"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 its door, asking, "Is there anybody there?" The traveller repeats his question twice more but receives no response from any living being. However, he becomes aware of a host of "phantom listeners" dwelling in the house, listening to his every word.
The poem then describes how the listeners stand silently and intently in the shadows, listening to the traveller's every movement and word. The traveller becomes increasingly perplexed and frustrated, but the listeners remain impassive and unresponsive. He even tries to persuade them to acknowledge him, saying, "Tell them I came: and no one answered, That I kept my word." However, the listeners remain unresponsive, and the traveller eventually departs from the house, leaving behind only the sound of his horse's hooves echoing through the stillness.
The poem's ambiguous and surreal atmosphere is enhanced by its use of vivid and evocative imagery, such as the "faint moonbeams" illuminating the dark stairway, the "iron and stone" sounds of the traveller's horse, and the "plunging hoofs" fading away into the silence. The poem's central mystery - the identity and intentions of the phantom listeners - remains unresolved, leaving the reader with a sense of unease and uncertainty.
Overall, "The Listeners" is a haunting and memorable poem that speaks to the human experience of loneliness, alienation, and the unknown. It is a testament to Walter De La Mare's skill as a poet and continues to be a popular and widely-read work of English literature.