Which is the most impressive and moving of John Clare's asylum poems?

University Degree Linguistics, Classics and related subjects

Natalya Frederick 10JT

English Literature

Which is the most impressive and moving of John Clare’s asylum poems?

John Clare’s life spanned one of the great ages of English poetry but, until about fifty years ago, few would have thought of putting his name

with those of Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, Keats, Browning and Tennyson.

Born in 1793, the son of humble and virtually illiterate parents, Clare grew up in the Northamptonshire village of Helpston and made the surrounding countryside his world. His education did not extend much beyond basic reading and writing, and he had to start work herding animals at the age of seven, however, this child of the “unwearying eye” had a thirst for knowledge and become a model example of the self taught man.

In his early teens he discovered The Seasons, by poet 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 no doubt contributed to the sense of loss which pervades much of his poetry.

In 1820, he married Martha Turner and from the moment his first publication appeared, ‘Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery’ it was clear that England had a new and very original poet. He was described as ‘John Clare, a Northampton Peasant’ on the title page, and the current fashion for ‘rural poetry’ brought him some celebrity in London. He formed friendships with Charles Lamb and other literary figures, and was granted the sum of £45 a year by wealthy patrons.

The vogue for rustic poets did not last long however, and his popularity faded during the 1830s. The situation was made worse by his publishers, who insisted on ‘correcting’ Clare’s individual style and use of dialect, to make his verse fit contemporary notions of poetic convention. Clare’s attempts to writ like other poets of his day, as well as his financial worries, put tremendous strain on his mind, an in 1837 he was admitted to a mental asylum in High Beach, Epping.

He escaped from the asylum in 1841, and walked home to Northamptonshire, under the delusion that he would be reunited with Mary Joyce there. A few months later he entered Northamptonshire General Asylum, where he lived for rest of his life, still writing poems when his mental health permitted. The asylum poems such as I am and To John Clare are among his best known works, but the haunting descriptions of rural landscapes in poems such as The Flitting, Decay and Remembrances are more typical of the true character of his poetic voice.

In the intensely personal and powerful poem, I am, Clare gives an extraordinary insight into what it is like to be mentally ill. He allows the reader into the very depths of his inner self, portraying unequivocally his painfully raw and intimate feelings, showing his fervent and yet fragile state of mind.

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 oblivion’s host.

Like shadows in love’s frenzied stifled throes:

And yet I am, and live – like vapours tost.

Into the nothingness of scorn and noise,-

Into the living sea of waking dreams,

Where there is neither sense of life or joys.

But the vast shipwreck of my lifes esteems;

Even the dearest, that I love the best

Are strange – nay, rather stranger than the rest.

I long for scenes where hath never trod

A place where woman never smiled or wept

There to abide with my Creator, God;

And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept

Untroubling, and untroubled where I lie

The grass below – above the vaulted sky.

The first stanza of the poem compellingly illustrates the sheer immensity of Clare’s feelings of abandon, suffering, loneliness and worthlessness.

Where he states, “I am – yet what I am none cares or knows”, it is his attempt to portray his feeling that only he knows he exists having lost all other sense of identity. The fact that he continually repeats ...

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A place where woman never smiled or wept

There to abide with my Creator, God;

And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept

Untroubling, and untroubled where I lie

The grass below – above the vaulted sky.

The first stanza of the poem compellingly illustrates the sheer immensity of Clare’s feelings of abandon, suffering, loneliness and worthlessness.

Where he states, “I am – yet what I am none cares or knows”, it is his attempt to portray his feeling that only he knows he exists having lost all other sense of identity. The fact that he continually repeats “I am” throughout the poem implies a desperation to confirm and almost justify his existence to the outside world, and with the line “I am the self-consumer of my woes”, he explains that he is the only one who knows the extent of his pain which implies a strong sense of self pity.

The poem begins with a very dark and enigmatic atmosphere – his words do not flow with ease, instead they are barbed and spiked with stingingly agonising meaning – “Like shadows in love’s frenzied throes” (the words are jerked, almost spat out) as though they are directed at those who “forsake [him] like a memory lost” (his seemingly uncaring family and friends).

