The Collar

The Collar Literary Elements

Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View

First-person speaker who relays his own monologue, in which two internal voices battle

Form and Meter

free verse resolving into an end-rhymed quatrain

Metaphors and Similes

similes: the speaker's life is as "free as the road," and "as large as store."
metaphors: bays, flowers, and garlands are all metaphors for worldly success and recognition (perhaps including poetic fame)

Alliteration and Assonance

assonance: "lines and life," "sighs did dry"
alliteration: "Loose as the wind, as large as store," "Shall I be still in suit? ," "Have I no harvest," "garlands gay," "hast hands," "suit and serve"

Irony

Genre

lyric poem

Setting

Tone

conflicted, ranting

Protagonist and Antagonist

Major Conflict

There is an intense conflict between the speaker's two internal voices: one wants to rebel against God, while the other remains devout.

Climax

Foreshadowing

Understatement

Allusions

The poem may allude to the parable of the prodigal son.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

Personification

Hyperbole

Onomatopoeia

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