[2] The Listeners
'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.
But no one descended to the Traveller;
No head from the leaf-fringed sill
Leaned over and looked into his grey eyes,
Where he stood perplexed and still.
But only a host of phantom listeners
That dwelt in the lone house then
Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight
To that voice from the world of men:
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.
And he felt in his heart their strangeness,
Their stillness answering his cry,
While his horse moved, cropping the dark turf,
'Neath the starred and leafy sky;
For he suddenly smote on the door, even
Louder, and lifted his head:-
'Tell them I came, and no one answered,
That I kept my word,' he said.
Never the least stir made the listeners,
Though every word he spake
Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house
From the one man left awake:
Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,
And the sound of iron on stone,
And how the silence surged softly backward,
When the plunging hoofs were gone.
-- Walter De La Mare
|
One of my all time favourite poems; it recently came second in a poll
some British newspaper (I forget which) ran to determine the ten
best-loved poems. Take a guess at the first (mail me and I'll collate
the
answers - it would be interesting to see if junta get it).
The imagery finds a nice echo, incidentally, in Loreena McKennit's
'Mummer's Dance', including what is IMHO one of the most beautifully
evocative lines I've heard in a song:
Who will go down to those shady groves, and summon the shadows there?
Martin.
<martindemello@>
PS. The best loved poem: two people guessed 'If', one 'The Road Not Taken',
and Jose got the right one, specifically 'Daffodils'. Personally it would
not even make my top 10 list, but as Jose says, it is indeed a ubiquitous
poem, and most people have studied and enjoyed it at some stage in their
lives.
Martin.
<martindemello@>
From: Anustup.DATTA@
Thomas,
Thanks for posting one of my favourite poems. The atmosphere that it
conjures up is indescribable. I don't know if you have read T S
Eliot's tribute to Walter de la Mare - I think it sums up this poem
(and others) admirably.
" To Walter de la Mare "
--------------------
The children who explored the brook and found
A desert island with a sandy cove
(A hiding place, but very dangerous ground,
For here the water buffalo may rove,
The kinkajou, the mungabey, abound
In the dark jungle of a mango grove,
And shadowy lemurs glide from tree to tree -
The guardians of some long-lost treasure-trove)
Recount their exploits at the nursery tea
And when the lamps are lit and curtains drawn
Demand some poetry, please. Whose shall it be,
At not quite time for bed ? ...
Or when the lawn
Is pressed by unseen feet, and ghosts return
Gently at twilight, gently go at dawn,
The sad intangible who grieve and yearn ;
When the familiar is suddenly strange
Or the well known is what we yet have to learn,
And two worlds meet, and intersect, and change ;
When cats are maddened in the moonlight dance,
Dogs cower, flitter bats, and owls range
At witches' sabbath of the maiden aunts ;
When the nocturnal traveller can arouse
No sleeper by his call ; or when by chance
An empty face peers from an empty house ;
By whom, and by what means, was this designed ?
The whispered incantation which allows
Free passage to the phantoms of the mind ?
By you ; by those deceptive cadences
Wherewith the common measure is refined ;
By conscious art practised with natural ease ;
By the delicate, invisible web you wove -
The inexplicable mystery of sound.
____________________________________________________________________
As you see, even T S Eliot called it an 'inexplicable mystery'. This
poem was written for inclusion in 'Tribute to Walter de la Mare'
(Faber & Faber Ltd., 1948), a book presented to him on his
seventy-fifth birthday.
Hope you like the poem.
Regards,
Anustup
From: "Sonoranltd" <sonoranltd@>
There is a very definite way that one can tell a good poem, it leaves you
with a very undefinable feeling. You become pensive, stare at nothing and
think. A good poem is haunting and that is how it is with "The Listeners"
-Cristina Boothe
From: btapas@
The poem taught me to think about human- communication. It helped me to
realise that I didn't want to turn into a dumb listener who didn't respond,
but suffered the agony of solitude.
Madhushree
From: Andrew J Halayko <ahalayk@>
Comments on "The Listeners"
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to share the significance of a
truly great poem.
This is a magical poem that moves me profoundly each time I read it.
Indeed, I have been inspired many times to the challenge of using my own
words to paint the vivid and lush atmosphere that The Listeners evokes in
me. It is a clear commentary on the struggle for us all to "be heard" and
to understand our role in Life. For me, this poem leaves me numbed with
each reading, and a little off balance from the powerful imagery and real
emotion that it nurtures. This is a classic work!
