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The Listeners By-Walter de La Mare I] Words from the Poem II] Vocabulary 1. Rhyming Words 2. Alliteration III] Answer with reference to context : 1. 'Is there anybody there.....head.' a) Where is the traveller at present? b) How does th...

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Study Guide Prepared by Michael J. Cummings ... © 2011
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....... "The Listeners" is narrative poem centering a traveler's encounter with the supernatural. It was first published in London in 1912 by Constable and Company in The Listeners and Other Poems, a collection of Walter de la Mare's verses.

Characters

The Traveller : A man who arrives on horseback late at night to call at a dwelling in a forest. When he pounds on the door, no one answers.
The Listeners: Phantoms inside the dwelling who listen to the Traveller speaking as he pounds on the door. They do not respond to him.
Them: The people that the Traveller came to see (line 27). However, these people do not respond, possibly because they are sleeping, they do not wish to see the Traveller, or they are now living elsewhere. It is also possible that they died and became the phantom listeners.

Narration

....... The rhyming lines are 2 and 4, 6 and 8, 10 and 12, 14 and 16, and so on. All the rhymes are masculine rather than feminine. In masculine rhyme, only the last syllable of one line rhymes with the last syllable of another line, as in lines 2 and 4 ( door and floor) and 6 and 8 ( head and said). In feminine rhyme, the last two syllables of one line rhyme with the last two syllables of another line, as in ringing and singing.

....... The line lengths range from six to fourteen syllables. Most of the lines combine anapests and iambs, as in line 4:

....Anapest...................Iamb..................Iamb Of the
FOR..|..est's FERN..|..y FLOOR

Some lines contain an incomplete final foot (catalexis), as in line 21

.....Anapest....................Anapest........................Iamb..................Incomplete And he
FELT..|..in his HEART..|..their STRANGE..|..ness

'Is there anybody there?' said the Traveller, And a bird flew up out of the 'Neath the starred and And the
Knocking on the moonlit door;

turret, 3 .....................................5 Above the Traveller's head:

'Is there anybody there?' he said.
But no one descended to the Traveller;
No head from the leaf-fringed sill......................................10
Leaned over and looked into his grey eyes,
Where he stood perplexed and still.
But only a host of phantom listeners
That dwelt in the lone house then
Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight.........................15
To that voice from the world of men:
Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,
That goes down to the empty hall,

By the lonely Traveller's call.............................................20
And he felt in his heart their strangeness,
Their stillness answering his cry,

For he suddenly smote on the door, even..............................25
Louder, and lifted his head:-
'Tell them I came, and no one answered,
That I kept my word,' he said.
Never the least stir made the listeners,
Though every word he spake.............................................30
Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house
leafy sky; 7 From the one man left awake:
Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,

And how the silence surged softly backward,.........................35
When the plunging hoofs were gone. sound of iron on stone, 8

Notes

Supernatural Eavesdropping

Mystery

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Figures of Speech
....... Following are examples of figures of speech in the poem. For definitions of figures of speech, see Literary Terms.

Alliteration

f orest'sf ernys mote upon the door again as econd time (line 7)s uddenlys mote (line 25)L ouder, andl ifted his head (line 26)s ilences urgeds oftly backward (line 35)f loor (line 4)

Anaphora
Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight
To that voice from the world of men:
Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,
That goes down to the empty hall
Metaphor
in an air stirred and shaken
Comparison of the air to a thing that can be shaken
Paradox
Their stillness answering his cry
Stillness (inaudibility) is giving an answer.
Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,
And the sound of iron on stone,
And how the silence surged softly backward (lines 33-37)
They heard . . . how the silence surged. (One cannot hear silence.)

Study Questions and Writing Topics

Write a short poem with an eerie setting. The topic is open.

In your opinion, who are the people (or entities) that the Traveller came to see? Why did he want to see them? Explain your answers.

What do the lines centering on the bird and the horse contribute to the effect of the poem?

In line 20, does lonely modifyTraveller's or call?

Lines 21 and 22 report that "he [the Traveller] felt in his heart their strangeness, / Their stillness answering his cry." Does this line mean that the phantoms are communicating with the Traveller?

Lines 25 and 26 contain enjambment. Explain this literary device. For information on enjambment, click here.

Will the the Traveller make a return visit to the house?

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Cummings Guides Home .. | .. Contact This Site . . Study Guide Prepared by Michael J. Cummings ... © 2011. Type of Work and Publication Year ....... "The Listeners" is narrative poem centering a traveler's encounter with the supernatural.

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So it is much better for your que way.You can take the door and what lies behind it as The Quest of a Life, The Higher Self, One´s Maker or The Promise of Heaven. Are the phantoms the ghosts of Men or even the spirits of an extinct species?!

