"The Listeners" by Walter De La Mare is a haunting and enigmatic poem that explores themes of loneliness, isolation, and the supernatural. The poem opens with a traveller riding through a forest at night, who comes across a deserted house and knocks on .................................
The Listeners - English Castle - Class 8 - English
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Back Exercises - The Listeners | English Castle | Literature | English | Class 8
‘The Listeners’ is a narrative poem. It tells a dramatic story making use of the narrator’s point of view and the words of the Traveller.
Rewrite lines 1-12 of the poem in the form of prose.
Before you begin, compare the two and list four differences between prose and poetry.
(Hints: Thin about the language used, length of the piece of writing, style, rhythm, special devices used, and so forth.)
Prose Poetry
1.
2.
3.
4.
Prose:
1. Typically uses complete sentences and conventional grammar.
2. Usually doesn't have a specific rhyme or rhythmic pattern.
3. Generally longer and needs more words to convey the same level of detail or emotion.
4. Tends to be less stylistically and structurally intricate.
Poetry:
1. Often uses phrases, unconventional grammar, or fragmented sentences.
2. Typically follows a set rhythm or meter, and makes use of rhymes.
3. Tends to be succinct but densely packed with meaning or emotion.
4. Employs literary devices like alliteration, assonance, metaphors, similes, and others to create a unique style and structure.
Here is the first 12 lines of the poem in prose:
A traveller arrived at a door bathed in moonlight. He knocked, calling out, "Is there anybody there?" His horse quietly munched on the grass on the forest floor in the stillness of the night. A bird, jolted, flew off from the turret above the man's head. Leaning on the door once more, the traveller called out again, asking if anyone was home. Sadly, no one came down to greet him; no one peeked through the window sill filled with leaves to meet his grey gaze. He stood there, confused and motionless.
Back Questions - The Listeners | English Castle | Literature | English | Class 8
Where had the Traveller come?
to a dwelling in a forest
to a mansion in a city
to a turret of a cathedral
to a dwelling in a forest
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Why had the traveller come to the place?
to seek revenge against the listeners
to ask the listeners for shelter
to keep his promise
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Sign up nowWhich figure of speech has been used in the line ‘Of the forest’s ferny floor’?
personification
alliteration
repetition
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Sign up nowWhat do these suggest in the poem?
a. The forest’s ferny floor
b. the bird
c. the turret
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Sign up nowWhat signs of life are depicted in the poem?
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Sign up nowWho do you think the listeners are? Why are they phantom-like?
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Sign up nowStood 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 throning 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 me air? What does the stirring and shaking of the air suggest?
4. Use the adjective ‘lonely’ in a sentence of your own.
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Sign up nowGive three adjectives to describe the atmosphere in the poem. Pick words and phrases from the poem that create such an atmosphere.
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Sign up nowExtra Questions - The Listeners | English Castle | Literature | English | Class 8
Is there anybody there?' said the Traveller,
Knocking on the moonlit door;
And his horse in the silence champ'd the grasses
Of the forest's ferny floor:
Name the poem and the poet.
What was the traveler doing?
What time was it? How do we know?
What was the horse doing?
Is there anybody there?' said the Traveller,
Knocking on the moonlit door;
And his horse in the silence champ'd the grasses
Of the forest's ferny floor:
Name the poem and the poet.
What was the traveler doing?
What time was it? How do we know?
What was the horse doing?
The poem is ‘The Listeners’ and the poet is Walter De La Mare.
The traveler was knocking at the door so as to intimate the residents that someone was at the door to deliver a letter.
It was night as the door shone with moonlight.
The horse was nibbling the fern which was there on the floor when the traveler was banging the door.
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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,
Where did the bird come out from?
What did the traveler do?
What effect does it create on the reader?
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Vocabulary - Flashcards - The Listeners | English Castle | Class 8 Literature | English
About the Author - The Listeners | English Castle | Class 8 Literature | English
Walter De La Mare (1873-1956) was a British poet, novelist, and short-story writer. He is known for his imaginative and often mysterious works, which frequently explored themes of the supernatural and the unknown. De La Mare's poetry is characterized by its use of vivid and evocative imagery, as well as its lyrical and musical qualities. Some of his most famous poems include "The Listeners," "Silver," and "Mistletoe." In addition to his writing, De La Mare was also a noted anthologist and editor, and he published several influential collections of poetry for children. He was awarded the Order of Merit in 1948, and his legacy as a significant figure in English literature continues to be recognized to this day.
Summary - The Listeners | English Castle | Class 8 Literature | English
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Themes - The Listeners | English Castle | Class 8 Literature | English
I. Isolation and Loneliness
- The traveller is alone in the forest, seeking human contact.
- The house is empty and deserted, with no response to his calls for attention.
- The phantom listeners are present but remain silent and unresponsive, deepening the traveller's sense of isolation.
II. The Supernatural
- The phantom listeners are an enigmatic and mysterious....
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The House
The house in the poem is a powerful symbol, representing a threshold between the known and the unknown. It is described as "lone" and "leaf-fringed," suggesting a sense of isolation and mystery. The house represents a boundary between the traveller and the world of the phantom listeners.
The Phantom Listeners
The phantom listeners themselves....
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Walter De La Mare uses a variety of poetic devices in "The Listeners" to create a haunting and memorable atmosphere. Some of the most prominent poetic devices used in the poem include:
- Rhyme: The poem features a consistent rhyme scheme, with the end words of each stanza following an ABCB pattern. The use of rhyme helps to create a sense of continuity and musicality throughout the poem.
- Imagery: De La Mare uses vivid and evocative imagery to create a sense of mystery and atmosphere in the poem. Examples of imagery include ...
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Unlock now 🔓Vocabulary - The Listeners | English Castle | Class 8 Literature | English
- Phantom - something that is seen or heard but has no physical reality; a ghost or apparition
- Turret - a small tower or a section of a larger structure that extends above the roofline
- Ferny - covered in ferns or resembling ferns
- Perplexed -...
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