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John Clare was a Romantic poet who died in 1864. His work is well-regarded for his depictions of the English countryside, childhood, and his own suffering. Clare lived during a period of change in England, specifically the Agricultural revolution. His work is also known for its depth and thoughtfulness.
works 173. Words 7,534. Followers 4. Trending. Most Views. Most Recent. Oldest. John Clare (13 July 1793 – 20 May 1864) was an English poet, the son of a farm labourer, who came to be known for his celebratory representations of the English countryside and his lamentation of its disruption.
I Am! By John Clare. 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 frenzied stifled throes. And yet I am, and live—like vapours tossed. Into the nothingness of scorn and noise, Into the living sea of waking dreams,
Poems by John Clare. Arthur Symons (Ed.) London, 1908; The Poems of John Clare - In two volumes. London, 1935; Selected Poems London, 1997; Works about Clare The only known photograph of Clare, 1862. In chronological order: Frederick Martin, The Life of John Clare, 1865; J. L. Cherry, Life and Remains of John Clare, 1873; Heath, Richard (1893).
Where squats the hare, to terrors wide awake, Like some brown clod the harrows failed to break. Opening their golden caskets to the sun, The buttercups make schoolboys eager run, To see who shall be first to pluck the prize—. Up from their hurry, see, the skylark flies, And o'er her half-formed nest, with happy wings.
These two poems celebrate living creatures without sentimentality or self regard. In ‘Badger’, Clare faces a more disturbing feature of country life: the badger is tormented by men and dogs but gives as good as he gets. The poem is full of snarling energy and a sense that Clare knows what persecution feels like.
The stubble stack that stands beside the ground, And lie all night and face the drizzling storm. And shun the hovel where they might be warm. This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on December 17, 2023, by the Academy of American Poets. Sheep in Winter - The sheep get up and make their many tracks.
