Scribd
Upload
32 views1 page

Text 1

The poem 'The Listeners' depicts a traveler who arrives at a mysterious house, knocking and calling out for someone, but receives no response. Although unseen, phantom listeners are present, attentively hearing his voice while the traveler feels their strange presence. Ultimately, as he prepares to leave, the listeners remain silent, highlighting the eerie atmosphere of the encounter.

Uploaded by

aaroheeavika
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
32 views1 page

Text 1

The poem 'The Listeners' depicts a traveler who arrives at a mysterious house, knocking and calling out for someone, but receives no response. Although unseen, phantom listeners are present, attentively hearing his voice while the traveler feels their strange presence. Ultimately, as he prepares to leave, the listeners remain silent, highlighting the eerie atmosphere of the encounter.

Uploaded by

aaroheeavika
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

The Listeners (poem)

Stanza 1
Is there anybody there?" said the Traveller,(...)"Is there anybody there?" he said.
The traveler is waiting for someone in front of a door that the moon has lighted.
His horse is calmly grazing on the woodland floor grass while he knocks. From the
turret over the traveler's head, a bird takes flight. The traveler knocks again,
repeating his question, but gets no answer.
Stanza 2:

But no one descended to the Traveller;(...)Where he stood perplexed and still.


The tourist knocks repeatedly but gets no response. The traveler stares out the
window, but no one appears. He is perplexed and remains still, wondering why no one
is paying him attention.
Stanza 3:

But only a host of phantom listeners(...)To that voice from the world of men.
There are phantom-like listeners who are unseen within the home. They are there,
residing in that house, albeit they cannot be seen. In the serene moonlight, they
pay close attention to the speech of the traveler, who stands in for the world of
the living.

Stanza 4:

Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,(...)By the lonely
Traveller's call.
On the home's darkly lighted stairway, the listeners congregate. The call of the
wanderer reverberates across the still air as they eagerly listen to it. The
atmosphere is alive with the expectation of the listeners.
Stanza 5:

And he felt in his heart their strangeness,(...)'Neath the starred and leafy sky;
The traveler feels the listeners' mysterious presence. They retort quietly to his
remarks, and he senses their strangeness and quietness. His horse, still munching
on the grass beneath the starry sky, doesn't seem bothered by the unfamiliar
environment.
Stanza 6:

For he suddenly smote on the door, even(...)That I kept my word," he said.


The agitated traveler strikes the door more forcefully and lifts his head in an
effort to be heard. He wants everyone present to know that he showed up there as
promised, did not get a response, and kept his word.
Stanza 7:

Never the least stir made the listeners,(...)From the one man left awake:
The traveler's words reverberate throughout the house, yet the listeners are
totally still. There is just one awake listener who is paying close attention to
what the traveler says.
Stanza 8:

Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,(...)When the plunging hoofs were gone.
The noises of the traveler's foot stomping on the stirrup and metal clinking on
stone are audible to the listener as he gets ready to go. The stillness returns
slowly, like a wave that is receding, as the traveler's horse runs off.

You might also like