Father to son line by line explanation this child is built to my design yet what he loves i cannot share
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Father to Son Line-wise Explanation
This poem composed by Elizabeth Jennings is about the relationship between father and son. The father is the narrator; he is sad over the animosity that has developed between him and his son. Though they have been living in the same house for years, yet they are strangers to each other.
The father is sad over the lack of love between him and his son. Though they are so close physically, but emotionally they are strangers to each other. The father has tried his best to develop a cordial relationship with his son since he was an infant.
However, the son did never respond warmly. Father’s all attempts to sow seeds of love were futile. The son always remained distant.
Both the father and the son treat each other like strangers. The father wonders how different his son is from him in spite of inheriting all the genetic traits from him.
Although they live in the same house together, they seldom talk to each other. He wishes to end this estrangement. He wishes that his son should return to him like the Prodigal son. He yearns to forgive him.
The father longs to forgive his son and develop a new love bond with him.
The father feels since they have to live on the same globe, same land; why should they not live loving each other.
The father feels his son also wants to end the estrangement between him and his father. This misunderstanding has been a cause of grief and anger for the son as well. Both, the son and the father long to forgive each other and start living amiably.