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Walter de la Mare published "The Listeners" in 1912, as the title poem of his second collection of poetry. It remains one of his most famous pieces of writing, and reflects the author's fascination with mystery and the supernatural.
The Listeners. By Walter De La Mare. ‘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;
- Summary
- Themes
- Structure and Form
- Literary Devices
- Analysis of The listeners
- Similar Poetry
‘The Listeners’ by Walter de la Maredescribes the actions of a Traveller who knocks on at the door of a seemingly deserted home at night. The poem begins with the speakerdesigning the Traveller and his horse. They are at the door of a house on which the Traveller is knocking. He is expecting to be greeted by someone, but no one answers his calls. T...
There are several interesting themes in ‘The Listeners’. These include the unknown and the supernatural, as well as isolation and solitude. This mysterious poem touches on all these themes while more broadly speaking, on the strangeness of the world and humankind’s inability to fully understand it. The poem itself is unknowable, keeping the reader ...
‘The Listeners’ by Walter de la Mare is a thirty six line poem that is contained within one block of text. The piece follows a consistent pattern of rhyme in the scheme of abcbdefe, and so on, changing end sounds as the poet saw fit. De la Mare chose to create rhyming pairs that are separated by un-rhyming lines. This allows the poem to maintain a ...
Throughout ‘The Listeners,‘ Walter de la Mare uses several different literary devices. These include but are not limited to enjambment, anaphora, and imagery. The latter is one of the most important devices that’s used in the poem. It can be seen throughout as the poet describes the landscape and the traveler’s experience. Enjambment is seen throug...
Lines 1-8
In the first stanza of this piece, the speaker, who does not play a physical role in this narrative, reports the speech of a “Traveller.” Rather than acting as a character in this story, the speaker is a third-person, semi-omniscient narrator. He is able to look down on the action and report it back to the reader. The Traveler is knocking on a door at night. Space is said to be lit by “moonli[ght]” and filled with silence. These few describing phrases paint an immediate picture of the scene....
Lines 9-16
In the second set of lines, the speaker describes how there is no one there to greet the Traveller. He waits, but no one “descend[s].” In a line that proves that the abode is somewhere in the woods, the speaker states that, The window that the traveler would expect the resident of the home to appear in, remains empty. There is still no sign that anyone is present inside the building or willing to let him in. A reader is also given the additional detail of the Traveller’s eyes being “grey.” Th...
Lines 17-24
At approximately the halfway point of this piece, the speaker returns to the image of the “phantoms” that he sees as being the only inhabitants of the house. They move through the “empty hall” and take to the stairs as any normal resident would. These ghostly images do not make an impact on their world. They are unable to respond to the “Traveller’s call,” although they can hear it. The air around them is “stirred and shaken” by the sounds he makes. The narrative returns to the heart of the t...
In the same vein as ‘The Listeners’ are other poems such as ‘Astrophobos’ by H.P. Lovecraft, ‘The Black Heralds‘ by César Vallejo ‘The Vampire’ by Conrad Aiken, and ‘The Witch’ by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge. Each of these poems deals with the unknown and the supernatural in a different way. They all raise questions for the reader that go unanswered b...
Sep 6, 2023 · “ The Listeners” by Walter de la Mare is a poem about a man who is knocking on the door of a house in the forest, calling out for anyone who is there. He is heard only by a host of...
Compared to de la Mare's other works, The Listeners is a more restrained and subtle poem. It explores similar themes of loneliness and isolation, but it does so in a more understated and atmospheric way. The poem's setting and language are carefully crafted to create a sense of mystery and wonder.
Nov 23, 2010 · It's also great that The Listeners gently provokes many wonderful interpretations. For me, this poem's mystery should remain under de la Mare's lock and key, for that is its transcendent...
Walter de la Mare. ‘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.
