Ode to Duty
Encyclopedia
Ode to Duty is a poem (an ode
) written by William Wordsworth
.
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 idea and phraseology.
Ode
Ode is a type of lyrical verse. A classic ode is structured in three major parts: the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode. Different forms such as the homostrophic ode and the irregular ode also exist...
) written by William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
.
Description
“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
Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray was a poet, letter-writer, classical scholar and professor at Cambridge University.-Early life and education:...
's “Hymn to Adversity,” which in turn was imitated from Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
's “Ode to Fortune.” The stanza
Stanza
In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "verse"...
is identical with that used by Gray, and there are resemblances in idea and phraseology.