Regards
Andrew
*******************************************************************************
Andrew J. Halayko, PhD Off: 204-787-2062
Assistant Professor Lab:204-789-3428
Departments of Physiology Pgr:204-932-3099
and Internal Medicine Fax:204-787-1220
University of Manitoba
Rm RS321 Respiratory Hospital
810 Sherbrook Street
Winnipeg, MB Canada R3A 1R8
e-mail: ahalayk@
http://www.scrc.umanitoba.ca/cgi-bin/Physiology.dir?HALAYKO,+Andrew
From: Dick Mullen <Dick.Mullen@>
I read this at school when I was little. Poetry was a real chore for me but
the Listeners was different. It remains the best and most thought provoking
I was ever made to read in school.
Dick Mullen
© Merchants Limited
Telephone: +44 (0) 1908 232323 Facsimile: +44 (0) 1908 242444
Direct Line: +44 (0) 1908 847744
Mailto:dick.mullen@
> http://www.merchants.co.uk
>
>
From: "Brian Sr" <id27@>
I love this poem. I read it when i was in high school. It was in one of my
english texy books and I memorized it and have never forgotten it.
Matt Freeman
From: "tmartin" <tmartin@>
I'm not surprised this is so many people's favourite poem. I learnt it
years ago at school and although I had forgotten many of the words they
soon came back to me when I read it again recently. I find that present
day children also respond very positively to this poem, although they
always maintain they don't like poetry! My other favourite poem from my
schooldays is 'Flannan Isle' by W W Gibson which I also rediscovered
lately; this is again a favourite with children today.
Dawn
From: "Teresa Mason" <Tallulah@>
Poetry was always just some pretty words in a rhythm or rhyme to me, and
I did pretend to understand it, but it was not until I read 'The
Listeners' that I realised what 'poetry' meant. I was only eleven when I
first encountered it, but I got a glimpse of something deep, another
world created by words. It screamed atmosphere and emotions off the page
and into my imagination and it changed how I looked at poetry forever. I
only read it once, but almost every line was engraved in my mind, and I
searched in vain for it so I could let it's wonders astound me again,
and I have finally found it. Thank you for letting me experience this
poem again.
From: Cmwrawc@
Hi - this was my favourite poem throughout my childhood - I could be lost for
hours in the daydreams it conjured. How true Eloit's tribute is.
Regards
Cat
From: Cmwrawc@
Hi - this was my favourite poem throughout my childhood - I could be lost for
hours in the daydreams it conjured. How true Eloit's tribute is.
Regards
Cat
From: Bongosio@
i think the poem was grand very strange though i think it was like
mystierious how he waits there for along time and it gets really spooky i
like the part were it says the plunging hoofs were gone
From: "Lisa Ng" <lisalala@>
I first read it as a teenager, looking for words in which to encapsulate
my own frustrations and anxieties. It was also the first poem I thought
worthy of my OWN interpretation, rather than the ones given us. To me
the Listener was God, and I was the Traveller. I had no idea it was such
a well-known poem, thinking that I had found some treasure, and when I
tried to share it with others got in reply, 'Oh, yes, wonderful poem.'
But still I thought they must not have gotten as much from it as I had,
since they didn't tremble every time they read it. Sylvan Bongi.
From: Frances <carrucan@>
Thanks for bringing "The Listeners" to my world again.
I believe I live in a magical time, where transport could be by horse or
machine.
And poems can be shared around the world by e-mail.
With gratitude,
Frances,
Auckland
New Zealand
From: "Ash Gulati" <ash8888@>
Eerie and beautiful, makes the silence deafening - introspect and you
could feel it even on a busy railway platform
From: "Alan Elgar" <aelgar@>
An atmosphere that asked more questions than it answered. No wonder he
regretted writing it - having to answer questions that had no answer. If
I was to choose one of Frost's poems, it would be Stopping by Woods,
which has the same mysterios appeal.
Alan. New Zealand.
From: Jim MacBrayne <jmacb@>
The Listeners has fascinated me since the day I first read it. Like many
others, no doubt, I've wondered what it really meant, what it was all
about, and indeed it was in searching for this information that I came
across this site. The atmosphere it conjures up is utterly chilling, and it
is the most thought-provoking poem I've ever come across. Does it have an
"official" interpretetion or did De la Mare really pen it to have no real
meaning at all? I'd be grateful if anyone in the know would e-mail me.
