William Henry Davies or W. H William Henry Davies or W. H. Davies (3 July 1871[2] – 26 September 1940) was a Welsh poet and writer. Davies spent a significant part of his life homeless in the United Kingdom and United States, but became one of the most popular poets of his time. The principal themes in his work are observations about life's hardships, the ways in which the human condition is reflected in nature, his own adventures in homelessness and the various characters he met. Davies is usually considered one of the Georgian Poets, but much of his work is not typical in style or theme of the group

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare 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 if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare 7 rhyming couplets Consistent iambic tetrameter The poem warns that "the hectic pace of modern life has a detrimental effect on the human spirit." According to Davies, modern man has no time to spend free time in the lap of nature

The World Is Too Much with Us 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 if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare In his 1963 Critical Biography of Davies, Richard Stonesifer traces the origins of the poem back to the sonnet "The World Is Too Much with Us" by William Wordsworth saying Davies ‘ went to school with Wordsworth's sonnet "The world is too much with us", and echoes from that sonnet resound throughout his work as from few other poems. Philosophically, no other single poem can be said to form the basis of so much of his poetry. The celebrated opening of his wise little poem "Leisure" has its origins here." The World Is Too Much with Us The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare 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 if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare Interrogative mood ‘care’ abstract noun – distraction, concern, worry, preoccupation Syndetic pair of sibilants – simple pleasure

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare 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 if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare Anaphora – emphasise the constraints and restrictions on our modern lives

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare 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 if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare Natural imagery – humans not as fortunate as sheep or cows – animals usually controlled and used by humanity. Comparative used

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare 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 if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare Declarative mood continues. Simple pleasures of an easier life. The hiding of the nuts could symbolise the pleasure of nature that are now hidden from us.

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare 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 if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare Moves away from everyday descriptions to metaphorical. We have lost our ability to see the magic of nature. Sibilant alliteration echoes the rushing sound of the water in the stream. Paradox – broad daylight and skies at night. They beauty of nature is everlasting.

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare 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 if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare Personification – Beauty becomes a person that we overlook at a dance. We have learnt to ignore and undervalue her. The personification makes our decision seem ridiculous! Would you overlook a girl who was giving you the eye in a club?!

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare 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 if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare Personification extends into these lines. The power of beauty to ‘enrich’ (Verb - improve) our lives is being missed. Davies emphasises that we are sacrificing the impact beauty can have on our life.

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare 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 if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare The final couplet is epigrammatic (sums up the meaning of the poem). Adjective ‘poor’ ironic pun – we spend our times working for wealth, yet our ‘true’ lives grow more poor as a result. Inverted syntax to emphasise ‘a poor life’. Repetition: The final couplet answers the question of the opening couplet.