questions
1.What words in the first stanza indicate that the dying is done in a dignified, restrained manner? (2)
2.Explain in what way the third stanza is linked to the parting of the lovers. (4)
3.Identify the simile in stanza 6, explain what is being compared to what, in what way they are alike, and what the effect of the simile is. (6)
4.What word in the final stanza is an antonym (having the opposite meaning) of “end”? (2)
5.Do you think the speaker anticipates that his lover will be very unhappy at his leaving her for a while? Explain your answer with reference to the poem. (6)
(20)
The Collar by George Herbert
(See p. 8 in Poems From All Over)
| Title: | A collar has several connotations: a yoke, a priest’s collar, and a dog collar, something that restricts and forces the wearer to obey. |
| Theme: | Rebellion against the constraints of religion, and then submission. |
| Mood: | Rebellious, angry, finally submissive. |
Discussion
In this lyric, the speaker, presumably Herbert himself, expresses how restricting he is finding the life he has decided to lead. He is tired of being in service (“in suit”) to the moral, virtuous life, of walking the straight and narrow path. This is what the collar represents, “a cage”. He seems to be getting no joy from this life. He decides to go after “double pleasures” and stop arguing about it (“leave thy cold dispute”). He continues trying to convince himself that this is what he wants to do, but at the height of his raging he seems to hear God’s voice and he immediately gives up his wild ideas, complaints and revolt and returns to obedience to his God.
The poem is irregular in shape and form, thus representing the chaotic feelings the speaker is experiencing. The rhythm and rhyme do not conform to any regular pattern, as if his raging thoughts are untameable. The free verse also represents his desire for freedom from his collar, the restraints he has imposed on himself and against which he is now rebelling. The form is thus part of the meaning.
Analysis
| Lines | Comment | |
| 1–6 | The speaker banged the table (with his fists) and cried out that he had had enough, and would leave. He asks whether he should always be sighing and longing (for a freer life). He declares that he is free (to do as he wishes) and asks why he must always be obedient and accepting of his situation. | The words “struck” and “cried” convey the intensity of the speaker’s emotions. Notice that the inverted commas indicating direct speech start in line 1 and only end in line 32. The speaker is quoting his own words, uttered at the time, although that time has passed, as we see he reverts to telling us what happened next in the last four lines. This gives the quoted part an immediacy, as if it is happening now.Notice also the rhetorical questions (to which no answer is expected), which heighten the strength of his feelings. |
| 7–16 | The speaker uses harvest and fruit as imagery of what he no longer has. There are no rewards to be had from the life he is leading. There were rewards in the life he was leading before he had decided to lead a virtuous life, and it is these he is now longing for: “harvest”, “fruit”, “corn”, “bays” (laurel trees from which crowns were made to praise the deserving). | The speaker is still raging against his trapped state, and refers to what he no longer has. What he has now is “a thorn” that makes him bleed, where his previous life nourished him. He also has sighs and tears instead of wine and corn. He has lost a year in service (to God) with nothing given to him as reward (“flowers”, “garlands gay”, “bay” leaf “crown”). He feels he has lost everything.Notice again the rhetorical questions and the repetition (“Have I”; “Before”; “All”) that emphasise the strength of his feelings. |
| 17–32 | The tone changes as the speaker decides that all is not lost (“Not so, my heart”). He can and will do something about his life (“thou hast hands”), there are still rewards (“fruit”). He decides to “[r]ecover” what he has lost, doubly, to stop arguing (“leave thy cold dispute”) about what is fitting and what not as a way to live. He urges himself to leave his “cage” and the “rope of sand” that ties him down to his virtuous life and became his “law” while he refused to acknowledge what he was missing. He shouts out that he will leave and calls to be noticed or understood (“take heed”). He repeats the second line for emphasis.He reminds himself, as if in answer to some opposition, that he knows he will die some time (“death’s-head” reminds of not living forever). He urges himself to get rid of his fears and act. A person who (“forbears”) from fulfilling (“To suit and serve”) his needs deserves to bear the load of his suffering and restrictions. | This section is still part of the direct quote, and is telling the reader how he continued to persuade himself to go “abroad” and leave the life he was living. He says that he can have the life he longs for because it is up to him. The “Not so, my heart” is a direct response to the questions before it. He has decided to do something and is no longer going to argue about it with himself.Notice the image of a “rope of sand[s]”. It explains that he now sees that what he thought was tying him down, does not, it has no power to: one cannot make a rope from sand. He condemns his life as being full of “petty thoughts”, living virtuously. It had been his “law” but now he sees (as opposed to “wouldst not see”, line 26) that he can free himself.He reminds himself that he will die sometime, and must make the most of his life now, and act now (“Call in thy death’s-head”) and this urges him on in his decision. |
| 33–36 | As he was angrily convincing himself to change things, he thought he heard someone calling him “Child!” and knew it was the voice of God. He immediately acknowledges and answers with “My Lord”, and with that gives up all thoughts of rebellion and submits once again to the religious, virtuous life. | The speaker is no longer quoting his own words but reporting what happened next. He acknowledges that his anger was building, that he was at the height of his rage, and then tells us that he thought he heard a voice. The word the voice utters, “Child!”, signifies that he has been a child of God, and it is his Lord reminding him of this. He responds submissively, resuming the yoke, the collar, the limits of the life he is bound to.Notice how this third section of the poem begins with a “But”, signifying that some contrast is coming. One word (“Child!”), after all his raging words, is enough to call him back. |
Contextual questions
1.In your own words, describe what the “No more” of the first linemeans. (4)
2.Identify the simile in the first four lines. What is being compared to what and what effect does it have on the meaning intended? (4)
3.The use of the word “blasted” has a different meaning to the expression of annoyance it is used for today. Using the context, what do you think it means here, and is its use effective? (2)
4.What one word in the poem does the speaker use to indicate everything he is rebelling against? (1)
5.How do we know that the speaker writes the poem as if reporting the crisis he went through and has resolved it? Look for evidence in the poem. (4)
(15)
The Author to Her Book by Anne Bradstreet
(See p. 11 in Poems From All Over)
| Title: | The title indicates that this is a note written by an author to her book. |
| Theme: | Dissatisfaction with what one creates. |
| Mood: | Heavy, dissatisfied, critical, frustrated, sad. |
Discussion
