Money - William H. Davies

                            About The Poet

 William H. Davies (1871 to 1940) -

William H. Davies was a Welsh poet and writer. He spent a significant part of his life as a tramp or hobo in the United Kingdom and the United States. He became a peddler and street singer in England. After several years of a wandering life, he published his first volume, ‘The Soul’s Destroyer and other Poems’.

hobo- a homeless person  

peddler - especially in the past, a person who travelled to different places to sell small goods, usually by going from house to house.

About The Poem •

The poem tells us about the rich man who wants to be a poor man to find the real happiness. It is when we do not have money or have lost our money, we realize how important the money is. At the end, the poet says that now he doesn’t have money, he has true friends though they may be few.

Theme Of The Poem -

 ⏺️ Money is not everthing in life.

 ⏺️ Money doesn't give you real happiness.

⏺️ True friends are those who remain with you even when you don't have money.

First stanza -

            The poet tells us about his past when he had money but he found true joy when he became poor. When he was rich, he was surrounded by many unreal friends. His friends came knocking all day at his door because he had money and they thought that they could benefit from being with a wealthy man.

Second stanza -

The poet gives the example of a child with a trumpet that he can' t blow because someone has died. This is because blowing a trumpet at somebody's death would be totally inappropriate. Similarly, it would be inappropriate for the poet to tell all the pretentious rich people that true joy can only be experienced when one is poor.Here the poet refers his own lack of freedom during his days of richness.

Third stanza -

He has thought continually about life and has found out that the poor people are happier at heart, their wives hum like bees. means that they constantly talk despite the fact their husband work from morning till night, they are happy in their poverty also.

Fourth stanza -

The poet now visualises the poor men laughing and enjoying life, while the rich ones as being unfriendly and constantly dissatisfied. This makes the poet think that it is not required for the poor people to become rich, because they have found true happiness in their poverty. However, it is important for the rich men to become poor, only to realise the meaning of true happiness. It seems that only when one is poor can really enjoy the life and find true happiness.

Fifth Stanza -

 In the last stanza, the poet says that during his prosperity, his many friends were all unreal but now he is poor, he has fewer but real friends. Overall, the poet celebrates his poverty as a source of his true happiness, which he has obtained by earning a small number of real friends.

Appreciation of the poem – Money

‘Money’ is a reflective poem written by W.H. Davies. He was a Welsh poet, known as the ‘Tramp poet’.  Through this poem, the Poet has showcased his self-experienced philosophy about money and personal happiness.

The poem consists of five stanzas of four lines each. It has a simple narrative style. Alliteration, Antithesis, Inversion, Simile, Onomatopoeia and Repetition are the figure of speech used in this poem. The poet has made use of vivid imagery. For example, ‘wives hum, like bees’ or ‘came knocking all day at my door’ and ‘Then felt I like a child that holds / A trumpet that he must not blow’, these lines effectively present the visuals. The rhyme scheme of the first four stanzas is abcb and of the last stanza is abab.

The theme of the poem is the dual aspect of money. A rich man has many false friends and he lacks true happiness. Whereas a poor man has few friends who are true and real. Thus, he is enriched with goodness and happiness.

The message of the poem is that to experience true joy and happiness one need not be rich and wealthy. It is not necessary for the poor to become rich as necessary it is for the rich to become poor. One can actually enjoy true happiness when one becomes poor.

I like this poem because it reveals the real worth of money. It also clarifies the false and fake beliefs about the rich and the poor. Understanding the real worth of people, true happiness and value of money in an early age is actually a blessing. This poem  certainly teaches a valuable life-lesson to all.