The Collar
Poetry
|
George Herbert
The Collar Poem
The Collar
By George Herbert
I struck the board, and cried, "No more;
I will abroad!
What? shall I ever sigh and pine?
My lines and life are free, free as the road,
Loose as the wind, as large as store.
Shall I be still in suit?
Have I no harvest but a thorn
To let me blood, and not restore
What I have lost with cordial fruit?
Sure there was wine
Before my sighs did dry it; there was corn
Before m...
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The Collar Key Info
Title: The Collar
Poet: George Herbert (1593–1633)
Publication Date: 1633 (Published posthumously in The Temple)
Form: Metaphysical Religious Poem
Rhyme Scheme and Meter: The poem is written in free verse. It means the poem has no fixed rhyme scheme pattern or meter. This irregular pattern reflects the speaker’s inner confusion.
Number of Stanzas/Lines: 1 long stanza (36 lines)
Tone: Angry, Rebell...
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The Collar Summary
Anger and Frustration/Religious Restrictions
The speaker (a priest) hits the table angrily and shouts. He is very frustrated. He wants to leave his religious duties and live freely. He asks why he should always live sadly and hopelessly. He feels his life is free, like an open road and the blowing wind.
No Rewards, Only Pain
The speaker complains that his hard work as a priest brings him only pain...
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The Collar Themes
Weight of Religious Duties: From the very beginning of the poem, we clearly see that the poet is feeling the weight of religious duties. He hits the table and says he will go out and 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, loose as the wind, a...
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The Collar Characters
The Speaker: The speaker of this poem is an angry priest/religious person (George Herbert himself). He feels very angry and frustrated with his spiritual life. He thinks that serving God gives him only pain and no joy. At the beginning, he shouts: “I struck the board, and cried, No more!” This means he wants to stop obeying God. But slowly, he begins to remember God’s love. In the end, when he hea...
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The Collar Literary Device
Figures of Speech
Simile
A simile compares two different things using “like” or “as.”
Example:
“My lines and life are free, free as the road,
Loose as the wind.”
The speaker compares his life to a road and to the wind to show how free he thinks it could be. Roads and wind have no limits, and he wants a life like that.
Metaphor
A metaphor is a direct comparison without using “like” or “as.”
Example...
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The Collar Quotations
“I struck the board, and cried, "No more;
I will abroad!”
We clearly see that the poet is feeling the weight of religious duties. He hits the table and says he will go out and leave his religious life. This means he is angry and tired. He longs to do whatever he wants.
“Sure there was wine
Before my sighs did dry it; there was corn
Before my tears did drown it.”
The poet thinks he only gets sorr...
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Notes
Explore 8 detailed notes related to The Collar. Each note provides in-depth analysis, explanations, and critical insights.