By: William Henry Davies

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Leisure

• By William Henry Davies

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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 board daylight, Streams full of stars,
like skies at night. O time to turn at Beautys
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 if,
full of care, We have no time to stand and stare
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Stanza one 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. Vocabulary Stare to look for
a long time especially when surprised or
frightened Beneath under Boughs branches and
trees
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Paraphrase In the first stanza, the poet asks a
question what good in life if we dont have
enough time to simply stop and look at the
interesting 5things around us? Life is not
complete if we cannot stand under a tree to stand
and stare at the lovely things around us.
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Literary terms 1-Alliteration Line 2
We have no time to stand and
stare The s sounds are repeated in these two
words stand and stare and give musical
effect. 2-Rhyme Scheme aa bb
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Stanza two No time to see, when woods we
pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in
grass, No time to see, in board daylight, Streams
full of stars, like skies at night. Vocabulary
Woods forests squirrels small animals that
live among trees Streams small rivers
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Paraphrase In stanza two, the poet gives more
examples of what we could stare at and really
see, if we had enough time. Instead, without
taking time in life, we cannot stop and see where
squirrels hide their food in the grass and trees.
We also cannot see the streams which, in the
sunlight, sparkle and look like the night sky
that is full of shinning stars. He is giving
these examples to get the reader to appreciate
the beautiful nature around him/her.
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Literary terms 1-Alliteration Line 1
No time to see, when woods we
pass, The t sounds are repeated in these two
words time and to and give musical
effect. The w sounds are repeated in these
words when and wood and we to give musical
effect 3-Simile Line 4
Streams full of stars, like skies at
night. The sparkling streams is compared to the
shinning skies. 4-Rhyme Scheme cc dd
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Stanza three O time to turn at Beautys
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 if,
full of care, We have no time to stand and
stare Vocabulary Turn at observe Enrich make
something more enjoyable
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Paraphrase The poet wants to have time to look
at the beautiful things on this Earth. The
beautiful nature of Earth has become like a
dancer. The poet wishes he could have the time to
watch her as she dances. Looking at the beauty of
nature makes the poet smiles and fills him with
happiness. The poet thinks that our lives would
be sad, dull and full of sorrow and anxiety,
unless we have enough time to enjoy the beauty of
nature.
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Literary terms 1-Alliteration Line 1
O time to turn at Beautys
glance The t sounds are repeated in these two
words time and turn. Line 3
No time to wait till her mouth can The
t sounds are repeated in these words time
,till and to. . Line 5
We have no time to stand and stare The s
sounds are repeated in these words stand and
star. 2-Personification Line 2
And watch her feet, how they can
dance. Line 3 No
time to wait till her mouth can Line 4
Enrich that smile her eyes
began. The poet personifies nature as beautiful
girl who dances and miles. 3-Rhyme Scheme ee
ff aa
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Questions 1-What is the meaning of Stare,
Beneath, Boughs, Woods ,squirrels ,Streams, Turn
at, Enrich 2-Why does the poet think that Man
must have enough time? 3-Paraphrase stanza
two. 4-Pick out the literary terms in stanza
three. 5-What is the idea raised in stanza
one? 6-What are the literary terms in stanza
two? 7-Discuss the last two lines in the
poem 8-What are the literary terms in stanza one?