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 requested under the specified conditions; and mandatory duties, services or functions that arise from one's position." It is a word used to talk about fulfilling obligations to others in some way. 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 and its effects on the characters in the poems will be discussed. 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 in which this poem was written. In the first stanza he shows his father, even on the day of rest, to get out of a warm bed, to dress "in the cold blue-black." The man gets up early so he can heat the house for his family before they start moving about for the day. Mr. Hayden helps the reader see his father: a man who works with his hands outstretched in the cold all week, "hands chapped and sore from labor on weekdays" to provide for his family. The man can be seen calmly moving around the house, lighting the fire as he prepares for the day without a complaint. As a parent, duty calls at all hours of the day and night. Tasks are completed “behind the scenes,” such as building a warm fire or setting out for a day of hard work where hands are “chapped” and “aching from labor in weekday weather.” Bringing home a paycheck and providing food and shelter are all tasks that parents do every day, but aren't particularly noticed by their children until a problem arises. M...... middle of paper ...... has a price and is truly a service to others. Works Cited "duty". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008. Merriam-Webster Online, October 29, 2008 http://www.meriam-webster.com/dictionary/dutyHayden, Robert. “Those winter Sundays”. 1966. Literature. Reading fiction, poetry and theatre. Ed. Robert Di Yanni. 6th edition. Avenue of the Americas, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. 764. Owen, Wilfred. “Dulce et Decorum Est”. 1963. Literature. Reading fiction, poetry and theatre. Ed. Robert Di Yanni. 6th edition. Avenue of the Americas, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. 1166.Browning, Robert. “My last duchess.” 1842. Literature. Reading fiction, poetry and theatre. Ed. Robert Di Yanni. 6th edition. 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.