John Clare Criticism
John Clare (1793-1864) holds a celebrated position in English literature as a pioneering nature poet. His works are renowned for their vivid and precise depictions of rural life, deeply influenced by his upbringing in the Northamptonshire countryside. Clare is often lauded as the first ecologically conscious writer in English literary history, with James C. McKusick highlighting his profound sensitivity to nature and his advocacy for its preservation. His early publications, such as Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery (1820) and The Village Minstrel (1821), juxtapose the harsh realities of rural life with a lyrical appreciation of its beauty, exploring themes like industrialization and the enclosure movement.
Although Clare had limited formal education, he was a voracious reader, and his admiration for James Thomson’s Seasons significantly shaped his approach to nature. His intimate relationship with the natural world was not merely observational; it captured the essence of the English countryside with warmth and precision. However, Clare's unconventional grammar and use of dialect often drew criticism, a point discussed by McKusick, who notes the tension between Clare’s authentic voice and the literary norms of his time.
Despite initial success, Clare's later works such as The Rural Muse (1835) did not fare as well commercially, and his mental health declined, leading to his confinement in asylums. During this period, he continued to write prolifically, and his "asylum" poems, such as "An Invite to Eternity," are recognized for their subversion of poetic conventions, as analyzed by Edward Strickland. Lynn Pearce highlights the polyphonic nature of his work Child Harold, which features a complex interplay of voices that resist closure.
Clare's stylistic categorization has been debated among critics. While some, like Janet M. Todd, argue that he departs from Romantic spiritualism, others, such as Timothy Brownlow, emphasize his refusal to view landscapes with condescension. This debate is a testament to his complex legacy. Modern reevaluations, such as those by Vimala Herman, recognize Clare's meticulous craftsmanship and vivid imagery, solidifying his stature as a leading nature poet. Clare's life and works provide profound insights into the relationship between humans and nature and the enduring power of poetic expression.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Clare, John (Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism)
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Conventions and Their Subversion in John Clare's ‘An Invite to Eternity’
(summary)
In the following essay, Strickland argues that Clare's “An Invite to Eternity” (probably written in the mid-1840s) is indicative of the power of Clare's “asylum” writings and of the manner in which Clare utilized convention for powerful effect.
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The Shepherd's Calendar
(summary)
In the following essay, Chilcott presents a close study of the structure of The Shepherd's Calendar.
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John Clare and the Sublime
(summary)
In the following essay, Strickland argues that Clare was “poetically more conservative” than his Romantic peers, noting the “absence of conventional trappings of the naturalistic sublime” in his poetry.
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John Clare's ‘Child Harold’: A Polyphonic Reading
(summary)
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 independent voices and its subsequent resistance to closure.”
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‘A language that is ever green’: The Ecological Vision of John Clare
(summary)
In the following essay, McKusick explores Clare's ecological consciousness, singling the poet out for his sensitivity toward nature and his vehement support for environmental preservation, and calling his oeuvre 'a powerful and suggestive model for contemporary ecological writing.'
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Farming on Foot: Tracking Georgic in Clare and Wordsworth
(summary)
In the following essay, Wallace compares Clare and William Wordsworth with regard to their individual renderings of rural/pastoral subjects in their poetry.
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John Clare's London Journal: A Peasant Poet Encounters the Metropolis
(summary)
In the following essay, McKusick discusses Clare's reaction as a rural poet to London and its populace. (The critic's mentions of Clare's “London Journal” simply refer to the poet's own prose writings on his time in London.)
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John Clare and the Tyranny of Grammar
(summary)
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.
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Writing Misreadings: Clare and the Real World
(summary)
In the following essay, Chirico argues that Clare's poetry is “informed by a complex and continuing theme: that of the troubled and unresolved relationship between precise, yet diverse and constantly changing, natural observations and their fixed and limited representation in poetry and memory.”
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An introduction to John Clare by Himself
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Robinson and Powell present an overview of Clare's life and works.
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Postmodernism, Romanticism, and John Clare
(summary)
In the following essay, Kelley uses Clare's work to argue that postmodernism 'foregrounds the sense of extremity and strangeness that haunts Romanticism.'
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Conventions and Their Subversion in John Clare's ‘An Invite to Eternity’
(summary)
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Clare, John (Poetry Criticism)
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"Very copys of nature': John Clare's Descriptive Poetry
(summary)
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 manner in which it falls victim to humanity's cruelty.
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A Molehill for Parnassus: John Clare and Prospect Poetry
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Brownlow contends that Clare and his detailed view of nature were unique in that he refused to view the landscape with condescension as the 'topographical poets' did, nor did he attach human spirituality to nature as did the Romantic poets.
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Clare's 'Gypsies'
(summary)
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."
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Time and John Clare's Calendar
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Lessa distinguishes between The Shepherd's Calendar and other pastoral poems of the era, observing that Clare's Calendar relies on precise realism in addition to an understanding of time as cyclical.
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Conventions and Their Subversion in John Clare's 'An Invite to Eternity'
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Strickland demonstrates how Clare subverts the tradition of the poetic 'invitation ' in his asylum poem 'An Invite to Eternity.'
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How to See Things with Words: Language Use and Descriptive Art in John Clare's 'Signs of Winter'
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Herman argues that contrary to popular critical belief, John Clare crafted his poems meticulously with the intention of achieving vivid images and heightened responses.
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England in 1830—Wordsworth, Clare, and the Question of Poetic Authority
(summary)
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 their respective authors be granted the respect or 'authority' that each deserve, but that only one has yet received.
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John Clare and the Tyranny of Grammar
(summary)
In the following excerpt, McKusick traces the ongoing conflicts between Clare and his editors and patrons, many of whom rejected Clare's use of dialect in his poetry, insisted upon standardized spelling in his publications, and disapproved of his opinions upon landed wealth.
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Clare's 'The Awthorn'
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Wareham asserts that with 'The Awthorn,' Clare strives to unite the 'transience' and 'perpetuity' of nature within a single poem, thereby presenting his own vision of transcendence.
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"Very copys of nature': John Clare's Descriptive Poetry
(summary)
- Further Reading