Freedom and Oppression in Donne’s “To His Mistress Going to Bed” and Herbert’s “The Collar” Anonymous College

The choices that can make one fulfilled do not always conform to religious and societal norms. This theme is explored in Donne’s “To His Mistress Going to Bed,” where the speaker attempts to persuade a lover to return his affection. The lover is hesitant because religious norms stress the importance of chastity. In another poem, Herbert’s “The Collar,” the speaker laments the time he wasted trying to be accepted in society. Both poems contrast heterogeneous ideas about societal control and freedom, often using violent imagery of subjugation. “To His Mistress Going to Bed” and “The Collar” bring together contrasting imagery of liberty and slavery using diction suggesting violent oppression.

The Christian and pagan allusions in Donne’s poem contrast religious authority with the freedom and sensual pleasures of a heathen paradise. The speaker says, “In...white robes/heaven’s angels used to be/received...thou, angel bring’st with thee/A heaven like Mahomet’s paradise” (19-21). The “white robes” symbolize chastity. The first time the word “heaven” is used in these lines, it alludes to the Christian heaven. The speaker suggests that this idea of heaven is too restrictive as it will not be free from society and religion’s laws. His...