Jim
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jim MacBrayne
jmacb@
http://www.intermac.co.uk/homepage
PGP public key is at "pgpkeys.mit.edu"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: "Amanda Grace" <ama2004@>
The Listeners made me feel scared,the poem was eerie.I think that someone
robbed people and they are too scared to open the door.He was supposed to
rescue someone.His horses foot was compared with iron on stone.He thought
someone was there,he thought phantoms were there listening.The writer wanted
us to feel like we need some more information.I thought the poem was great.
Amon Brown age:9
Clapham Manor Primary School
From: "Amanda Grace" <ama2004@>
The Listeners is the most spine-chilling poem I've ever read. I enjoyed
it and I wish you could make a poem book called 'spine-chilling poems'
and use this to make lots of money and I'll definetely buy it!!!!!!!!
from:Chantelle Brown
Age: 9 1/4
Clapham Manor Primary School
From: "Amanda Grace" <ama2004@>
I think that it's quite a mysterious poem because when the traveller knocks
on the door and nobody answers but he still thinks something is still in
there. It also seems quite mysterious because it's as if he just saw someone
in there a few days ago but it looks like the building hasn't been lived in
for years.
I think that this is spooky because even though there is no reply to the
traveller "he felt in his heart their strangeness,their stillness answering
his cry."The spookiness is made stronger by it being night timeand the
imagery of words," the faint moonbeams on the dark stair ,""the starred and
leafy sky ,""and how the silence surged softly backward."
From: "Amanda Grace" <ama2004@>
I think that the listeners is a spooky poem and that it has so many
questions that does not have a answer to any of them. It gives you pictures
of what it might be,etc who was he looking for and why was he in the
woods.When I read the listeners it was a poem that I thought I wouldn't have
read before.
Soraya Dowine 9
Clapham Manor Primary School
P.S. Previous entry by Ptolemy (aged 9).
Thanks for putting the previous comments on the board - this is the last
one, so you won't be receiving another 30 from the rest of the class!
From: "Peter Ruck" <mail@>
I truly believe that this poem has created an inner sanctum for me. At
periods of extreme stress in my life I have recited it and felt calmer.
I believe that there is no correct interpretation; it speaks to ones
individual soul. Walter De La Mare had a gift of genius that, I firmly
believe is matched by few poets. One of these is Will H. Ogilvie.
"Last night a wind from Lammermuir came roaring up the glen, with the
tramp of trooping horses, and the laugh of reckless men...". I
apologise if this is not an accurate quote but it comes from a childhood
memory which, even now, endows it with mysticism and reminds me of a
much loved fairytale.
Celia Ruck.
From: "Stiers, Ken" <kstiers@>
At last! The poem from my childhood. Choked full of mystery and longing,
not unlike Frost's 'Stopping By Woods'. I always had the feeling the
traveler didn't want to be there in the first place and was only to glad to
be gone, his knocks mercifully unanswered. A house of memories, stark and
surreal and perhaps even to be avoided...except for the promise. Thank you
for including it here.
From: "Stiers, Ken" <kstiers@>
From: "Stiers, Ken" <kstiers@>
A truly great poem from my youth! One that evokes images of mystery and
surreal longing not unlike Frost's 'Stopping By Woods'. It can be
interpreted as many ways as those who chose to read it. Try reading it out
loud. It takes on even greater meaning to hear the words spoken...like
jewels in the mouth. Try reading it alone in a dark room...and then look
around you. It has a certain HP Lovecraft horror about it. I personally
feel the Traveller was glad to be out of there and not disappointed to hear
only stillness answering his call. I'm sure he would have not returned at
all save for the promise. How many of us fail to keep our promises and fail
to return to that place of our youth where the shadows hide...waiting.
From: Jeremy Winterson <jwinterson@>
The imagery is The Listeners is amazingly rich and vivid. We join the Traveller outside at night, alone with his skittish horse, as he grows increasingly more impatient and frightened. Then we are inside the house hearing his calls, being shown the empty rooms inhabited only by phantom listeners, perhaps real, perhaps not. The Traveller calls again, informing us that he was summoned to the house but his nerve is broken and he will leave, quickly, as we hear the sound of his horse's 'plunging' hooves. He departs, leaving us alone in the house with the phantoms, who now seem very real, who heard everything, who are listening with us to the noise slowly fade away.
For me it is the end that leaves such a marked impression. Our Traveller friend loses his nerve and decides to leave, but he doesn't take us with him- he instead leaves us in that haunting house, alone, but not alone. Scary!
