake. In The Golden Hynde (1908), Noyes filled his poems with colorful images of the sea and sea voyages. Tales of the Mermaid Tavern (1913) describes the adventures of noted Englishmen who lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The subjects include Sir Walter Raleigh and William Shakespeare.
Noyes’s most ambitious work was perhaps The Torchbearers, a long three-part poem. It honors the contributions of the great scientists of history. The poem consists of The Watchers of the Sky (1922), The Book of Earth (1925), and The Last Voyage (1930).
In 1927, Noyes was converted to Roman Catholicism. His conversion influenced many of his later writings. In The Unknown God (1934), he wrote a prose account of his change from an unbeliever to a devout Christian.
In addition to verse, Noyes wrote literary criticism, novels, plays, and short stories. Some of his literary essays were collected in Pageant of Letters (1940). Noyes also wrote an autobiography, Two Worlds from Memory (1953). He died on June 28, 1958.
