Ode to Duty
William Wordsworth
By: Rehu, Hari, Theunissen &
Rumold-Oldfield
Stanza 1
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;
From strife and from despair; a
glorious ministry.
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Line 1 Personifies and addresses 'Duty' as
the 'daughter of the voice of god'.
Line 2 Either nobody quite knows her
proper name or she is known by many
names...'if that name you love'
Lines 3 & 4 Wordsworth views 'Duty' as a
beacon of hope for those who are prone
to error ('erring') someone who can steer
them in the right direction
Lines 5-8 Describes how in difficult and
desperate times, 'Duty' will present
herself so as to allow the self to fall away
from 'vain temptation'.
Summary:
Basically, Wordsworth is just telling us a bit about 'Duty', personifying her and illustrating
how close she is to God and the purity surrounding Heaven and the like. This being because
she is apparently the daughter of God. I think that 'Duty' could just be another name for
'Nature' or 'Mother Nature' to create a personified image.
Stanza 2
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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:
May joy be theirs while life shall last! •
And Thou, if they should totter, teach
them to stand fast!
Lines 1-4 These lines are referring to
children who do not know that ‘Duty’ has
her eye on them. ‘Ask not if thine eye be
on them’ confirms that WW is referring to
children because children don’t stop to
think about external forces that may or
may not be playing a part in their lives
because of their innocent and naïve
minds.
Lines 5-8 Drive home the relationship
between purity, heaven, and goodness to
the ‘genial sense of youth’ or the ‘child
mind’ as in the line ‘Who do thy work, and
know it not’.
Summary:
This stanza is talking simply about children. Wordsworth says that 'There are who ask not if
thine eye be on them' which could be referring to how their mind is so innocent that they
don't even stop to think of any higher power around them. Also, he refers to an innocent
mind a second time: 'who do thy work, and know it not'. In the last 2 lines, Wordsworth says
that he wants the children to have the same joy that they have now throughout their entire
lives, and he hopes that 'Duty' will save them if they falter i.e. so protect their innocence and
help them to resist the 'vain temptations' of the adult world.
Stanza 3
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 blessed are they who in the main
This faith, even now, do entertain:
Live in the spirit of this creed;
Yet find that other strength, according
to their need.
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Lines 1-4 WW is saying that those who
follow Duty’s ways will sleep peacefully
and their personality will reflect
happiness
Lines 5-8 WW writes that those who are
now older still maintain a connection to
their innocent and natural child minds
whilst attaining other strengths according
to their lives should be blessed.
Summary:
WW seems to be trying to bridge the gap between childhood and adulthood by saying that
all though the physical self is an adult, the mental self can still revert back to its childlike
state.
Stanza 4
I, loving freedom, and untried;
No sport of every random gust,
Yet being to myself a guide,
Too blindly have reposed my trust:
Resolved that nothing e’er should press
Upon my present happiness,
I shoved unwelcome tasks away;
But thee I now would serve more
strictly, if I may.
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Lines 1-4 These are describing WW’s
attitude in the past. He has been
relying on his feelings as a means of
guidance but they have lead him
astray.
Lines 5-8 WW just wants to live his life
the way he wants to, however, he
previously believed that nothing could
affect his happiness so he shunned
‘Duty’ and her ways. But now he is
willing to listen to ‘Duty’ if she will talk
to him.
Summary:
This stanza paints us a more distinctive picture of why WW is telling us about ‘Duty’. He
seems to be requesting the help of ‘Duty’ because something in his life has thrown him off
course.
Stanza 5
Through no disturbance of my soul,
Or strong compunction in me wrought,
I supplicate for thy controul;
But in the quietness of thought:
Me this unchartered freedom tires;
I feel the weight of chance desires:
My hopes no more must change their
name,
I long for a repose which ever is the
same.
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Lines 1-4 WW wants to control his
own life and not be controlled
emotions that lead to his loss of
peace. He is looking for a new start.
Lines 5-8 These are a continuation and
further confirmation of WW’s
desperation to turn his life around
with the help of ‘Duty’.
