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Unit 9: Leisure: Summary | Stanza wise Explanation | Compulsory English Class 9 | W. H. Davies
Leisure by W.H Davies
ABOUT POEM
Leisure by W.H Davies
This poem was composed by William Henry Davies, a poet from Wales.
The poem "Leisure" reminds all of us to take our time to appreciate and admire the beauty of nature and be thankful to God for all His tremendous creations.
There are altogether seven different stanzas, which contain 14 lines. Every stanza includes two lines (couplets). The rhyme scheme of the poem is AA BB, and it moves on further like this.
The speaker of the poem is the poet himself. His tone is melancholic. He keeps on complaining about various acts of humans in this modern world. The main theme of this poem is nature's beauty vs. busy and alienated modern men. The central idea of this poem is that we should abandon our material pursuits and establish firm contact with nature to lead a rich and diverse life.
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STANZA WISE EXPLANATION
Leisure by W.H Davies
Stanza: 1
WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
Explanation:
Here in these lines, the poet is complaining about our busy and rushed lives. According to him, there is no purpose in life if it is full of care. In the present, our lives are filled with worries and anxieties. We cannot refer to this life as a pure life of freedom. Today, in this busy world, we are so busy that we don’t have time to pause and admire the beautiful nature around us. We are living our so-called life without any pleasure around us.
Stanza: 2
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:
Explanation
In these lines, the poet is saying that we don’t even have enough time to stand under the branches of green trees and cannot look at the common animals like sheep and cows grazing in the natural pastures. Natural creations are of no use to us due to our so-called busy lives.
Stanza: 3
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
Explanation
Here in these lines, the poet says that we do not have time to look at tall and short trees when we pass through forests. We can’t even spare our leisure moments to enjoy the soothing effect of the green trees in nature. Furthermore, we cannot see the beautiful scene of small animals in nature, such as squirrels, and their little acts of hiding their food grains (nuts) in the grass.
Stanza: 4
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:
Explanation
Here in these lines, the speaker again complains about us, saying that we busy people don't even have time to see the beautiful streams that are full of stars during broad daylight. During broad daylight, when sun rays fall upon the clear water of the streams, the streams reflect and shine like stars. The streams seem like a sky at night, which is packed with stars. But for us, there is no time to see such a wonderful creation of God.
Stanza: 5
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
Explanation
Here in these lines, the poet has personified this beautiful nature as a young, beautiful, dancing woman with a smiling face. The poet refers to her as a beauty. He says that we busy people don’t even have time to look at the tremendous changes in this beautiful nature. Similar to a beautiful dancer and her dancing steps, nature also has beautiful changes that can refresh us all the time. Nature changes just like a beautiful dancer and her moving steps. These tremendous changes, such as changes in the leaves, flowers, branches, sound of water flowing in the river, flight of birds, etc., are a part of nature’s dance. But, unfortunately, we don’t have time to admire these changes in this beautiful nature.
Stanza: 6
No time to wait till her mouth can,
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
Explanation
Here in these lines, the poet says that we don't really enjoy the perfection of this beautiful nature. According to him, we cannot wait to enjoy the real beauty of nature. He has compared nature's beauty with a young, beautiful lady's smile. But we have no time to wait and watch that beautiful smile that begins in her eyes and enriches her mouth. Here, the poet means to say that we busy people don't wait to watch the beautiful smile of nature.
Stanza: 7
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
Explanation
In these final lines, the poet says that this kind of worried life is a useless life that is under the pressure of the engagements of life and forgets to enjoy the beautiful nature. He refers to the life of full care as a poor life. We don’t have time to stand in a place and admire the beautiful nature around us.
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