The Collar by George Herbert | Structure, Summary, Analysis

The Collar is a religious poem by Welsh Poet George Herbert which was published in 1633 in his poetic collection The Temple. The poem depicts the inner conflicts of a religious clergyman who has devoted his life to the worship of God but experiences a loss of faith and feelings towards his commitments. He then expresses his desire to break free of his religious restrictions and social expectations, only to return back to the path of God in the end. The Collar is Herbert’s one of the best poems. The Collar is a metaphysical poem and hence, it follows the basic idea of the poem in its structure too. Just like the poet wants to break free of his religious regulations and social norms, the poem doesn’t follow any specified pattern of poetry. There’s no recurring rhyming scheme in the poem yet, the last four lines offer the rhyme abab. The title itself offers a strong conceit. The Collar suggests a dog collar or the collar of a slave. The collar signifies submission and control. On the other hand, the Collar also refers to the piece of clothing worn by a member of the clergy. In addition, the Collar can also be related to its homonyms like the ‘Caller.’ At the end of the poem, God, the Caller calls the poet and the poet responds with complete submission. The other homonym is ‘choler’, or anger with which the complaint against God is being made. The Collar is a thirty-six lines long poem with a single stanza. It is a free-verse poem that includes a dialogue between the poet’s two inner voices, sometimes identified as the heart and the will. While the will rebels against God and the “collar” or yoke of religion, the heart wins the battle, overcoming the will. The lines are of irregular lengths. The poet uses metaphor, similies, and conceit. The poet express ‘Harvest’ as the motif of the poem. The poet complains that he has had “no harvest” except for “a thorn.” He believes that, after planting the seeds of religious devotion, he has not received the harvest he expected. When the speaker’s second voice interjects, it reminds him that “there is fruit.” The harvest, therefore, can be seen as a metaphor for spiritual “fruits” or rewards that are reaped in heaven. The poet expresses his desires and worldly striving for pleasure and gains as his “cage” as a symbol. God, then, frees him. So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the History of English Literature as we strive to offer a complete course for the preparation of UGC NET English literature, NTA NET English literature, PGTRB English,, SET English literature, TGT PGT English, GATE English Literature, and other exams, please stay connected with the Discourse, Thanks, and Regards!