Summary:
This stanza is WW’s further cries for help from ‘Duty’. He is begging for her help because he
is desperate and because he is unsure if ‘Duty’ will provide help because of his past.
Stanza 6
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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Lines 1-4 In the past WW would
rationalize his actions by claiming that
he was in fact properly asserting free
will.
Lines 5-8 Now, WW no longer wants to
be prideful but rather he wishes to
seek ‘a second will more wise’.
Summary:
WW tries to rationalise his actions by saying that he was only putting his free will to use.
However, WW has seen the error of his ways and he wants to make it right by using ‘Duty’s’
opinion. Which should be the right one.
Stanza 7
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Stern Lawgiver! yet thou dost wear
The Godhead’s most benignant grace;
Nor know we any thing 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.
Lines 1-4 WW informs us that ‘Duty’
makes/has made the laws on how
we should live, and although she is
strict, she represents the naturally
beneficial grace of God. These laws
are only able to be read by the
human heart. So only by listening to
one’s heart can one truly be
following the natural laws set down
by ‘Duty’, and the only way to do
that is by following ‘Duty’.
Lines 5-8 The flowers and stars are
evident of this quality in that the
flowers produce fragrances and the
stars don’t roam about the heavens.
Summary:
WW is saying that ‘Duty’ made all of the natural laws that humans should abide by. Evidence
of this is the flowers and stars who remain wherever ‘Duty’ is.
Stanza 8
To humbler functions, awful Power!
I call thee: I myself commend
Unto thy guidance from this hour;
Oh! let my weakness have an end!
Give unto me, made lowly wise,
The spirit of self-sacrifice;
The confidence of reason give;
And in the light of truth thy Bondman
let me live!
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Line 1 In order to follow ‘Duty’, one
must be humble.
Lines 2-4 This is WW’s plea to ‘Duty’.
He wants her to guide him so that she
can bring his weaknesses to an end.
He is self-sacrificing himself.
Lines 5-8 WW wants to live in the
‘spirit of self-sacrifice’, and he wants
the ‘confidence of reason’ and he
finally wants to live in the ‘light of
truth’. Becoming a Bondman to ‘Duty’
frees the heart and mind and allows
one to follow one’s true self, the soul.
Summary:
WW is declaring his allegiance to ‘Duty’ so that she can let his weaknesses have an end. With
‘Duty’s’ help he will be able to find and follow his true self in his soul.
Background Info
• WW wrote ‘Ode to Duty’ in 1805. Some say that writing this
poem was the turning point in WW’s career as it acts as the
start of a new state of mind for him. Events before and after
writing this poem confirm this. Thus WW is the narrator.
• It was written during the peak of the French Revolution lead
by Napoleon Bonaparte, so WW was exposed to the poor
treatment of the French people by Bonaparte. This sparked a
new conservative political view.
• In February 1805, WW’s brother John drowned in a
shipwreck. This hit him very hard and further influenced a
change in his mindset.
Form
• There are 8 stanzas, with 8 lines in each
• All the lines are of similar length, however the last line of each
stanza seems to be the longest in the stanza. This may be
because the last line in each stanza, generally helps to
summarise the stanza, and leads it onto the next one.
• The rhyme scheme is ABABCCDD throughout the whole poem
• There are 8 syllables in each of the first 7 lines of each stanza,
however the last line of each stanza has either 12 or 13
syllables. This is a rather clear pattern and fits in with the fact
that the last line in each stanza is summarising the stanza, and
leading it onto the next one.
Themes
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There are 2 prominent themes in this poem.
Freedom
Childhood/Youth
They are connected in that they relate to WW’s
beliefs in God & Heaven and all that they represent.
• They also connect to each other in that the youth
mindset is such that they feel they are immortal and
have an ultimate freedom.
Freedom
• There is no such thing as freedom without obedience.
• Previously, WW had been an enthusiast of ‘unchartered
freedom’, known as ‘the dungeon of Ignorance’, in which he
simply did as he liked.
Childhood/Youth
• WW’s ‘unchartered freedom’ seems to be a mindset that is
most prevalent in youth: unsuspecting, unbiased and naïve.