The poem "Leisure" by William Henry Davies laments that modern life is too busy and full of cares, leaving no time to appreciate the beauty of nature. The poet argues that if life is consumed by worries, it is a poor life indeed. He lists several simple pleasures people have no time for - standing under trees as animals do, watching squirrels hide nuts, seeing streams shine like stars, watching a dancing girl. The major theme is that people should slow down, abandon material concerns, and take time to connect with nature's richness in order to live fully.

1. Mahatma Gandhi Arts, Science & Late N. P. Commerce College,
Armori, Dist. Gadchiroli
Class :- B. Sc. – I ( Sem. – II )
Subject :- Compulsory English
Topic :- Leisure
- W. H. Davies
- Prepared By -
Asst. Prof. Anil P. Raut

2. About the Poet:-
William Henry Davies (1871 – 1940) was a Welsh poet and writer. He published his
first volume of poems “The Soul’s Destroyer and other Poems”, in 1905. This was
followed by “Nature Poems and Others”, in 1908. The poem, ‘Leisure’ was first published
in his “Songs Of Joy and Others” in 1911. This poem was one of the best poems of Davies.
He gained fame and respect in 1908 with his book ‘The Autobiography of a Super –
Tramp.’ His style is characterised by a love of nature , lyrical simplicity, subtle use of
language and a deep sympathy for human suffering. Some of his best known poems are
‘The Kingfisher’, and ‘Rich or Poor’.

3.  About the Poem :-
The title of the poem ‘Leisure’ means having free time to pursue one’s passion or to
spend time with nature and admire its beauty. This poem is a protest against the unnecessary
commitment of man with worldly affairs. We are always in a hurry and have no leisure time
to look at the beauty spread all around us. Man's miserable life brings him nothing but
sadness and worries. The poem, ‘Leisure’ presents several themes such as modernity,
simplicity, spirituality, nature, and most importantly leisure. The major theme is that we
should abandon our material pursuits and establish a firm contact with nature to lead a rich
and diverse life.

4. Leisure
- by William Davies.
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 skies 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

5. 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.
In these lines the poet laments our rushed life. The poet says that we cannot
call this life a pure life, if it is full of worries and anxiety. We have no time to stand
at a certain place and look carefully at nature. Even we cannot spare a few moments
to stand under the branches of green trees and enjoy the beautiful and restful shades
of the trees. The common animals like sheep and cows are better than us in enjoying
life. We cannot look at the common animals like sheep and cows grazing in the
pastures. We have committed ourselves with worldly affairs unnecessarily and
cannot enjoy nature and the natural beauty spread all around us.

6. No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
In these lines the poet tells us, when we pass through some forest, we do not
have time to stop for some moments to look at the trees tall and short, and enjoy
their natural beauty. The dark green trees provide a soothing effect but we are
always sick-hurried and cannot enjoy at least the simple beauty. Also we cannot
look at the small animals like squirrels concealing their food-grain in the grass for
the winter. This minor scene can also give us relief.

7. No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
In these lines the poet says that human beings cannot see the beauty that is
hidden in the streams. During day time, when the rays of the sun fall upon the
clear water of the brooks, the water reflects and shines like stars in the sky during
night. Sometimes water of streams, because of its clearness seems so beautiful
that even stones beneath the water can be observed, which look like stars in the
clear blue water. This scene also resembles the stars shining in the sky at night.

8. 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.
The poet says we have so hard luck that we cannot watch a girl or a woman
who dances in the field. The feet of the dancing girl are very attractive and
bewitching but we cannot spare time to look at these feet as how they dance.
This dancing girl can also amuse us with her performance. The poet also mourns
that we have no time to wait for the words, the mouth of the dancing girl has to
utter. As a sort of smile has appeared in her eyes but we cannot wait for such time as
the words from her eyes are transferred to her lips. Those words can amuse us. Here
the poet personifies beauty as a young beautiful dancing girl having a smiling face
to explain the natural beauty scattered all around us.

9. A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare
In these concluding lines the poet regrets to say that ours is a poor life. In a
way it cannot be life if it is full of cares and worries. Unfortunately, we have no
time to stand at a place and look carefully at nature that can refresh us. As such
our life is nothing but lamentation through and through. As human beings we
should spare some moments and look at nature and natural beauty spread around
us and enjoy life.

10. Thank
You