I struck the board, and cry'd, No more;
I will abroad.
What? shall I ever sigh and pine?
My lines and life are free; free as the rode,
Loose as the winde, as large as store.
Shall I be still in suit?
Have I no harvest but a thorn
To let me bloud, and not restore
What I have lost with cordiall fruit?
Sure there was wine,
Before my sighs did drie it: there was corn,
Before my tears did drown it.
Is the yeare onely lost to me?
Have I no bayes to crown it?
No flowers, no garlands gay? all blasted?
All wasted?
Not so, my heart: but there is fruit,
And thou hast hands.
Recover all thy sigh-blown age
On double pleasures: leave thy cold dispute
Of what is fit, and not forsake thy cage,
Thy rope of sands,
Which pettie thoughts have made, and made to thee
Good cable, to enforce and draw,
And be thy law,
While thou didst wink and wouldst not see.
Away; take heed:
I will abroad.
Call in thy death's head there: tie up thy fears.
He that forbears
To suit and serve his need,
Deserves his load.
But as I rav'd, and grew more fierce and wilde,
At every word,
Methought I heard one calling, Childe:
And I reply'd, My Lord.
Modern Spelling
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 my tears did drown it.
Is the year only lost to me?
Have I no bays to crown it?
No flowers, no garlands gay? all blasted?
All wasted?
Not so, my heart; but there is fruit,
And thou hast hands.
Recover all thy sigh-blown age
On double pleasures; leave thy cold dispute
Of what is fit and not; forsake thy cage,
Thy rope of sands,
Which petty thoughts have made, and made to thee
Good cable, to enforce and draw,
And be thy law,
While thou didst wink and wouldst not see.
Away! take heed;
I will abroad.
Call in thy death's-head there; tie up thy fears;
He that forbears
To suit and serve his need
Deserves his load."
But as I rav'd, and grew more fierce and wild
At every word,
Me thoughts I heard one calling, "Child";
And I replied, "My Lord."
Notes
Suggesting discipline with probable reference to Matthew xi.20-30 :--
'20. Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
21. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
23. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
24. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
25. At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
27. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
28. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.'
~KJV.
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From guest Sarah Khayal (contact)
We have already studied a good deal of John Donne's poems, who is considered to be the most prominent figure in the whole metaphysical school. Today, we are going to know about another metaphysical poet also of great importance, who is George Herbert and the first poem which we'll study from his anthology is The Collar. Actually, before I started reading the poem, I decided to read some biographical information about the poet himself, because it will, of course, help me in understanding his mood and his style of writing. I read that Goerge Herbert, the English poet, was born to an eminent Welsh family. His mother, Magdalen Newport, was a remarkable woman. She was intelligent, intellectual and beautiful and she hold great patronage to the literary work and to distinguished literary figures such as John Donne, who dedicatedhis HOLY SONNETS to her. Herbert was a religious poet, notable for the puring and effectiveness of his choice of words, and his poems have been characterised by a deep devotion, linguistic precision, and ingenious use of conceit. Going back to Herbert's poem "The Collar", when i had a first look into the title of the poem, I immediately had the impression that the poem might be of a religious tone. I began to think about the title "the collar" which is an article of clothing a man wears when he wants to be at his best look. The word "collar" may also refer to the white band worn by the clergy, so it could be a symbol for the priest's role in the church. When I read the first line of the poem, " I Struck the Board, and Cry'd, No More. I will Abroad" ,i felt that the speaker must be very angry and upset from the constrained situation which he experienced so out of his outrage he rebells or demonstrates against the life of devotion which the poet intends to break. I really wonder if the speaker is a priesr how could he speak and rebells against his devotional life in that way, but when i reached the last line of this lyrical poem i found that the poem has a turn, it's when the speaker hears God calling him and, instantly, knows his place and admits God's authority. I like the poet's way in using many rhetorical questions like when he says ,“What? shall I ever sigh and pine?...Shall I be still in suit?...Is the year onely lost to me?”, i personally don't know if the poet is asking this questions ironically or he just wants to give proofs for his demonstartion. Finally, even though The Collar is is certainly among the most celebrated of Herbert's lyrics, it doesn't meet with my taste and i didn't like its subjecy matter very much.... Thanks, Sarah Khayal
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