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John Clare's poem I Am! expresses his feeling of isolation, alienation and despair in a world that does not care or understand him. He longs for a place where he can escape from the scorn and noise of human society and be with his Creator.
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In the first stanzas of the poem, Clare’s speaker, who is often considered to be Clare himself, speaks about the darkest parts of his life. He’s alive and present in his life, but he feels as though no one knows him or understands him. He’s spoken about with scornand “noise,” and his woes come and go frantically through his mind. He’s haunted by th...
Throughout ‘I Am!’ Clare engages with themes that include sadness and loneliness. These major unifying themes are seen through Clare’s depiction of his speaker’s (or perhaps his own) depression and struggles with woes at a very dark time in his life. The speaker openly admits to his own darker thoughts and his feelings of loss in regard to those wh...
‘I Am!’ by John Clare is a three-stanza poem that is separated into sets of six lines, known as sestets. The first stanza follows a rhyme scheme of ABABAB while the second and third rhyme ABABCC. The poem is also a great example of how poets can use iambic pentameter, the most popular metrical pattern in English poetry. Iambic pentameter refers to ...
John Clare makes use of several literary devices in ‘I Am!’ These include but are not limited to: 1. Alliteration: the repetitionof the same consonant sound at the beginning of multiple words. For example, “friends forsake” in line two of the first stanza and “sweetly slept” in line four of the third stanza. 2. Enjambment: occurs when the poet cuts...
Stanza One
In the first stanza of ‘I Am!,’ the speaker begins with an independent statement about himself. He uses the phrase “I am” to define his existence as being completely real. He then follows that up with a darker statement that doesn’t reflect his concept of himself. He is alive and present in his life, but no one cares “what” he is or “knows” him in any personal way. He is the “self-consumer of [his] woes” he adds in the next line. He lives in and suffers through his own woes, a suggestion of t...
Stanza Two
The line the speaker began at the end of the first stanza of ‘I Am!’ starts up again at the beginning of stanza two, an example of enjambment. Here, the speaker says that he’s been treated with “scorn” and “noise.” They speak about him poorly, in a way that again emphasizes the insubstantial nature of his life. Noise has no physical presence. The metaphor, “the living sea of waking dreams,” is a noteworthy one. It suggests the speaker’s isolation and how despite being alive, he is living a le...
Stanza Three
The final stanza of ‘I Am!,’ begins with the speaker informing the reader that he “long[s]” for scenes where his troubles don’t haunt him. He’s seeking out somewhere, perhaps Heaven, where he can’t be touched by that which bothers him in his waking life. He says that there, he’ll “abide with [his] Creator, God,” making it clear that he’s thinking about death. Once there, he’s going to find the peace he knew as a child. It since escaped him but, once with God he’ll sleep sweetly “Untroubling a...
Readers who enjoyed ‘I Am!’ should also consider reading other John Donne’s poems. For example: 1. ‘First Love’— describes the sudden love a speaker feels for a woman he’s seeing for the first time. 2. ‘The Dying Child’ —describes a sick child who lives through his favorite season, springtime, and dies in winter. 3. ‘The Yellowhammer’s Nest’— descr...
Learn about the Romantic poet John Clare and his famous poem 'I Am!', which expresses his struggle with depression and desire for Heaven. Explore the themes, structure, form, and literary devices of this powerful poem.
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- October 9, 1995
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A poem of despair and longing by the English romantic poet John Clare. He expresses his isolation, alienation and yearning for a place where he can be at peace with God and nature.
Lyrics. I am — yet what I am none cares or knows; My friends forsake me like a memory lost: I am the self-consumer of my woes—. They rise and vanish in oblivious host, Like shadows in love’s ...
I Am" (or "Lines: I Am") is a poem written by English poet John Clare in late 1844 or 1845 and published in 1848. It was composed when Clare was in the Northampton General Lunatic Asylum [2] (commonly Northampton County Asylum, and later renamed St Andrew's Hospital), isolated by his mental illness from his family and friends.
Explore the two versions of John Clare's 'I Am' poems, which express his sense of self and his longing for a place of peace and solitude. Learn how Clare uses language, imagery and structure to convey his Romantic vision and his struggle with madness.
Welcome to our poetic journey through John Clare’s timeless piece, “I Am.” Written by the renowned English poet John Clare, this poem is a poignant reflection on self-identity and the human spirit. Clare, often celebrated for his lyrical portrayals of the English countryside and the sorrows of the rural poor, brings a deep personal touch ...
