The Listeners Poem Summary, Meanings, Questions and Answers

‘The listeners’ poem by Walter de La Mare: Here question and answers of the books ‘Wind Chimes’, ‘New Voices’ and ‘Treasure Island’.

The Listeners Poem Word-Meanings

• champed – chomped, chewed making sounds
• ferny– floor – full of ferns, the fern plant’s growth on the forest soil (The floor was ferny implies that no one had been tending to the grounds of the house.
• turret – a cylindrical tower rising from a building
• smote (pt. of smite) – struck or hit violently and heavily
• leaf-fringed sill – the plant growth reaching and around the window sill
• sill – a narrow shelf at the base of a window frame
• perplexed – confused and anxious
• phantom – a ghost
• dwelt – lived, stayed in the place
• world of men – human beings (here it is used to bridge the separation between the human world and the world of spirits)
• thronging – crowding in and around
• harkening – to listen to with particular attention
• stirred and shaken – disturbed, (the voice of the traveller disturbs the atmosphere of silence)
• cropping – cutting, shortening or trimming (the horse was grazing reducing the size of the grass there)
• felt their strangeness – felt the creepiness of the inside atmosphere of the house
• neath – beneath
• leafy sky – the reflection of the sky when seen from under the trees.
• spake – spoke
• shadowiness – darkness created by the shadow of the house
• Ay – yes (also means regret and woe)
• sound of iron on stone – the galloping by metal shoes of the horse
• surge – rise and move forward
• plunging – jumping, thrusting or driving – it is used to highlight the intensity of the traveller’s departure. He drives his horse hard away from the house causing its hooves to plunge to the ground)

Summary: The Listeners

The poem possesses an eerie and supernatural quality, evoked by the mention of “phantoms” that may refer to the listeners who remain silent while the traveller’s query goes unanswered.

At the outset of the poem, the traveller approaches a moonlit door in an unfamiliar location, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and ambiguity that pervades the tone and mood of the work. The forest setting in which the traveller finds himself is desolate and overgrown with brambles, intensifying the sense of isolation and strangeness that prompts the traveller to knock on the door of the turreted house, then strike it, and eventually strike it even harder, as he receives no response. Though his horse appears contentedly grazing on the grass, the traveller is the only one feeling perplexed and alone in this nocturnal scene. It is unclear why the traveller is there, apart from keeping a mysterious promise, but his choice of this lonely and remote location in the dead of night is peculiar. Something must have driven him to repeatedly call out to an empty house without venturing inside to investigate its contents. Despite feeling the peculiarity and stillness of the place and its “listeners” in his heart, the traveller’s horse remains oblivious, continuing to feed on the “dark turf.” The poem concludes by shifting its focus from the lonely traveller to the silent listeners, as he hurriedly departs, leaving only an oral message for the unknowns. The readers are left to ponder the nature of the listeners and whether they were truly ghosts or something else entirely.

Question-Answers (Book ‘Wind Chimes’ )

Comprehension

Answers. A.

1. a. The poet stood outside a house and knocked on the door, but no one peered into his grey eyes.
   b. The lack of response left him puzzled.
   c. These lines allude to the traveller’s eyes.
   d. The visitor stood in confusion and shock, waiting for someone to answer the door.
2. a. Inside the house, the listeners remained.
   b. They listened to the visitor outside without acknowledging him or coming out.
   c. This suggests that the listeners were the residents of the house.
   d. The listeners didn’t respond to the knock at the door.
3. a. The ethereal listeners stood by and listened.
   b. The man outside the door knocked, and his sounds were heard.
   c. These lines pertain to human beings.
   d. This doesn’t refer to the world of ghosts and phantoms, but rather the listeners are described as spectral in nature.

B. Answers

1. The poem takes place in a forest dwelling on a moonlit evening, with a serious tone and eerie, supernatural atmosphere. The poem ends with a mystery, leaving readers to wonder who might be inside the house.

2. “Is there anybody there?” asked the traveller as he knocked on the door.

3. The poem sets an eerie and mysterious tone, with a supernatural touch, as it unfolds on a starry, moonlit night. The traveller knocks on the door of a large house three times but receives no response. It is possible that phantoms were listening but not answering. The traveller and his horse both sense something strange in the atmosphere, but no one appears. As the traveller leaves, the eerie silence continues, leaving readers to speculate about who might be inside the house.

