‘Emmonsail’s Heath in Winter’ is one of John Clare’s most admired poems, its subject being – as the title makes clear – a heath during the wintry season when its ‘withered brake / Mingle its crimpled leaves with furze and ling’. Before we offer an analysis of this curious and […]
‘First Love’ is one of the best-known and best-loved poems by John Clare (1793-1864), who is often forgotten when people are recalling the great English Romantic poets. But as this poem demonstrates, Clare’s poetry is a curious blend of the simple or direct and the complex, and a few words […]
‘The Instinct of Hope’ is a poem by the English Romantic poet John Clare (1793-1864). ‘The Instinct of Hope’ is a sonnet (of sorts), which … well, we’ve already hit upon a curious problem. Is this poem a sonnet or not? Below we offer some words of analysis, but first, […]