LEISURE

BACKGROUND

William Henry Davies or W. H. Davies (3 July 1871 26 September 1940) was a Welsh poet and
writer.

Poems are written based on his experience as a tramp and the many different characters he

encountered along the way.

His first poems were published when he was 34 years old.
His poems highlight natures beauty based and his observations on the hardship in life. Wrote
two novels and autobiographical works. His best known novel is the Autobiography of a Super-

Tramp
He died in 1940.

SYNOPSIS

The poem Leisure by William Henry Davies is about life. Life can be hectic sometimes. However, we
must make time to enjoy life. Slowing down to enjoy nature is a way to live life meaningfully. Leisure,
or free time, is time spent away from business, work, and domestic chores. It is also the periods of
time before or after necessary activities such as eating, sleeping and, where it is
compulsory, education.

PARAPHRASE OF THE POEM

The poem Leisure is divided into seven rhyming couplets.

Couplet 1:

The poet, W. H. Davies, begins by questioning the purpose of a life which is so full of worry

that it does not allow us any time to simply stand still and watch the world go by.
In the next few couplets, he describes the various things that people are not able to do due to
lack of leisure.

Couplet 2:

Sheep and cows can often be seen standing still in vast open fields and staring into a
distance. People living a busy life would not possess the leisure to stand under the branches
of trees and keep staring into space.

Couplet 3:

W. H. Davies further adds that when such people pass a forest or a woodland, they would be
in too much of a hurry to notice the nooks and crannies in the grass where squirrels conceal
their nuts. They would not posses the leisure to notice the various aspects of the natural world
around them.

Couplet 4:

In daylight, streams appear to be sparkling under the effect of sunshine making it seem as if
the streams are full of stars like the night sky. However, such beauties of nature are likely to
be missed by people overburdened by anxiety and living a life of haste without any leisure.

Couplets 5 and 6:

The poet states that the rush of life provides people with no leisure to turn at the glance of a
beautiful girl and marvel at her dancing feet. They are unable to leisurely observe her as her
mouth shapes out a smile that started from her eyes.

Couplet 7:

In the final couplet states that a life which is so bogged down by worry that it allows one no
time for leisure is indeed a miserable life. It means that we have a poor life if we have no time
to relax physically or mentally.

SUMMARY

Life should not be about working so much that we have no time to relax and enjoy the beauty
of nature. We are so caught up in our work routine and mundane schedule that we do not
know how to break away. We should slow down and take a look at things around us because
life goes by fast and we do not want to miss a thing. Sometimes, the mind should be free of
work stress so that we can we enjoy the beauty of the little pleasures of life. We all get so
caught up in the ways of the world that we become emotionally blind to what is going on. We
are not alert of our surroundings. We focus so much on the things that bring us trouble and

not enough time on what makes us happy. Life becomes meaningless if we do not learn to set
aside time for ourselves and our families.
Setting

Set in the countryside

Persona wonders why man i s so busy that he lets life to pass him by and does not make any
attempt to appreciate nature.

Imagery

stream full of stars gives the picture of a stream shimmering under the sun.
Beauty has feet, how they can dance and enrich that smile gives the picture of a beautiful,
graceful woman.

Simile

And stare as long as sheep or cows

Like stars at night

Themes

We should take time off from our daily work to enjoy nature.
Nature has many beautiful things that we can appreciate if we take the trouble and time.
Learn to relax and enjoy the simple pleasure of life.
Learn to observe the little and beautiful things around us.
Enrich and expand our minds with the beauty of nature.

Moral values

We need to take advantage of our free time to live a better lifestyle.

We should use leisure creatively to strengthen our minds and hearts.
We should take note of the beautiful things around us.
Enrich and expand our minds with the beauty of nature.

PRACTICES

Practice 1
1. Who is the persona in the poem?
2. What does he think of life today as is mentioned in the first stanza?

Practice 2
1. Explain the phrase stand and stare.
2. Why is the phrase stand and stare repeated in the first and last stanza?

Practice 3
1. In the second stanza, what do we fail to do? 2. Explain the imagery of streams full of stars.

Practice 4
1. Why do we fail to see when we pass the woods?
2. Why do you think the persona mentions sheep or cows?

Practice 5
1. How is Beauty personified?
2. Why do you think the persona describes life today as poor?

ANSWER

Practice 1
1.Who is the persona in the poem? The persona
2.What does he think of life today as is mentioned in the first stanza? Life is poor (because people do
not relax and enjoy little thing in life.)

Practice 2
1. Explain the phrase stand and stare. ( just do nothing to look and enjoy the scenery
2. Why is the phrase stand and stare repeated in the first and last stanza? People don't spend time to
notice what's around them anymore.

Practice 3
1. In the second stanza, what do we fail to do? Just standing under a tree and enjoy looking at
animals.
2. Explain the imagery of streams full of stars. Very clear and sparkling river under the sun

Practice 4
1. Why do we fail to see when we pass the woods? Watching squirrels with their food
2. Why do you think the persona mentions sheep or cows? Sheep and cows are the most common
and can be easily seen animals yet people do not notice them.

Practice 5
1. How is Beauty personified? It can dance and smile
2. Why do you think the persona describes life today as poor? This is because people do not enjoy life
anymore and miss on the simple things that make life more meaningful.