4. The traveller received no answer because either no one was in the house except for a host of phantoms, or the house was empty.

5. The traveller left a message for the inhabitants, asking them to know that he had come and kept his promise.

6. The bird and horse add to the mystery and spookiness of the atmosphere, creating an eerie feeling.

7. The silence that greeted the traveller was the answer to his question. The poet suggests that the eerie silence all around the house was the listeners’ response. The silence added to the strangeness of the atmosphere, and the poet also felt it.

8. There are several unanswered questions regarding the incident:

i. Was anyone present in the house, given that there was no response when the traveller knocked the door thrice?

ii. Was the strange and eerie feeling experienced by the traveller an indication of supernatural entities, such as phantoms, being present in the house?

iii. What exactly was the promise that the traveller had gone to fulfil, and who had asked him to fulfil it?

iv. What prompted the traveller to arrive at the house at night? Was it a condition of the promise, or did he have to travel a long distance and arrive late in the day?

Possible answers to these questions are as follows:

i. Based on the lack of response; it is likely that there were no people present in the house.

ii. The traveller’s creepy experience suggests the presence of supernatural entities, possibly phantoms.

iii. It is unclear what the promise was, but it is possible that someone had asked the traveller to visit the house at night in the forest to test his courage or ability to fulfil the promise.

iv. The traveller may have arrived at night either due to the conditions of the promise or because he had to travel a long distance and arrived at the house late in the day.

Poetry Appreciation

A.

1. The personification has been used as stillness has been shown as any person answering his cry. The lines also contain the poetic device ‘paradox’ as to how can stillness answer a cry.

2. ‘Personification’ as silence is shown surging as a person trying to rise forward. ‘Alliteration’ – silence surged softly

B. Examples of Alliteration are:

• i. forest’s ferny floor
• ii. suddenly smote
• iii. silence surged softly
• iv. louder, and lifted
• v. stirred and shaken

Q&A: Treasure Island Book

Reading Comprehension

A. Tick the correct answer.

1. Where had the Traveller come?

• To a dwelling in a forest
• To a mansion in a city
• To a turret of a cathedral

Ans: To a dwelling in a forest

2. Why had the Traveller come to the place?

• To seek revenge against the listeners
• To ask the listeners for shelter
• To keep his promise

Ans: To keep his promise

3. Which figure of speech has been used in the line ‘Of the forest’s ferny floor’?

• Personification
• Alliteration
• Repetition

Ans: Alliteration

B. Answer these questions.

1. What do these suggest in the poem?
   a. the forest’s ferny floor
   b. the bird
   c. the turret
2. What signs of life are depicted in the poem?
3. Who do you think the listeners are? Why are they phantom-like?

Answers (Long)

1. What do these suggest in the poem?

Ans: a. The forest’s ferny floor: This suggests the natural setting of the poem, emphasizing the quiet and stillness of the forest, with soft, fern-covered ground. It adds to the mysterious, eerie atmosphere surrounding the house.

b. The bird: The bird flying out of the turret suggests movement and a sudden disturbance in the otherwise silent setting. It contrasts with the stillness around and may symbolize the only sign of life in the scene.

c. The turret: The turret (a small tower on the house) suggests the house is large and old, possibly abandoned or haunted. It adds to the mysterious and gothic atmosphere of the setting.

2. What signs of life are depicted in the poem?

Ans: The poem mentions the bird flying out of the turret and the horse champing on the grass, both of which are the only signs of life. Other than these, the setting is eerily silent, and there are no responses from the house itself.

3. Who do you think the listeners are? Why are they phantom-like?

Ans. The listeners are likely ghosts or spirits living in the house, as suggested by the term “phantom listeners.” They are phantom-like because they do not communicate with the traveller or show themselves. They are silent, mysterious, and invisible, giving the sense that they belong to the supernatural world and are detached from the living world, listening but not interacting.

Answers (Short)

1. What do these suggest in the poem?

Ans: a. The forest’s ferny floor: It suggests the quiet, natural setting, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

b. The bird: It shows movement and life in the otherwise silent scene.

c. The turret: It indicates the house is old and possibly abandoned, adding mystery.

