Poem - Leisure (Lesson 1)

In Week 1, I started off my lessons to my third formers by teaching "Leisure", a beautiful poem written by William Henry Davies.

A poet and an autobiographer. Born in 1871 in Monmouthshire, Wales. His poems were 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 about nature's beauty based on his observations about hardships in life. Wrote two novels and autobiographical works. His best known novel is Autobiography of a Super-Tramp. He died in 1940.

The Poem:

Leisure

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like stars at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this is if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.

What is the poem about?

Reminds us to take time to appreciate the beauty of nature. However, if we are too busy with our daily life & worry too much, we forgetto watch and admire natures beauty.

It is a sad life if we cant find time to relax and appreciate the nature around us.

Teachingthepoem: Since this was the first week of school, I asked students about their holidays to get them to talk about their experience. At the same time, this activity also served as an ice-breaking session. I selected students at random while encouraging them to respond voluntarily. I asked questions like: 1. 2. 3. 4. Did you have a good holiday? or Did you enjoy your holidays? What did you do during the last school holidays? What do you like to do if you have free time? Why do you like to do such activity during your free time?

Then, I related students' responses with the poem. Most of my students told the class that they spent most of their holidays at home helping their parents, watching television and using facebook. One of my students replied that he loves camping. This is a good start to relate the discussion to the main topic by asking "Why do you love to camp?", etc.

Most "I'm

of going to

my take

students you on

spent a

the

entire around

holidays the world

at to

home, see

so

told

them, scenery."

journey

some

beautiful

They

were

ecstatic.

"Virtually, on my computer," I continued.

A Fighter's Lines - Understanding the meaning of the poem

About the poet Marzuki Ali(Source: )Marzuki Ali was born in 1945 in Terengganu, Malaysia. He was brought up in Kemaman and later Sabah. He has been writing poems since the 1960's. His poems mostly deal with issues regarding his hometown, environment and patriotism. A lot of his poems have been published in the Utusan Malaysia,Berita Minggu, Dewan Sastera and Dewan Budaya. Synopsis of the poemThe persona in the poem is an old soldier. He is tired as he is old and weak. He and his people suffered in the past in their fight for freedom of their country and they made many sacrifices. People lost their lives and some remain nameless or unknown. The persona, who believes that he will be in the wheelchair for the rest his life says he can only watch the happenings around him. Physically, he is helpless and he has no energy left. He was either seriously injured when he was a soldier or is very ill. He finds that times have changed and being a crippled man, it is too challenging for him to fight the injustice he sees around him. He is troubled by many lies being told everywhere. Being highly spirited, he calls on the younger generation to wake up and fight on. They have to realise that they have to form lines or ranks irrespective of racial, religious and social differences to fight courageously for justice. He wants the young people who inherited the country's freedom to be united and denounce lies which may threaten the country. The persona feels helpless that he is not heard. He urges the younger generation to fight or speak up for what is right because it is now their turn to do so. The SettingThe poem is set after indenpence. The persona feels that the independence he has struggled for is now threatened by subversive elements. Tone and moodIn the first stanza, the tone indicates that the persona is sad and weary because he is old and weak. The persona is also melancholic, reflecting on his past sacrifices he made for the country's independence. In the second stanza, the persona voices his helplessness, anger and contempt because his country is facing threats. The tone used in the third stanza is serious and demanding. The persona urges the present generation to form a united front to uphold the freedom that he and many others has fought for. The persona ends by insisting that the younger generation continues to fight against injustice because he can no longer do so. Themes1. Patriotism Patriotism is one of the themes of this poem. The people in this country have made a lot of sacrifices to fight for their freedom. They have achieved independence but now there are other threats such as

deceit. This affects the country's safety. The persona calls on the younger generation to fight for justice and to speak up against deceit. 2. Being courageousAnother theme is being courageous. In the past, people made many sacrifices and fought bravely with the country's enemies for their freedom. Now, the persona urges the younger generation to be brave and fight against other threats in the country. He tells them to stand up and speak with courage. 3. Unity In the past, people were united when they fought for independence. Now, the persona emphasises that the younger generation who has inherited a free country should unite to preserve their freedom. They should stand united by building a wall of people or forming ranks irrespective of racial, religious and other social differences. The "lines" in the poem, A Fighter's Lines refer to the persona's lines and the lines or ranks formed for unity. We have to be united and strong as in the saying, "United we stand, divided we fall". Values1. We must be brave to uphold justice.The persona urges the younger generation to stand up against the widespread lies which are rampant in society today. This 'net of deceit' worries his as it can destroy the solidarity of the people. Therefore, he urges them to stand united and uphold justice to preserve the freedom and safety of the country. 2. We must be willing to make sacrifices to preserve our independence.In the fight for independence, the persona and other soldiers sacrificed and risked their lives when they fought for independence. Now, he is wheelchair-bound because he was either crippled in the war or is now old and sick. Now, he wants the younger generation to make sacrifices too to preserve their freedom. 3. We must be united to preserve our freedom.The persona wants the younger generation to stand united regardless of their differences to ensure their freedom.