John clare biography jonathan bate oxford al

He allows Clare to speak for himself in many ways without dwelling on the "lunacy" or "mad poet" descriptions so often plastered on Clare's life and writings.

John clare biography jonathan bate oxford al: AND JOHN CLARE. SAM

He has also written one novel, The Cure for Love. Loading interface Help center. By surveying a broad selection of his subject's work, he sustains his contention that Clare ought to be considered a major poet. I now think even more of the genius that was John clare. Jonathan Bate's biography, the first full-scale life to appear since , succeeds splendidly on both counts, not only making generous use of Clare's own wonderful prose and verse but adding historical perspective and a constant, intelligent probing.

Jonathan Wonham. Jay Cowsill. Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape "Donate to the archive" User icon An illustration of a person's head and chest. Here at last is Clare's full story, from his birth in poverty and employment as an agricultural labourer, via his burgeoning promise as a writer cultivated under the gaze of rival patrons and moment of fame, in the company of John Keats, as the toast of literary London, to his final decline into mental illness and the last years of his life, confined in asylums.

Internet Arcade Console Living Room. Advanced embedding details, examples, and help! Bate wisely makes space for a thematic approach, winding chapters on among other things heredity, childhood, social environment, and friendship around the hard facts of birth, family, and so on. In many ways he was a precursor to Hopkins's idea of "thisness," or even of the integrity of "things" in the poems of William Carlos Williams, despite the fact that Clare's metrics are so traditional.

I am already absorbed. Reading this biography along with a generous selection of Clare poems, the poet becomes such a more important figure. Here at last is his full story told by the light of his voluminous work: his birth in poverty, his work as an agricultural labourer, his burgeoning promise as a writer--cultivated under the gaze of rival patrons--then his moment of fame in the company of John Keats and the toast of literary London, and finally his decline into mental illness and his last years confined in asylums.

John Clare: A Biography - Jonathan Bate - Google Books

The long-awaited literary biography of the supreme "poets' poet" John Clare is the greatest labouring-class poet that England has ever produced. Can't find what you're looking for? Doy gracias al destino por haber hecho que descubriera a este grande de la literatura inglesa. Images Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape Donate Ellipses icon An illustration of text ellipses.

Please see your browser settings for this feature. I sort of knew a few Clare poems -- and was more than happy to categorize him -- a rustic, peasant imitating the major Romantics, and then a madman. Be the first one to write a review. He richly describes the social and cultural life in 19th century England, specifically the presentation of Clare's 'peasant poet' persona, the political pressures Clare faced while receiving aid from wealthy aristocratic patrons, and the 19th century understanding and treatment of mental illness, which, to Clare's benefit, had recently undergone a transformation to a more humane form.

Through scrupulous historical research, at times dizzying in its attention to detail, Bate avoids this pitfall, illuminating rather than obscuring Clare's personality and his poetry. It also presents a different view on his mental health.