Q:Modern man can’t stand and stare. Explain. or
What are the main ideas explained in the poem “leisure”?

William Davies is a modern poet. He has studied life very deeply. In his poem Leisure he laments on the preoccupation of man in daily pursuits of life.
“What is this life, if full of care
We have no time to stand and stare"
He points out that advancement in science and industry has mad man materialistic. It is a very painful fact that people of modern age remain busy day and night like a machine to earn money to improve their standard of living. Their minds are all the time preoccupied with worries and responsibilities of day-today life. Therefore, they have no time or attention to spare for the beautiful scenes of nature which are a gift of God for the amusement of mankind. These busy people do not bother to get pleasure from the charming things of life. In this age of material advancement, time is considered wealth. People feel envious of those who struggle hard to raise high in life and remain busy all the time. In this poem, the poet has urged us to spare some time to enjoy nature.

Q:The poet has used personification . Can you point it out?

When an inanimate object or abstraction is given human qualities or abilities, it is called personification. It is used to make an idea rich and beautiful. In the short lyrical poem “Leisure” the poet makes the use of personification. He presents beauty as a living creature. The young girl in this poem has been used as a symbol of natural beauty. He says:
“No time to turn at Beauty’s glance
And watch her feet, how they can dance”

The young, charming and attractive girl’s dancing feet can attract young people and captivate their hearts. The beautiful girl has an alluring smile which starts from her eyes and descends upon her lips:
“No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began”

In the poem beauty has dancing feet, it can dance, it has eyes and it can smile. All these are human qualities. This personification of beauty for a beautiful woman makes the meaning of the poem clear and lucid.

Q: What are some of the simple delights we miss in our rushed life? OR
“William Davies laments the hurried manner in which we spend our lives depriving ourselves of savoring the richness and diversity that life offers.” Discuss with reference to his poem, ‘Leisure’?

William Davies laments in his poem, Leisure, about the hurried manner in which we spend our lives .He is sorry for the modern man who is so much absorbed in his material pursuits that he hardly finds any time to see the colors of life. Nature and manifestations of nature are lying bare and open for us everywhere but we have closed our eyes for these. There are trees and plants. There are squirrels in the woods. There are brightly shinning waves in the stream. There are twinkling stars in the sky. Beauty itself is present. It is looking at us with its sweet glance. Its eyes are smiling and its lips are also going to smile. Its feet are going to dance. But we are so strange persons that we don’t have any leisure or spare time to see the “beauty incarnate” and enjoy seeing it. According to Davies, life is nothing but a constant care and worry if we are unable to enjoy nature and its manifestations.

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