Jeremy
Jeremy Winterson
Asst. General Manager
Janco Overseas (Thailand) Ltd.
jwinterson@
From: Mary Heal <murphylaw@>
From: "J P White" <Winter@>
l was given this poem to learn as a teenager by an English teacher who
was wanting to make it part of a play about the holocaust. The play
never reached the performance(1972), but l learnt this poem, which left
an indelible print within me and which surfaces at unexpected times.
Grey.
From: sponberg <sponberg@>
yeah hi- u talk about the days when you were young. This poem heled u. I am
young now and i want it to help ME! But i dont understand... What is out
there listening???
Ty Sponberg
From: "Carl Swallow" <Mantichore@>
Nice to see a poem I read years ago making its appearance again. I have
recently purchased a collection of De La Mare's, from 1946, and it shows
many different facets of his unique, undeniable talent. One of the last
great poets I think, from that final era of true poetry. Since the end
of the 20's I feel poetry has lost its way. Nevertheless, to see
Walter's most memorable work again has been a pleasure. Thank you!
Carl Swallow, from Liverpool, England.
From: "Michael Edwards" <edwards@>
I have memories of this poem going back nearly 50 years when I was made
to half learn it at school. I couldn't remember the poet or the title
but, thanks to your site I can relearn it and try to understand it this
time.
Thankyou. Michael Edwards, Winchester UK.
From: Jack Castle <castleclarke@>
It is wonderful to find so many kindred spirits who love "The
Listeners." I still shiver when I read it. As a middle aged ex- nurse
new to teaching, I intend to expose all my charges to this evocative
poem. Luckily, it is even on the grade 10 curriculum here in
Saskatchewan. dianacl100@
From: " viki" <saigalt@>
Hi
My son is in the eighth gradeand he has this poem as apartof his
syllabus this term. I have spent a better part of this evening looking
for a critical appreciation and/or an interpretation of this wonderful
poem but have not been able to find any onthe internet. If someone knows
of a site I would be grateful if they could mail me on saigalt@
From: "carraig" <carraig@>
A very beautiful and simple poem. It was, I believe, the very first one
that I ever willingly learnt. My English teacher at the time was Jack
Carter and he taught at Ballyfin, a boarding school in the Midlands of
Ireland. He gave me a love of poetry and history that I still have to
this day. I hope he or someone who knows him sees this. I am forever
indebted to him and can say that he was easily among the best teachers I
ever had. Thanks Jack.
From: "The Ellises" <theellises@>
I found it hard to read and answer the selected questions
From: Gurp Johal <gurpjohal@>
Hi i was just wondering, if you ever recieved a good website referral that had a interpretation of "The Listeners."
If yes, could you please send it to me, i am having great difficulty determining what the traveller may symbolize
Thanks
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi i was just wondering, if you ever recieved
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From: swati <swatism@>
Dear Sir
I am Saloni 12 year old.I do not understand the poem.Please explain as I
have it as my Lesson.
Please send me summary of the poem.
Thank you,
Saloni
From: "Eamonn Breslin" <ebreslin@>
Hello!
I have, on and off over the past few years, kept an eye out for Flannan
Isle. I have asked about it and checked out the internet a few times.
Never with any success. This evening I was reading some poetry and
looked again for Flannan Isle. Nothing! And so I decided to give the
internet another search and very happily discovered in this comment by
Dawn a reference to Flannan Isle. I had forgotten the author's name and
my memory tells me that the opening line goes something like "Though
three men dwell on Flannan Isle..." but I am not sure about my memory!
So I am so happy to have the author's name.
I do have a question/request. Can anyone direct me to the text of
Flannan Isle? I would be most grateful.
My name is Brendan O'Rourke and my own email address is:
brendan.orourke@
The email address of this email is one of a friend whom I am
office-sitting for!
Sincerely, and with much thanks,
Brendan
From: Martin DeMello <martindemello@>
--- Eamonn Breslin <ebreslin@> wrote:
> I do have a question/request. Can anyone direct me to the text of
> Flannan Isle? I would be most grateful.
Here you go - http://www.potw.org/archive/potw230.html
martin
From: Wahlbrinck <wahlbrinck@>
This is an extraordinarily moving and mysterious poem - every time
(now for example) I think of a certain line I get goose pimples...
I like it so much that I took my guitar some years ago and made it
into a song which tries to capture its atmosphere.
Bernie
PS
Chris de Burgh's song "The Traveller" is similar in tone and imagery
- do listen to it!
