The Listeners

by Walter de la Mare Modernized version of the story in correct order A man on a horse came to an old house in the woods and knocked on the door His horse was eating the grass outside and a bird flew out of a window in a high tower above his head. Nobody answered him the first time, so the traveler knocked on the door again and said Is anybody there? Nobody answered the second time and nobody came down to open the door, so the traveler began to feel worried and puzzled. He felt there was something strange going on. He was right! Inside the lonely house there were a lot of ghosts, just quietly listening to the traveler. The ghosts were standing on the stairs in the moonlight and in the hall, listening to him. The traveler felt that there was something strange and scary in the house, but his horse just kept on eating the grass. The traveler knocked on the door a third time, even louder than before. This time he said, Tell them that I came but nobody answered. Tell them that I kept my promise When the traveler shouted out for the third time, the ghosts in the house just stayed very still. They did not make any noise inside the house. Finally the traveler got on his horse and rode away. The ghosts just listened to the sound of his horse galloping away until the house was silent again.

You could cut this up and put it in envelopes, then students have to arrange the pieces next to the corresponding sections in the original text. It could also be used as a worksheet, as shown on the next page.

The Listeners
by Walter de la Mare These sentences tell the story of what happened in the poem, but they are in mixed up order. Write numbers in the boxes to put them in the correct order. A man on a horse came to an old house in the woods and knocked on the door The ghosts were standing on the stairs in the moonlight and in the hall, listening to him. His horse was eating the grass outside and a bird flew out of a window in a high tower above his head. The traveler felt that there was something strange and scary in the house, but his horse just kept on eating the grass. Nobody answered the second time and nobody came down to open the door, so the traveler began to feel worried and puzzled. He felt there was something strange going on. He was right! Inside the lonely house there were a lot of ghosts, just quietly listening to the traveler. Finally the traveler got on his horse and rode away. The ghosts just listened to the sound of his horse galloping away until the house was silent again. When the traveler shouted out for the third time, the ghosts in the house just stayed very still. They did not make any noise inside the house. The traveler knocked on the door a third time, even louder than before. This time he said, Tell them that I came but nobody answered. Tell them that I kept my promise Nobody answered him the first time, so the traveler knocked on the door again and said Is anybody there? 1

The Listeners
by Walter de la Mare There are many old fashioned and unusual words in the poem. Compare the modern version with the poem, and match these unusual words with their meanings. A B C D E F G H I J K L M a turret smote (verb, past) a host a phantom dwelt (verb, past) lone (adj) thronging turf (noun) neath stir (noun or verb) spake (verb, past) aye hearkening 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 lived lonely grass underneath or beneath listening a tower a movement crowding hit or knocked on yes a crowd spoke a ghost

Students could also be given sentences from the poem to re-write in modern English
(ANSWER) A 6 B 9 C 11 D 13 E 1 F 2 G 8 H 3 I 4 J 7 K 12 L 10 M 5

The Listeners
by Walter de la Mare In the poem there are two scenes; inside the house and outside the house. Write these words in the correct columns, according to what you find in the poem. a man a horse grass and trees moonlight movement a bird the sound of a voice the sound of a horse eating stars leaves ghostly listeners darkness stillness silence

the sound of a horse galloping

Outside the house

Inside the house