Summary: The Listeners
A traveller knocks at the door of a mansion or a house in a forest on a moonlit
night and asks if anyone is there. He wants to be let in but there is no reply
from within the house. His horse munches on grass in the undergrowth, while
the traveller waits for a response from within the house. The silence is
heightened by the sound of fluttering wings of a bird that flies out of a turret.
The man knocks again but no one comes down the stairs to open the door for
him; no face looks down from the window above to see who is knocking. The
speaker suggests that there are phantom listeners from the past, standing on
the stairs inside the house, listening to the lone man from the world of the
living. All that the listener can feel is the stillness of their presence. So, he
knocks louder and calls again and finally asks them to convey his message,
that he had come as he had promised, to the people who live there. But the
listeners from within do not respond as they hear him mount his horse and
ride away.
Walter de la Mare creates a world of mystery, suspense and magic as he
describes the listeners within the house. The traveller keeps knocking but to
no avail as the door remains shut and he is not let inside. The poem focusses
on the traveller’s isolation from the world around him. He is desperate to be
let in, but sadly, the people within do not open the door.
POEM: THE LISTENERS
A. 1. The traveller was standing outside the moonlit door of a lone house or mansion in a forest.
2. The image of a lone bird flying out of the turret suggests that the mansion is abandoned and
there are probably no humans living in it.
3. The traveller looked was perplexed because although he kept knocking on the door and asking
if anyone was at home, but no one answered even though the traveller sensed some presence
within the mansion. Even after he knocked a second time, no one appeared at the leaf-fringed
window-sill to see who it was.
4. The ‘phantom listeners’ were those who seemed to dwell inside the house but did not respond
to the traveller’s knocks or words. They were called so because though the stranger could not see
anybody, he could somehow feel their strange presence.
5. Though the traveller did not see or hear anyone, he could distinctly feel their presence, which,
however, did not seem like any human presence. He could feel their strangeness in his heart. It was
as if they had soundlessly responded to his knocks and words.
B. 1. a. Just before this, the traveller had knocked a second time on the door of the old mansion and
asked if anybody was there, inside the house.
b. Nothing happened even after the traveller knocked a second time. No one appeared and
leaned forward at the leaf-fringed windowsill to see who had come. The traveller could
only feel the presence of ghostly listeners inside the house, silently listening to what was
happening.
2. a. The traveller said this. It was meant for the listeners inside the house, whose presence the
traveller could feel.
b. The speaker had kept his word by coming to the house.
c. There was no movement or sound though the traveller’s message echoed through the still
house. Eventually the traveler got up on the horse and galloped away.
C. 1. Free response
2. silence, And a bird flew up out of the turret, But no one descended to the Traveller; Stood listening
in the quiet of the moonlight; Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken; Their stillness answering his
cry; Never the least stir made the listeners; Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house;
And how the silence surged softly backward
D. Free response
THE LISTENERS POEM
Learning Outcomes
● to recite the poem with suitable voice modulation
● to note how the poet creates an aura of mystery
● to identify the contrasts in the scenes
READING
(Students read to predict; to compare and contrast; to
scan for target words)
Ask students the following questions. Allow free
response as opinions may vary. Write down the answers
on the board and let students compare their predictions
with the setting in the poem.
● What would you expect from a poem with such a
title?
● What kind of a setting would you create for a ghost
story?
● What is the main ingredient of a ghost story?
(Suspense/ Thrill / Mystery)
Read the poem aloud to the class with the right
rhythm and voice modulation / Play the audio
track.
After you have completed the reading of the poem,
direct students to read the first nine lines.
(You may ask students to recite the poem in parts,
group-wise)
Now ask students:
How does the poem begin? (with an aura of mystery)
Who do you think is the traveller? (free response)
What kind of a place has he come to? (an abandoned
house or mansion / an uninhabited house or
mansion)
Who is keeping him company in that place? (his
horse)
Let students read the next eight lines (till …
traveller’s call)
Ask students:
What do you think must be going through his mind at
this point in time?
Who are the main characters in the poem? (The
traveller and the phantom listeners)
Which words provide a sinister feel to the poem?
Do you think the listeners are equally puzzled by the
stranger’s appearance at the door? Which words tell
you so? (stood thronging … stair—this shows that
they were puzzled by the sudden sound at the
door; they did not venture any further)
Direct students to read the poem till the end.
Ask students to explain the following lines:
And the sound of iron on stone (the sound of the
horse shoe as the horse trotted away)
And how the silence surged softly backward (silence
returned gradually to the lonely place as the
traveller moved away)
Post reading
Let students work in pairs and identify The
beginning, the middle and the end in the poem.
Beginning: A traveller arrives at the door of a lone
house in a forest and knocks at the door while his
horse munches grass.
Middle: The traveller knocks and asks if anyone is
in, expecting to be let in. But there is no response
except for a bird that flies out of the turret. He is
confused at the silence and so he knocks again, this
time a little louder and repeats his question but
no one comes down the stairs to open the door
for him. But a throng of ghosts seems to crowd
the stairway listening to the man outside. He feels
the strangeness of their presence inside and so he
knocks louder and tells them to pass on a message
that he had come as he had promised. There is no
response except an eerie stillness.
End: The listeners hear him get up on his horse and
ride away, and silence returns to the place.
Ask the class to work in groups and fill in as many
contrasts as they can identify in the poem. Provide
one example from the ones given, to help them get
started.
The unperturbed
animal
the man is puzzled and
uneasy
One traveller many ghosts
The traveller was
mortal
the listeners were
ghosts
The knocking sound
was made by the
traveller
the listeners were
quiet and made no
sound
THE LISTENERS POEM
A. Answer in brief.
1. What does the title of the poem ‘The Listeners’ suggest?
Ans: The title of the poem focusses not on the traveller but on the listeners, the silent listening
throng of ghosts who are aware of him but do not respond to his calls. It helps to create an eerie
effect and an aura of mystery.
2. Explain the setting in the poem ‘The Listeners’ and how it brings about the required effect.
Ans: The setting in the poem presents an eerie atmosphere. The deserted house in the middle
of a quiet forest, which highlights the sound of the horse’s munching of the grass, portrays a
mysterious backdrop. The sudden flutter of the bird that is disturbed by the appearance of the
stranger and the stillness of the phantom listeners create a chilling effect.
B. Answer in detail.
1. List the contrasts that the poet has woven into the poem “The Listeners’.
The poet has woven a string of contrasts between the world we know and the world we do not.
● The traveller from our world and the ghosts that throng the stairway inside the house
● The one traveller and the many ghosts
● The horse and the bird are not perturbed but the traveller is.
● The voice and knocking of the one traveller and the silence of the countless ghosts.
● The impatience of the traveller is contrasted with the silently patient ghosts.
2. What kind of a feeling do the sounds reflect in the poem ‘The Listeners’?
Ans: The sounds created in the poem provide an eerie backdrop. The traveller pounds on the door
once but gets no response. Only the sound of his horse munching on the grass is to be heard. The
ruffle of feathers as a bird flies out of the turret, displays a quiet undisturbed location. The other
sound that is heard is the traveller’s own voice, when he asks if anybody is in and his statement
that he had kept his promise. Finally, the sound of his feet against the stirrups and the horse
galloping away disturbs the quiet.
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