The Listener
by Walter de la Mare
The Poem:
" '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 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."
The Summary of the Poem:
The poem is set in a moonlit night with all the mysterious elements of nature and a traveller with his horse. The traveller reached a aforesaid house in the forest and he knocked the door asking if there was anybody to greet him. His horse was munching grasses of the ferny floor of the forest. Suddenly a bird came out of the turret and flew over the traveller's head. He knocked the door for a second time. But no one came out or peeped to see him. He was standing there still.
Only some mysterious listeners listened his knocking and they were the witness of his presence. The moon light went through the slightly open spaces of the house and so as the traveller's voice echoed there. Only the stillness answering the call of the traveller. Then the horse became impatient and it moved cropping the dark turf beneath the starred and leafy sky. The traveller banged on the door for the third time and said to tell them that he had come and kept his promise. Only his voice echoed in the shadowiness of the still house.
Then the traveller went back along with his horse. The sound of the iron of the hoof of the horse on the stony path of the forest faded away gradually. The silence surged softly backward.
COMPREHENSION
1. Answer the following questions.
a. When and where does the action of the poem take place?
= The action of the poem takes place in a moonlit night at a lonely house in a forest.
b. Which words or phrases tell us that the plants around the house have overgrown?
= The words or phrases 'the grasses of the forest's ferny floor' tell us that the plants around the house have overgrown.
c. Which word from near the start of the poem suggests that this house is quite big and grand?
= The word 'turret' from near the start of the poem suggests that this house is quite big and grand.
d. What is 'stirred and shaken' by the traveller's shouts?
= 'The faint moonbeams' are 'stirred and shaken' by the traveller's shouts.
e. Which lines tell us that the Traveller had made a promise that he would come to the house?
= The lines " 'Tell them I came, and no one answered, /That I kept my word', he said." tell us that the Traveller had made a promise that he would come to the house?.
f. Which word is repeated at the beginning and ending of the poem, and what impact does it have?
= The word 'silence' is repeated at the beginning and ending of the poem. This shows the mysterious ambience of the place and nature at the night.
g. Which words are describe the following?
i. the door.
= moonlit;
ii. the forest floor.
= ferny;
iii. the sill.
= leaf-fringed;
iv. the Traveller's eyes.
= grey;
v. the house.
= lone;
vi. the sky.
= starred and leafy;
vii. the turf.
= dark;
viii. the hoof.
= plunging;
These questions are more difficult. Discuss them first.
h. The poet has created a creepy atmosphere through his word choices and his use of imagery.
Which words and images creates a creepy atmosphere?
= In this poem, the poet Walter de la Mare has created a mysterious and creepy atmosphere which left the readers with many questions unanswered. This mysterious sense of the poem has made the poem more attractive to read.
The traveller reached a aforesaid house in the forest and he knocked the door asking if there was anybody to greet him. His horse was munching grasses of the ferny floor of the forest. The traveller had come a long way. His eyes were grey. Suddenly a bird came out of the turret and flew over the traveller's head. He knocked the door for a second time. But no one came out or peeped through the leaf-fringed window sill to see him. He was standing there still.
Only some mysterious listeners listened his knocking and they were the witness of his presence. The moon light went through the slightly open spaces of the house and so as the traveller's voice echoed there. Only the stillness answering the call of the traveller. Then the horse became impatient and it moved cropping the dark turf beneath the starred and leafy sky. The traveller banged on the door for the third time and said to tell them that he had come and kept his promise. Only his voice echoed in the shadowiness of the still house.
Then the traveller went back along with his horse. The sound of the iron of the hoof of the horse on the stony path of the forest faded away gradually. The silence surged softly backward.
i. The poem gives us clues to the characters in the poem. Copy the table below and fill it in.
=
|
Character(s) |
What we know about them |
Evidence from the poem |
|---|---|---|
|
The Traveller |
Have come long way to the lone house in the forest to keep his
promise. He is tired. |
He knocked the door three times. His eyes were grey. He said that he
had come to keep his promise while knocking the door for the last time. |
|
The listeners |
The ghostly and phantom listeners only listened to the Traveller’s
voice but did not answer a word. |
Only a host of phantom listeners lived there in the lone house. They
did not belong to the world of men. |
|
Them (line 27) |
‘Them’ are the unknown and unrevealed dwellers of the house. |
No one came out of the house or peeped though the window sill to the
Traveller. |
LEARNING ABOUT POETRY
2. What is the rhyming scheme of the poem.
= The poem has thirty-six lines. It has the rhyme scheme of abcb and so on.
3. Which sentence most accurately describes the form and viewpoint of this poem?
a. This is a narrative poem written in the third person. [✓]
b. This is a sonnet written in the third person. [ ]
c. This is a narrative poem written in the first person. [ ]
4. Answer the following with reference to context.
a. "Where he stood perplexed and still."
i. Who is being described?
= The Traveller is being described.
ii. Why is he perplexed?
= He is perplexed as nobody answered him or came out or peeped through the window sill to see him.
b. "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:"
i. What could 'phantom listeners' refer to?
= 'Phantom listeners' could refer to the non-living objects of the house including the insignificant animals that lived in that lone house.
ii. How does the poet make the listener seem like real people?
= The poet describes the listeners such a way as they were waiting to know the stranger Traveller more. As it was a night and there were no one around. So the listeners seemed to take a trial of the Traveller before opening the door. This way the poet makes the listener seem like real people.
iii. Who is being referred to as 'that voice from the world of men'?
= The Traveller is being referred to as 'that voice from the world of men'.
About the Poet:
Walter de la Mare (1873-1956) spent most of his life writing poems and stories, mostly for children. His first book of poems was called Songs of Childhood (1902). The main themes he wrote about were romance and nature. His style was simple and the mysteries of magic, the moonlight and quietness fascinated him greatly. These subjects are introduced in most of his poems.
In many of his poems, there is a mystery which readers must solve as best they can. This is one of his best known poems and the reader is left with many questions.