2. What signs of life are depicted in the poem?

Ans: The bird flying from the turret and the traveller’s horse eating grass are the only signs of life.

3. Who do you think the listeners are? Why are they phantom-like?

Ans: The listeners are ghosts or spirits. They are phantom-like because they are silent, invisible, and do not respond to the traveller.

C. Read these lines from the poem and answer the questions that follow.

‘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.’

1. Who stood thronging on the stair? Why was the stair “dark”?
2. What is the meaning of the word ‘hearkening? Who was hearkening?
3. Who stirred and shook the air? What does the stirring and shaking of the air suggest?
4. Use the adjective ‘lonely’ in a sentence of your own.

Answers:

1. Who stood thronging on the stair? Why was the stair “dark”?

Ans: The phantom listeners stood thronging on the stair. The stair was “dark” because the house was deserted and had no light, adding to the mysterious and eerie atmosphere.

2. What is the meaning of the word ‘hearkening’? Who was hearkening?

Ans: The word “hearkening” means listening carefully. The phantom listeners were hearkening, silently listening to the traveller’s call.

3. Who stirred and shook the air? What does the stirring and shaking of the air suggest?

Ans: The traveller’s call stirred and shook the air. This suggests that the atmosphere was still and silent, and the traveller’s voice disturbed the eerie calmness.

4. Use the adjective ‘lonely’ in a sentence of your own.

Ans: Sentence: The lonely child sat by the window, waiting for someone to play with.

D. Think and Discuss.

Think of three adjectives to describe the atmosphere in the poem. Then, pick three words and phrases from the poem which create such an atmosphere

Answer: Three adjectives to describe the atmosphere in the poem:

1. Mysterious
2. Eerie
3. Silent

Three words and phrases from the poem that create this atmosphere:

1. “moonlit door” – This phrase adds to the mysterious and quiet atmosphere by describing the dim light of the moon shining on the door.
2. “phantom listeners” – This phrase contributes to the eerie feeling, suggesting the presence of ghostly figures silently listening.
3. “the silence surged softly backward” – This phrase emphasizes the silent and unsettling nature of the scene, where the traveler’s voice fades into the stillness.

Enjoying the Poem

Read these phrases with transferred epithets. Explain how the figure of speech is used in them.

1. a sleepless night
2. the joyful river
3. a weary road
4. the dancing wind

Answer:

Transferred Epithet – Explanation

A transferred epithet is a figure of speech where an adjective (or modifier) is transferred from the noun it should logically describe to another noun, giving it a deeper or more poetic meaning. Here’s how the figure of speech is used in the given examples:

1. A sleepless night

• The adjective “sleepless” logically describes a person who cannot sleep, but here it is transferred to the noun “night”. The night itself cannot be sleepless; it’s the person experiencing the night who is sleepless. This creates a poetic image of a night filled with wakefulness.

2. The joyful river

• The adjective “joyful” is transferred from people, who can feel joy, to the noun “river”. A river cannot feel joy, but the phrase gives the image of a lively, energetic river flowing as if it were happy.

3. A weary road

• The adjective “weary” is transferred from a traveler (who feels tired) to the noun “road”. Roads don’t get tired, but the phrase suggests a long, difficult journey that makes the road seem exhausting or worn out.

4. The dancing wind

• The adjective “dancing” is transferred from a person (who can dance) to the noun “wind”. Wind cannot dance, but the phrase suggests the lively, swirling motion of the wind, as if it were moving playfully like a dancer.

Grammar

Combine each pair of sentences using who, which, that, whose, where or when. Add commas wherever necessary.

1. That’s the café. I meet my friends there every day.
2. She is the girl. Her brother plays in a football team.
3. Sherlock Holmes lives at 221B, Baker Street. He is a famous fictional detective.
4. This is the book. I’ve been waiting to read it for ages.
5. The diamond necklace has been found by the police. It was stolen last week.

Answer:

1. That’s the café where I meet my friends every day.
2. She is the girl whose brother plays in a football team.
3. Sherlock Holmes, who is a famous fictional detective, lives at 221B, Baker Street.
4. This is the book that I’ve been waiting to read for ages.
5. The diamond necklace, which was stolen last week, has been found by the police.