John Clare "First Love" English Coursework John Clare (1793 - 1864) John Clare was born to a poor labouring family in Northamptonshire

The first 200 words of this essay...

John Clare "First Love" English Coursework

John Clare (1793 - 1864) John Clare was born to a poor labouring family in Northamptonshire. His education did not extend much beyond basic reading and writing, and he had to start work herding animals at the age of seven. This was not a promising start for a future writer, but in his early teens he discovered The Seasons by James Thomson and began writing poems himself. His first love, Mary Joyce, was the daughter of a wealthy farmer; their separation caused Clare great pain, and it contributed to the sense of loss which pervades much of his poetry.

First Love is one the famous love poems of our time. The fact that it is a male wrote this is extraordinary because you rarely see men writing such poems. In the first stanza of "First Love" the poet is telling the reader of how he felt at that time. The point of view is autobiographical meaning that his personal experience is written in first person. John Clare is writing about his experience that he has had about his "First Love". He uses word such as "bloomed" to demonstrate that he is ready