What is the central theme of the poem The Collar The central theme of George Herbert s poem The Collar is the fight between human freedom and God s call The speaker wants freedom He wants to live as he likes He feels tired of rules He feels tired of duty He feels his life is dry and painful He thinks he gets no reward So he becomes angry He shouts that he will not obey God anymore This shows one part of the theme Humans sometimes feel trapped They want a free life They want joy They want no limits They think God s way is too hard They think they lose more than they gain Another part of the theme is confusion The speaker argues with himself He wants joy He wants peace But he does not know where to find it His heart fights with his mind