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

enjoy meaningfully time hectic chores

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

Paraphrase of the poem

The poem Leisure is divided into seven rhyming couplets.

Couplet 1:
stand worry lack questioning watch

The poet, W. H. Davies, begins by __________ the purpose of a life which is so full of
__________ that it does not allow us any time to simply __________ still and
__________ the world go by.
In the next few couplets, he describes the various things that people are not able to do due
to __________ of leisure.

Couplet 2:
busy branches staring distance fields

Sheep and cows can often be seen standing still in vast open __________and staring into
a __________. People living a __________life would not possess the leisure to stand
under the __________of trees and keep __________into space.
 Couplet 3:
notice natural grass forest hurry

W. H. Davies further adds that when such people pass a __________or a woodland, they
would be in too much of a __________to notice the nooks and crannies in the __________where
squirrels conceal their nuts. They would not possess the leisure to __________the various
aspects of the __________world around them.

Couplet 4:
missed sunshine anxiety stars sparkling

In daylight, streams appear to be __________under the effect of __________making it

seem as if the streams are full of __________like the night sky. However, such beauties
of
nature are likely to be __________by people overburdened by __________and living a
life
of haste without any leisure.

Couplets 5 and 6:
nature rush fascinated admire turn

The poet states that the __________of life provides people with no leisure to
__________at the glance and __________the beauty of __________. They are unable to
leisurely be __________by the wonders she can offer every day.

Couplet 7:
miserable poor bogged down relax worry

In the final couplet states that a life which is so __________ by __________that it allows
one no time for leisure is indeed a __________life. It means that we have a
__________life if we have no time to __________physically or mentally.
Summary

Life should not be about working so much that we have no time Eg: work

to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature. We are so caught up in our

1._____________

work routine and mundane schedule that we do not know how to break 2._____________

away. We should slow down and take a look at things around us

3.______________
because life goes by fast and we do not want to miss a thing.
4.______________

Sometimes, the mind should be free of work stress so that we can we

5.______________
enjoy the beauty of the little pleasures of life. We all get so caught up
6.______________
in the ways of the world that we become emotionally blind to what is

7.______________
going on. We are not alert of our surroundings. We focus so much on
8.______________
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 9.______________
10._____________
for ourselves and our families.

Setting
Set in the countryside
Persona wonders why man is 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.

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. What 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?

Practice 6
1. List three examples of nature dancing
2. List three examples of nature smiling