Duty is a word defined in several ways by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It is used to denote “a moral or legal obligation; the service required under specified conditions; and obligatory tasks, service, or functions that arise from one’s position”. It is a word used to speak of the performance of obligations to others in some fashion. In the poems, “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden; “Dulce Et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen; and “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, duty to family, to a nation, and to ancestors will be discussed and its effects on the characters in the poems.
In the poem “Those Winter Sundays”, Robert Hayden begins his remembrance of his father on a winter Sunday, a day of rest for most working class peoples in the era this poem was written. In the first stanza, he shows his father, even on his day of rest getting up out of a warm bed, to put his clothes on “in the blueblack cold”. The man is getting up early so he can get the house warm for his family before they start to stir for the day. Mr. Hayden helps the reader to see his father: a man who labors with his hands out in the cold through the week, “cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather” to provide for his family. The man can be seen quietly moving about the house, banking the fire as he prepares for the day with nary a grumble.
As a parent, duty calls at all hours of the day and night. Tasks are completed “behind the scenes” such as making a warm fire or going off to a day of hard work where hands are “cracked” and “ache with labor in the weekday weather”. Bringing home a paycheck and providing food and shelter are all duties parents complete each day, yet are not particularly noticed by their children until there is a problem. M...
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...es with a price and it is truly a service to others.
Works Cited
“duty.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008. Merriam-Webster Online, 29 October 2008 http://www.meriam-webster.com/dictionary/duty
Hayden, Robert. “Those Winter Sundays”. 1966. Literature. Reading Fiction, Poetry and Drama. Ed. Robert DiYanni. 6th Ed. Avenue of the Americas, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. 764.
Owen, Wilfred. “Dulce et Decorum Est”. 1963. Literature. Reading Fiction, Poetry and Drama. Ed. Robert DiYanni. 6th Ed. Avenue of the Americas, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. 1166.
Browning, Robert. “My Last Duchess”. 1842. Literature. Reading Fiction, Poetry and Drama. Ed. Robert DiYanni. 6th Ed. Avenue of the Americas, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. 781, 782.
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. 1st ED. 10 East 53rd Street, New York: Harper-Collins, 2003. 91.
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature like a Professor: a Lively and Entertaining Guide to
The lack of verbal communication between his father and himself can be seen in his poem "Those Winter Sundays." The overall impression of the poem is that love can be communicated in other ways than through words; it can be communicated through everyday, mundane actions. For example, in the poem, the father awakens on "Sundays too" to warm the house with a fire and polish his sons shoes. There is a sense of coldness in the beginning of the poem through the lines:
“Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden, “My Father as a Guitar” by Martin Espada, and “Digging” by Seamus Heaney are three poems that look into the past of the authors and dig up memories of the authors fathers. The poems contain similar conflicts, settings, and themes that are essential in helping the reader understand the heartfelt feelings the authors have for their fathers. With the authors of the three poems all living the gust of their life in the 1900’s, their biographical will be similar and easier to connect with each other.
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. New York: Harper Collins Books, 2003. Print.
Hayden, Robert. ”Those Winter Sundays.” Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. Ed. John Schilb and John Clifford. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.
Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. A. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print
Stillinger, Jack, Deidre Lynch, Stephen Greenblatt, and M H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume D. New York, N.Y: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print.
Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden Those winter Sundays written by Robert Hayden is a poem to ponder for a while. The poem may look simple, but analyzing it deeply shows that is a complicated one with a well-defined sentiment of no appreciation and sorrow towards his father. These sentiments will change to the end of the poem. Also, the poem can be understood in various ways: one way could be a positive feeling from the writer towards his father or the other one could be a complaint about his father's toughness.
Sedaris, David. Holidays on ice. 2nd ed. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2008. Print.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden is a poem about a how the author is recalling how his father would wake up early on Sundays, a day which is usually a reserved as a day of rest by many, to fix a fire for his family. The mood of this poem is a bit sad. It portrays a father, who deeply cares for his family but doesn't seem to show it by emotions, words, or touching. It also describes a home that isn't very warm in feelings as well as the title" Those Winter Sundays" The author describes the father as being a hard worker, in the line "…with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday…", but still even on Sundays--the day of rest, the father works at home to make sure the house is warm for his family. The "blueblack cold described in the poem is now warmed by a father's love. This poem describes the author reminiscing what did not seem obvious at the time, the great love of his father, and the author's regretting to thank his father for all that he did.
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading between the Lines. New York: Quill, 2003. Print.
Browning, Robert. “My Last Duchess.” Making Literature Matter. Ed. John Schilb, and John Clifford. Boston: Bedford, 2000. 1376-1378.
In Robert Hayden’s poem “Those Winter Sundays” show that children have a hard time understanding why a parent is distant the speaker says “Sundays too my father got up early and put his clothes on/ in the blueblack cold,”(Line 1-2) the father even gets up very early on Sundays as in the “blueblack cold” the speaker seems to not understand why the father does this why does he get up so early day after day? He seems to ask himself. The speaker observes that “ …With cracked hands the ached from labor in the weekday weather/ banked fires blazed”(Line 3-5) the father works hard for his family his hands are cracked and sore and he still gets up earlier then the rest of his family and makes the fire blaze to warm the house for them.
The mood of the poem, “Those Winter Sundays,” written by Robert Hayden is regretful. The poet describes a cold winter Sunday morning staying in bed until the house is warm. The poet expressed sympathy for his father who got up early on a cold Sunday morning...