From: "Michael FOSTER" <mikefoster@>
Whilst at Grammar School I had the privilege of hearing the author read
this very moving poem himself in around 1946 and it has haunted me ever
since. Certainly my favourite. One young contributor says she wants to
understand it. Our English Master at the time was tempted to ask Walter
it's meaning but thought better of it. After all it is "all in the mind"
of the reader. Mike.
From: "clement" <cleezl@>
Hi,
I first read this poem a long time ago when I was just about 9 or 10 and
it moved me deeply, though I didn't know why, and I still don't. I'm
interested in cognitive science (loosely defined as the
multidisciplinary study of the mind) and maybe one day we'll know
exactly how those words created such powerful, spiritual feelings. But
that would take the magic away wouldn't it?
Alvin
From: "Gerard Haines" <ghaines@>
Beautiful poem, it too reminded me of Robert Frost's work. Back in 1980, I
had to pick a poem from an 800 page literature book and write a complete
dissertation. Frost was my first choice, but his work was analyzed to
death. Paging through the thick book, I ran across this gem -- the
symbolism and mood intrigued me. Nothing motivate this lad like intrigue,
and my interpretation of the Traveler and the Listeners scored me a very
good grade in my Literature course. Since then, life went on but I always
remembered this poem in the back of my mind...then I ran across my paper
recently going through old college stuff that was stored away in my parent's
home that they were selling -- which ultimately led me here. Thanks!
Gerard Haines
From: John Wild <jwild@>
I also am so glad to see this poem is not nearly as overlooked or forgotten
as I had believed! I found it in a poetry anthology of my mother's years
ago, and until now, I had never seen it in any other book--nor ever heard
it referenced, let alone discussed. What a shame! As a reader and writer
who has been historically suspicious of poems that were TOO open-ended as
to what they meant to say, this was a poem that instantly became my
favorite exception. It has taken many, many readings for me to glean the
interpretation I have, and it admittedly does not account for everything in
the poem. In general, I take it to be a symbolic (and a wonderfully,
chillingly, dreamlike one, as so many of you note) of the plight of every
person who falls out of the "dream, from which we are constantly awaking"
(couldn't reference that quote, but love it!) of life; searching, far and
alone in the dark for the answers to the questions of life's meaning--in
general and for the individual. Perhaps the answers given back in
civilization, if you will, are unsatisfactory to the Traveller, or perhaps
the Traveller just feels a need to seek them from whatever he deems the
most profound sources of knowing. How does one put a finger on the
Listeners? Society--as individuals secretly or subconsciously feeling as
abandoned as he? Philosophers and theologians? Those who have gone
through (and beyond) life before us? God or gods? Perhaps the experience
of ultimately not being answered somewhat negates the importance of
deciding that...but the Traveller's final response is pithily profound,
"'Tell them I came, and no one answered, That I kept my word,' he
said." There is an aching power in this individual's serving notice to
whatever powers there be that, though he goes away unanswered, unsatisfied,
confounded perhaps, he takes solace in a proclamation of a personal
integrity--that he kept his word...and if there is no ultimate answer,
meaning, consolation, or comfort in the universe, it is not for his lack of
striving after it.
JFWild
From: "julie maclaren" <juliemaclaren@>
ithis poem is crazy i am doing it for a exam and i have to answer such
question like
who is he?
why has he "kept his promise"
what promise?
to whom?
why are they all ghostes?
whose house?
where is the traveller going?
plz use ur imaginasion and knowage of this poem
thank you
From: "Emily" <emilya@>
It's wonderful, this poem... I heard it on the radio read aloud- all but the
last line, because then we drove under a tunnel! I had to hear the end and
mum gave me the poem to read. The second time I liked it even better and I
copied it down.
Every line of the poem you've got in front of your eyes - the scene is clear
and terrifying and you can feel every word. You can see the face of the
Traveller, the forest, the house, the horse, the hall, the stairs, you can
hear him shout and listen to the stilness once the sound of the horse's
hoofs has left ....
Wonderful!
emy
From: "Matt Faulkner" <matt@>
Me, I reckon it's just about a simple Woodpecker! He knocks but no-one
answers- no-one ever answers! The turret is the roof of the tree where he
has disturbed the sleeping birds and the animals are the listeners who
refuse to come down.. So, he knocks again but the forest remains silent..
and with one last time he squarks at the futility of it all and flies away.
The only question is why this particular Kingfisher has insomnia and has
obviously kept Mr de la Mare awake on this particular night! :-)
From: "Barbara Ann BROWN" <babrown@>
Please don't throw things at me, but I'd be interested in comments.
