Hibiscus Teach · Literature 03 · Poetry
Leisure by W. H. Davies
Created by Denis M., British English teacher.
01 · Vocabulary first · 3 minutes
Five words before you read
- care
- worry or anxiety, as used in this poem
- stare
- look steadily at something for a long time
- boughs
- the large branches of a tree
- glance
- a quick look
- enrich
- make something more valuable or meaningful
Look beneath the definitions: How does a “glance” differ from a “stare”? Which suggests more time or attention? Predict what “enrich” might mean beyond money. These are first ideas, not conclusions about the poem.
Opening question: Is time spent doing nothing always wasted? Speak for 20–30 seconds, alone or with a partner.
Solo/tutor follow-up: Can looking carefully be a valuable activity? Keep your answer provisional.
Reading aim: explain how repetition and personification question what makes a life rich.
02 · Read closely · 3 minutes
What do we miss when we hurry?
Read the seven pairs of lines. Notice what people have “no time” for and how the final pair changes the opening.
Reading help: beneath = under; till = until. The title Leisure means time free from work or duties.
What is this life if, full of care,We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughsAnd 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 canEnrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,We have no time to stand and stare.
W. H. Davies, “Leisure”, Songs of Joy and Others (1911), p. 15. Wording and line breaks follow the original printed edition (PDF, page 19). Public-domain poem.
Repetition: “No time” begins one pair after another. Each return adds a missed experience, making busyness feel like a pattern of loss.
Personification: an idea is given human features. Beauty looks, dances and smiles. This makes it seem like someone we could meet, if we gave the encounter time. The speaker is the poem’s voice, not automatically the poet describing his own life.
Your interpretation · 20 seconds: What kind of poverty does “A poor life” suggest? Connect it with “Enrich” or one thing people miss.
Possible reading: The life is poor in experience, even if it is rich in money. Tutor/solo follow-up: Which words support that distinction?
03 · Interpret & evaluate · 4 minutes
What supports your reading?
Open the quiz · 4 questions
Choose the reading best supported by the words. Use the feedback to connect each writing choice with its effect; the final question asks what counts as wealth.
Answer key and explanations
- Busyness becomes a repeated pattern of missed experiences. Each “No time” adds another thing we miss. The repetition makes the losses feel connected and persistent. Nature offers plenty to notice; the problem is our lack of attention, not a lack of beauty.
- To make an ordinary stream seem as wonderful as the night sky. The comparison invites us to imagine bright points of reflected light as stars. Beauty is close at hand, even in daylight. The image supports the poem’s argument that looking carefully can change the value we find in familiar things.
- Beauty feels like a living presence we could respond to. This is personification: an abstract idea receives human features. Beauty can meet our eyes, dance and smile, making attention feel like an encounter. A real-life woman or the author’s intention cannot be established from these lines alone.
- Losing the capacity to notice and enjoy beauty. “Poor” answers the opening thought about a life “full of care”. Together with “Enrich”, it suggests a kind of wealth measured in experience and attention. This challenges the idea that a valuable life is simply a busy or wealthy one; it does not prove that everyone has equal freedom to slow down.
04 · Discuss deeper meaning · 3 minutes
Is attention a form of wealth?
Open the speaking task
Does the poem offer a convincing idea of a rich life? Use two words or lines, then consider whether everyone is equally free to slow down.
Plan for 20 seconds. Speak for 45–60 seconds, alone or with a partner. Revisit your opening answer about “doing nothing”.
“The speaker values… The phrase ‘…’ suggests… However, I would question… So I read the poem as…”
Tutor/solo follow-up: Is the poem mainly blaming busy people or questioning a way of life? End with your interpretation and one supporting phrase.
See a possible interpretation
“I think the poem treats attention as a form of wealth. ‘Enrich’ and ‘poor life’ suggest that experience matters as well as money. ‘Streams full of stars’ shows wonder in an ordinary place. However, people with demanding work may not be free to stop. The repeated ‘No time’ could therefore question the way we live, rather than blame each person. I read the poem as an invitation to protect our attention, not a rule that we should never be busy.”
Other readings are welcome when supported by the text. The question about unequal free time extends the poem’s ideas; it is not a documented statement of Davies’s intention.