Firstly, the word collar has a number of connotations, both literal and
figurative. In the normal sense of the word, a collar may be part of ones
clothing, it could also be a reference to the white band which the clergy wear
around their necks to indicate their profession, a collar is also used to
restrict animals or to identify them. Added to this one can allude to someone
being collared in a figurative sense, meaning that he/she has been caught or
restricted in some way.
All of these definitions are apt in the context of the poem. Firstly, as
used in the title, the poet's reference may be to the clerical collar, since he
was a priest. This emphasises the significance of this small garment in the
identification of a member of the clergy. They are
generally associated with redemption, morality, spirituality and
goodness.
It becomes quite clear that the speaker is rebelling against the
restrictive nature of his calling. He violently declares in the first few
lines:
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?
The speaker has apparently had enough of his spiritual duty and wishes to
go 'abroad', not necessarily an actual journey, but a release so that he may do
something else. He is clearly desirous to express himself freely and wants
to 'sigh and pine' as others do. He wants the freedom to complain, but his
faith demands that he bear his burdens patiently and not wallow in self-pity
and negativity. His demeanour should always be pleasant but he seemingly has
had enough of that. He insists that he has the freedom to complain, but he
feels bound by the ethical requirements of his religion and his position. He
therefore asks, rhetorically, whether he should still be 'in suit', i.e.
should he not discard the garments of his profession, for they are part of that
which limit him?
The speaker continues in the same vein in the proceeding lines, asking
rhetorical questions about what he has lost during his period of priestly
service. He longs for the more material pleasures of the world and wants to
cease his emotional and physical suffering. He feels that he has lost much and
it has become time to savour that which he has been denied. In his heart
he feels the longing for these pleasures and wants to recover the time he
has lost by doubling his enjoyment of such denied pleasures.
The speaker refers more specifically to the ties that bind him by using
terms such as: 'cage', 'rope of sands' and 'good cable'. These images all have
a restrictive quality about them and emphasises the speaker's wish to be free
of them. For him, those were the rules that applied to his work but he asserts
that he must rid himself of his fears. He addresses some unknown entity
(possibly God) to take note that he will leave. He ironically states that those
who 'forbear', i.e. resist the temptation to 'suit and serve his need' deserve
the load that they are burdened with. What he means is that those who choose
not to be self-serving and persist in serving God, should not complain about
the burdens they have to carry. Seemingly, he does not want to have this collar
(burden) around his neck any longer.
There is, however, an ironic twist at the end of the poem for the speaker
declares that as his protests grew more voluminous, he thought he heard a voice
cry out to him,
Child! and he replied:
My Lord. This is
a clear indication that the speaker felt that he had been chastised for
expressing such doubt about his calling and, in obedience, cried out to his
master (God). The
irony lies in the fact that the speaker obeyed immediately
when he was castigated and would obviously comply to what is asked, making
insignificant all his complaints.
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