Barbara
--
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From: JaciBooso@
Hi I just read your comments on the poem the Listeners. I wanted to hear
more.
Do you maybe know how he shows this stuggle to be heard within structural
patterns within the poems. Obviously the wya he writes the poem isnt by
coincidence. Do you think that the stresses, or syllables per line, or any of the
cadeneces in the poem help bring out the meaning of the poem when its performed?
From: JaciBooso@
Hi How are you? I am currently writing a prosodic analysis on walter de la
mares poem "the listeners" I read what you wrote:
"The Listeners has fascinated me since the day I first read it. Like many
others, no doubt, I've wondered what it really meant, what it was all
about, and indeed it was in searching for this information that I came
across this site. The atmosphere it conjures up is utterly chilling, and it
is the most thought-provoking poem I've ever come across. Does it have an
"official" interpretetion or did De la Mare really pen it to have no real
meaning at all? I'd be grateful if anyone in the know would e-mail me."
Have you received any answers to your questions? I would also love to know!
I am wondering also if the patterns in the poem , if any, help the poem to be
performed in a certain way?
Thank you
From: SAFORAAHMAD@
hi sorry to bother you but can you explain the leafy sky,plungigng
hoofs,voice from the world of men and sound of iron on stone
please and email me on sweetypie_12@
From: "Michael Drury" <bronmike@>
hi if you got any information on the listeners could you pass it on like
you my daughter has this poem on her exam and i can find no analysis on
the net much appreciated , bronmike@
From: "Ruth" <ruth@>
The TRAVELLER is actually the ghost.
He has died and maybe he doesn't realise he's dead. (hence why he is travelling - maybe in
limbo? very symbolic of the journey we must all take when we die) When he was alive he
made the promise to go to this house for some reason, but he does not realise that he has
died and that time has passed, since he is in another world and time space.
The people who live in the house now can sense him outside and are afraid which is why
they do not answer. (Plus it's night - they're all in bed!!!) They can sense him and he
can sense them. To him, the house is as it was before. If anyone has ever seen the movie,
"The Others," they'll know what I mean.
It is often believed that ghosts do not cross the other side or "go towards the light,"
because they have unfinished business in the world that they must complete before they can
rest in peace. The traveller's unfinished business was something to do with that house and
t would seem to me that the traveller will continue to come back to the house until
someone lets him in or answers - (not likely to happen!)
I suppose someone is going to think, "How come the poem says, 'To that voice from the
world of men...' if he is the ghost."
Well the answer is ... I don't know. He's just died - its all a bit confusing for him. You
would be too if you died and found yourself on a horse outside some old house in the
dark......
I'm not going to analyse it further because it's probably going to ruin my theory. :-)
Happy reading people!
Ruth
From: "Roy & Barbara Tilbury" <tilburybr@>
The poem 'The Listeners"
A little late - hope it is still relevant
This poem reminds me of the those I loved and who cared
for me. Those I remember with longing, since
I can't be sure, hear my eternal internal, onesided dialogue.
A house is the family home, the place that held all the words,
that led to now.
Barbara
From: "Nick Blasdale" <Nick@>
I learned this poem as a child for a recitation competition and have never
forgotten it recited it last week to my year 7 studentsand they loved it.
It proveked so much discussion. For another great poem read "In Mrs Tilchers
Class" by Carol Ann Duffy. It brings back incredible memories of my
childhood, yet my students of today loved it too.
From: Eric Elin <elinej@>
From: Richard R Szathmary <rszathmary@>
Perhaps it's because I learned it in a Catholic, nun-taught grade school
when such grade schools really were Catholic. I realize there's no
specifically religious imagery here, but the chill remains. Someone,
maybe even a shade, comes to fulfill his obligation, Desperately seeks to
fulfill it, insists "they" should know he was here. But then "they" don't
answer even as we're told they heard. It's forever set in the late dusk
of one's heart, I suspect. There's something wispy here, something that
can be pursued but never apprehended.
And something comforting, because the obligation was completed.
Yes, I like "The Listeners" very, very much. So few pieces of writing
really have the power to unsettle (but so many writers who do seem to be
clustered at www.litgothic.com, now that I think of it), and this one
really, really does.
Richard Szathmary, Clifton, NJ
From: BeBurns@
I learned this in school aged about 12 and had to recite it at one end of
term 'bash'. It's never left me although I couldn't quite remember all of the
words. Thanks for bringing it back to life, this is truly a set of words
that you can live as you say them them.