John Clare Summary

A discussion of John Clare 's prose writings must be as much an account of the reception and publishing history of his work as it is a biographical sketch of the man himself. His life was a struggle ... Read more

In the following excerpt, Todd argues that unlike the Romantic poets, who focused on humanity's spiritual response to nature, Clare described the pure or Edenic qualities of nature and the mann... Read more

In the following essay, Williams demonstrates how Clare uses poetic form, diction, and subject matter to overturn his readers' expectations of the picturesque in his poem "The Gypsies.&#... Read more

In the following excerpt, Strickland demonstrates how Clare subverts the tradition of the poetic 'invitation ' in his asylum poem "An Invite to Eternity. " In recent yea... Read more

In the following excerpt, Lucas compares a well-known and admired sonnet by Wordsworth with a little-known, radically unconventional sonnet by Clare and argues that it is time that both sonnets and th... Read more

In the following excerpt, Wareham asserts that with "The Awthorn," Clare strives to unite the "transience" and "perpetuity" of nature within a single poem, th... Read more

Article removed at request of publisher (read more) Read more

In the following essay, Rowbotham discusses whether John Clare was correct in blaming enclosure for what he saw as the destructive changes in rural society. There once was lanes in natures freedom ... Read more

In the following excerpt, Robinson and Powell present an overview of Clare's life and works. I From his birth in Helpston in 1793 to his death in Northampton in 1864, except for four visits ... Read more

In the following essay, Chilcott presents a close study of the structure of The Shepherd's Calendar. In January 1820, less than a week after the appearance of Clare's first volume, Po... Read more

In the following essay, Pearce reads the “many voices” in Clare's “Child Harold” and analyzes the text “as a site of interaction between a number of independe... Read more

In the following essay, Wallace compares Clare and William Wordsworth with regard to their individual renderings of rural/pastoral subjects in their poetry. In “The Landscape of Labor: Trans... Read more

In the following essay, McKusick explores what John Taylor referred to as Clare's “evident ignorance of grammar” and its effect on his poetry and its critical reception. John C... Read more

In the following essay, Burwick studies the poetry written by John Clare during the years he spent in insane asylums. While acknowledging that it is impossible to ascertain whether or not Clare was tr... Read more