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The Listeners by Walter De La Mare
Birthdate: April 25, 1873
Deathdate: June 22, 1956
Born in Charlton, Kent (in the south of England)
St. Paul's Cathedral Choir School, which he left at age 16, no further education
From 1890 to 1908 he worked in London in the accounting department of the Anglo-American Oil Company
wrote short stories and poetry while working as a bookkeeper during the 1890s
De la Mare's first successful book was The Listeners
first published short story, "Kismet," appeared in the journal Sketch in 1895
In 1902, he published his first major work, the poetry collection Songs of Childhood
He was granted a civil list pension in 1908, which him to terminate his corporate employment and focus on writing
His favorite themes are childhood, death, dreams, commonplace objects and events
His work is often compared with Thomas Hardy and William Blake for their respective themes of mortality and visionary illumination
The Listeners
And he felt in his heart their strangeness,
Their stillness answering his cry,
While his horse moved, cropping the dark turf,
'Neath the starred and leafy sky;
For he suddenly smote on the door, even
Louder, and lifted his head:-
'Tell them I came, and no one answered,
That I kept my word,' he said.
Never the least stir made the listeners,
Though every word he spake
Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house
From the one man left awake:
Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,
And the sound of iron on stone,
And how the silence surged softly backward,
When the plunging hoofs were gone.
"The Listeners" by Walter De La Mare
By Cambria Brown & Cassidy Fosdick

'Is there anybody there?' said the Traveller,
Knocking on the moonlit door;
And his horse in the silence champed the grasses
Of the forest's ferny floor:
And a bird flew up out of the turret,
Above the Traveller's head:
And he smote upon the door again a second time;
'Is there anybody there?' he said.
But no one descended to the Traveller;
No head from the leaf-fringed sill
Leaned over and looked into his grey eyes,
Where he stood perplexed and still.
But only a host of phantom listeners
That dwelt in the lone house then
Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight
To that voice from the world of men:
Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,
That goes down to the empty hall,
Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken
By the lonely Traveller's call.

continued...
Imagery
"Knocking on the moonlit door; And his horse in the silence champed the grass Of the forest's ferny floor And a bird flew up out of the turret" (lines 2,3,4,5)
Rhyme
" For he suddenly smote on the door, even Louder, and lifted his
head
:-- 'Tell them I came, and no one answered, That I kept my word,' he
said
." (lines 25-28)
Symbolism
"Where he stood perplexed and still. But only a host of phantom listeners" (lines 12-13)
Work Cited
http://www.poemhunter.com/walter-de-la-mare/
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/walter-de-la-mare
http://myfavouriteliterature.blogspot.com/2011/07/listeners-by-walter-de-la-mare-summary.html
About Walter de la Mare
The use of imagery in this passage helps to highlight the mood and the theme by casting a bleary imposing scene for the Traveller to face making it more of an obstacle to come and follow on his word. Mare shrouds the scene in darkness and silence leaving the reader to fill what unseen things that lie there with their own imagination. Also, when the bird flies through the turret it gives the image of a castle like building that casts its creeping shadow across the property making the place even less approachable.
The rhyme scheme throughout the poem is abcb and it repeats itself every four lines. Although, in this particular section the Traveller reveals why it was he came to the house and how even though he came to an unknown place he followed through on his word. On lines 25 and 26 the rhyme emphasizes how the Traveller feels rejected while at the same time he has fulfilled to himself his duty on following true to his word. Also, what lies between the rhyme is important, on line 27 when the Traveller says that no one answered he supplies to the reader that there are beings that are in the house, but none that stir in the real world.
Mare uses the phantom listeners as a way to subtly show the reader that what was once was, is now just a phantom or a illusion The Traveller is trying to fulfill his unknown duty to someone or something that was once familiar to him that resided in the home, but is now home to silence and ghosts. It gives hints and clue that the Traveller's goal is to finish something that he left undone. Although, possibly the Traveller himself could know that it is already to late. Even so the Traveller continues to pursue his endeavor of completing whatever it is he left unfinished.
Theme: The theme is listening and heeding to your own word and following through with it despite the fact there may some obstacles or in the fact that it may be already to late to do what was once promised.

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Walter De La Mare By Cambria Brown & Cassidy Fosdick

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The Listeners by Walter De La MareBirthdate: April 25, 1873Deathdate: June 22, 1956Born in Charlton, Kent (in the south of England)St.

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Ghost Stories of Walter de la Mare All Hallows

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Ghost Stories of Walter de la Mare All Hallows

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A little film made at art school to my favourite poem by Walter de la Mare. Have recently had it transfered onto DVD from an old video tape and sadlly the quality is terrible...but do persevere...if only to hear the mellifluous tones of the brilliant reader Darryl de Beugny.

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The Listeners
'Is there anybody there?' said the Traveller,

Knocking on the moonlit door;

And his horse in the silence champed the grasses

Of the forest's ferny floor:

And a bird flew up out of the turret,

Above the Traveller's head:

And he smote upon the door again a second time;

'Is there anybody there?' he said.

But no one descended to the Traveller;

No head from the leaf-fringed sill

Leaned over and looked into his grey eyes,

Where he stood perplexed and still.

But only a host of phantom listeners

That dwelt in the lone house then

Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight

To that voice from the world of men:

Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,

That goes down to the empty hall,

Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken

By the lonely Traveller's call.

And he felt in his heart their strangeness,

Their stillness answering his cry,

While his horse moved, cropping the dark turf,

'Neath the starred and leafy sky;

For he suddenly smote on the door, even

Louder, and lifted his head:-

'Tell them I came, and no one answered,

That I kept my word,' he said.

Never the least stir made the listeners,

Though every word he spake

Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house

From the one man left awake:

Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,

And the sound of iron on stone,

And how the silence surged softly backward,

When the plunging hoofs were gone.

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THE LISTENERS. BY WALTER DE LA MARE (1873-1956). The Listeners 'Is there anybody there?' said the Traveller, Knocking on the moonlit door; And his horse in the silence champed the grasses Of the forest's ferny floor: And a bird flew up out of the turret,