Leisure

W. H. 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 and 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 poem is rich in similes and personification. Examples of alliteration are:' stand and stare', 'beneath the boughs', 'when woods we pass','Streams full of stars like skies'..The similles are:And stare as long as sheep or cows',' like skies at night'( any comparison with the use of 'as' or 'like' is a simille). In the last few lines Beauty has been personified as a woman __

'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'