beginning of the poem we clearly see that the speaker is feeling the weight of religious duties He hits the table and says he will go out He wants to leave his religious life I struck the board and cried No more I will abroad This means he is angry and tired He longs to do whatever he wants He thinks his life is free as the open road and loose as the wind He wants to live free and happy like other people Here the speaker s anger shows that Herbert understood the human desire to escape religious duties This honesty makes Herbert a powerful religious poet because he shows that faith is not always easy Guilt and Sorrow The speaker of the poem thinks he only gets guilt and sorrow in return for his religious faith He remembers a time when he felt joyful He says Sure there was wine Before my sighs did dry it there was corn Before my tears did drown it He says there was wine and corn in his life It means his life was full of pleasure and blessings Now he feels unhappy and alone The images of ruined wine and corn show Herbert s skills as a religious poet He uses simple images to talk about faith and struggle The Fight Between Desire and Duty The main idea in The Collar is the fight between desire and duty The speaker wants freedom He wants to stop thinking about what is morally right or wrong He also feels doubt about his faith He starts to convince himself that his faith is just a false cage he has built for himself from his own false thoughts So the speaker wants to leave this false cage He wants to break free of the rope of sands As he says Forsake thy cage Thy rope of sands Which petty thoughts have made This shows Herbert s honest view of religion Sometimes following God feels difficult and tiring But Herbert also shows that this struggle is natural Religion is not just about blind obedience It involves questioning and searching Herbert s religious poetry is special because it includes this inner battle between desire and duty Reconciliation with God But then something changes In the last lines when the speaker is ready to leave his religious duties he thinks a voice is calling him Child And I replied My Lord God does not argue or punish God just calls him gently Child And the speaker s heart changes He answers with love My Lord This ending shows Herbert s deep faith No matter how far a person goes God s love brings them back He believes God understands our struggles and forgives us In fine George Herbert presents his honest attitude toward God and religion in The Collar He shows that religious life includes struggle disappointment and confusion But in the end faith leads us back to God s love Herbert s honest and emotional approach to God and religion makes him a true religious poet