In this poem, the speaker is talking about why it is both important and good to do your duty. The lines you cite are the fifth stanza.
In the fourth stanza, the speaker says that he has tried in the past to escape duty. He was young and foolish and was too easily led astray by his own desires.
So now in the fifth stanza he is talking about why following duty is better. He is saying that it's more restful to have a consistent predictable life than to get pushed around by your desires. The stanza means something like
Although I'm not sad
And I'm not being forced
I ask you to control me
But when I think about it
Having too much freedom is bad
Because I have to do whatever "chance desire" makes me do
I want a more calm and steady life
It would be more relaxing to have consistency
I hope that helps a bit.
No comments:
Post a Comment