Summary of the listeners by Walter Dr la mare
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A question is posed: “Is there anybody there?” His name capitalized and in deference to the British spelling, the Traveller is introduced in the middle of knocking on a strange door as moonlight shines down upon him. This somewhat ominous mood is enhanced by the sound of his horse chewing grass and the flight of a bird from turret, suggesting that this is no ordinary house. He knocks again and repeats his query.
Despite this repetition, nobody comes to the door, nor can the Traveller spot with grey eyes any head furtively peering through a window. His perfect stillness betrays his perplexity that his only company seems to be equally still listeners inside, as silent as phantoms as they gather in in groups on the steps that descend to the vacant entryway.
The very strangeness of the listening phantoms brings an awareness deep inside that their silence is proof that they have heeded his call. The only sound now the movement of the Traveller's horse as he finds another patch of edible grass. The sky above is filled with stars, their light somewhat dimmed by equally plentiful leaves on the trees. The door is struck a third time, this time louder. With a tilt of his head, he makes a speech that is fuller and more robust, entailing a proclamation rather than a question. He urges the silent and ghostly listeners inside to inform an unidentified “them” that he kept his word. He came, but nobody answered.
The listeners remain every bit the phantoms they have been throughout after hearing his words echo off the walls around them. There is the sound of the Traveller’s foot on his stirrup and the hooves of his horse striking the stone paving; they never see the Traveller leave, but know that he has only as the last faint echo of his presence fades into silence
Despite this repetition, nobody comes to the door, nor can the Traveller spot with grey eyes any head furtively peering through a window. His perfect stillness betrays his perplexity that his only company seems to be equally still listeners inside, as silent as phantoms as they gather in in groups on the steps that descend to the vacant entryway.
The very strangeness of the listening phantoms brings an awareness deep inside that their silence is proof that they have heeded his call. The only sound now the movement of the Traveller's horse as he finds another patch of edible grass. The sky above is filled with stars, their light somewhat dimmed by equally plentiful leaves on the trees. The door is struck a third time, this time louder. With a tilt of his head, he makes a speech that is fuller and more robust, entailing a proclamation rather than a question. He urges the silent and ghostly listeners inside to inform an unidentified “them” that he kept his word. He came, but nobody answered.
The listeners remain every bit the phantoms they have been throughout after hearing his words echo off the walls around them. There is the sound of the Traveller’s foot on his stirrup and the hooves of his horse striking the stone paving; they never see the Traveller leave, but know that he has only as the last faint echo of his presence fades into silence
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