Ode To Duty by William Wordsworth

Ode to Duty : An Appreciation
(William Wordsworth)
Sibaprasad Dutta
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Ode: Definition
An Ode is a long lyric poem that is serious in subject, elevated in style and
elaborate in its arrangement of stanzas. Originally, odes were written in praise of
persons or of events. English Odes have a great importance, although at present
they are rarely written. John Keats is famous for his great odes. Wordsworth's
most famous ode is Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections
of early Childhood. The first four stanzas of this great ode appear to have been
written in the Spring and Summer of 1802; the remainder in 1805 or 1806, after
his brother's death had pressed the question of immortality on the poet's mind.
Ode to Duty (written in 1805; published in 1807) is an ode written by William

Wordsworth (1770-1850).
Analysis
Stanza : I
STERN Daughter of the Voice of God!

O Duty! if that name thou love,
Who art a light to guide, a rod
To check the erring and reprove;
Thou, who art victory and law
When empty terrors overawe;
From vain temptations dost set free;
And calm'st the weary strife of frail humanity!
In this Ode, Wordsworth deals with several aspects of duty in a tone of reverence.
Duty is called the stern daughter of the Voice of God, meaning thereby that if
anybody defies her, he will meet punishment. As a strict guardian, Duty also
guides a man, and does not spare the rod when one errs. When a state goes into
the grip of chaos and anarchy, it is Duty who works to pacify the situation and
bring terror under control. The poet says that Duty does not lure men; rather it
applies a balm on the wounds of the suffering humanity.
Stanza : II
There are who ask not if thine eye

Be on them; who, in love and truth,
Where no misgiving is, rely
Upon the genial sense of youth:
Glad hearts! without reproach or blot;
Who do thy work, and know it not:
O, if through confidence misplaced
They fail, thy saving arms, dread Power! around them cast.
There are persons who think that Duty, the stern daughter of the Voice of God,
does not watch them. In matters of love and truth, they, being innocent, are
guided by a common sense. But they too are following Duty unawares as, if they
make any mistake, Duty readily extends her arms around them and saves them.
Stanza : III
Serene will be our days and bright,

And happy will our nature be,
When love is an unerring light,
And joy its own security.
And they a blissful course may hold
Even now, who, not unwisely bold,
Live in the spirit of this creed;
Yet seek thy firm support, according to their need.
Our life will be smooth and peaceful when love lights our way and joy, on its own,
fills our heart. Actually, even those that believe in this creed and tread along a
happy path would very often need the firm support of Duty.
Stanza : IV
I, loving freedom, and untried;

No sport of every random gust,
Yet being to myself a guide,
Too blindly have reposed my trust:
And oft, when in my heart was heard
Thy timely mandate, I deferr'd
The task, in smoother walks to stray;
But thee I now would serve more strictly, if I may.
The poet says that he loves freedom and has spent a happy life. He took his own
soul for his guide, and reposed his trust, although blindly, in himself. Still, Duty
cautioned him when he was about to err, and he abstained himself from going
that way. But now the poet decides that henceforward he would follow the
dictates of duty faithfully.
Stanza : V
Through no disturbance of my soul,

Or strong compunction in me wrought,
I supplicate for thy control;
But in the quietness of thought.
Me this uncharter'd freedom tires;
I feel the weight of chance-desires;
My hopes no more must change their name,
I long for a repose that ever is the same.
The poet willingly accepts the command of Duty and pays obeisance to her. He
feels tired of unrestricted freedom and is bent under the weight of chance-
desires. He feels that he would have hopes, but they must be monitored. Only
then he would have the right kind of repose that he seeks.
Stanza : VI
Stern Lawgiver! yet thou dost wear

The Godhead's most benignant grace;
Nor know we anything so fair
As is the smile upon thy face:
Flowers laugh before thee on their beds,
And fragrance in thy footing treads;
Thou dost preserve the stars from wrong;
And the most ancient heavens, through Thee, are fresh
and strong.
To the poet, Duty is a stern monitor, yet she wears a kind and graceful look. She
too wears on her face a smile that in respect of fairness has no match. The poet
views that it is Duty that stimulates the flowers to bloom and spread fragrance;
again it is she who keeps the stars in their position and the sky in its place.
Stanza : VII
To humbler functions, awful Power!

I call thee: I myself commend
Unto thy guidance from this hour;
O, let my weakness have an end!
Give unto me, made lowly wise,
he spirit of self-sacrifice;
The confidence of reason give;
And in the light of truth thy bondman let me live!
The poet admits that Duty is appallingly powerful and he whole-heartedly

surrenders to her right away to get rid of his weakness. The poet prays to Duty
that she may grant him the spirit of self-sacrifice and instill in his mind the desire
to rely on reason. He wishes to live like her slave for the rest of his life.
Conclusion
“Ode to Duty” is an appeal to the principle of morality for guidance and support.
It represents in a measure a recantation of Wordsworth's earlier faith in the
spontaneous and unguided impulses of the heart, written at a time when he was
coming to feel more and more the need of an invariable standard. While
continuing to recognize the worth and beauty of the creed of joy and love, he feels
that there must be also the mandate of the stern power which preserves the stars
in their courses and lays the law of sacrifice and self-restraint upon the soul of the
individual. Stern as is the voice of duty, it is yet also divinely beautiful,
“Nor know we anything so fair
As is the smile upon thy face.”
The mood and temper of the “Ode to Duty” is characteristic of much of
Wordsworth's later work. According to Wordsworth's own statement, the “Ode to
Duty” was modeled on Thomas Gray's “Hymn to Adversity,” which in turn was
imitated from Horace's “Ode to Fortune.” The stanza is identical with that used
by Gray, and there are resemblances in ideas and phraseology. This poem
demonstrates how a prosaic theme can be approached with a Romantic vision.
N.B. I have dropped the following lines which appear in some editions as have
followed the edition (1968) by The Oxford University Press in which an
introduction has been written by David Nichol Smith. If included, the poem
would of eight stanzas.
Yet not the less would I throughout

Still act according to the voice
Of my own wish; and feel past doubt
That my submissiveness was choice:
Not seeking in the school of pride
For 'precepts over dignified,'
Denial and restraint I prize
No farther than they breed a second Will more wise.
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Ode To Duty by William Wordsworth

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Ode to Duty : An Appreciation

Ode to Duty (written in 1805; published in 1807) is an ode written by William

STERN Daughter of the Voice of God!

There are who ask not if thine eye

Serene will be our days and bright,

I, loving freedom, and untried;

Through no disturbance of my soul,

Stern Lawgiver! yet thou dost wear

To humbler functions, awful Power!

The poet admits that Duty is appallingly powerful and he whole-heartedly

Yet not the less would I throughout

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