With his comparison of his life to a shipwreck, and the recognition of a

surrounding sea of nightmares in which he seems to be drowning, it seems

as though he is in a strange paradox; - he is hallucinating,(living in a nightmare where he is numb and clueless of his own emotions, enduring a living death), and yet he is also reaching some sense of clarity where he realises that “Even the dearest, that I love the best are strange”. This could relate to his indifferent family and friends or even more obscurely – his once familiar and ‘sane’ thoughts.

At this point, he seems to be at his most despondent – he moves into verse 3 with the clear statement that he; “…longs for scenes, where man hath never trod

A place where woman never smiled or wept

There to be with my Creator, God...”

Although this is a seemingly obvious wish to die, – it is not an advocation of suicide, (Clare was too religious to ever contemplate suicidal thoughts) and it would appear that the mood of the poem is actually dramatically lifted, as though he has reached a spiritual enlightenment from the past bitterness, realising what he truly wants – to be in heaven; death.

In the final verse, he seems to calm and come to terms with the limitations and sufferance of his life. His reference to childhood indicates his sentimental wish to return to the soft, comfortable perfection and cosy, untroubled security he felt as a child, - the opposite of his present emotions.

The final line is so obscure that it is difficult to define whether it’s meaning is poetic or literal. It could be that he is dreaming of being in a ‘grass-floored’ heaven (affirming his love and deep attachment to nature and the countryside).

Throughout the poem a slightly random rhyming and technical structure is employed probably in order to convey the randomness of his thoughts and emotions. With lines of mostly four and five stresses throughout the prose, the meter is mostly tetrameter and pentameter, however despite this vague pattern, to read, the poem is both jerky and uneven. Enjambment is used in places,

“Even the dearest, that I love the best

Are strange – nay…” however, where in more formally structured and standard prose this would aid flow and languidness, in this poem, it causes the abrupt stoppage/discontinuation of the sentences’ flow, as does the constant pausing/breaking punctuation, (colons, commas, dashes, etc.) – all of which contributes to the coarse, raw style and tone of the poem.

The rhyming system is quite even with a quite simple structure of;

A

B

A

B

C

C

(Except in the more rambling and clearly desperately lonely first verse where lines 2 & 4, and 5 & 6 do not rhyme).

Alliteration is used in many places where it would seem that Clare would want to draw attention to and highlight, for example, “friends forsake”(line 2), which really ‘brings home’ the dejection and loneliness he feels, and “sweetly slept”(line 16) in reference to the perfection and soft contentment of childhood.

In Hesperus, Clare uses various aspects of the natural world as metaphors for his moods and emotions. The atmosphere is gently simple, almost child-like and the words flow effortlessly as though they form a soothing lullaby.

Hesperus, the day is gone

Soft falls the silent dew

A tear is now o many a flower

And heaven lives in you

Hesperus, the evening mild

Falls round as soft and sweet

‘Tis like the breathings of a child

When day and evening meet

Hesperus, the closing flower

Sleeps on the dewy ground

While dews fall in a silent shower

And heaven breathes around

Hesperus, thy twinkling ray

Beams in the blue of heaven

And tells the traveller on his way

That earth shall be forgiven

Throughout the poem, he remains very even and ‘light-handed’ in his use of

language and tone, describing natural forms and scenes. For example;

“A tear is now on many a flower” (line 3)

“Sleeps on the dewy ground” (line 10)

These both conjure images of peaceful serenity. He also includes some spiritual/religious references;

“And heaven lives in you” (Line 4)

“And heaven breathes around” (Line 12)

“That earth shall be forgiven” (Line 16), which highlight his apparent feeling of calm, peacefulness – possibly influenced by present ‘one-ness’ with God and reawakened love of nature. This calm is emphasised by the steady, regular rhyming structure (abab) and a regular meter in which the poem’s verses are structured with three stresses in lines a, b & d (trimeter) and four stresses in line d (tetrameter).

Hesperus is dream-like in it’s lack of progression and almost stagnant state. Again, it is likely that this languid and almost motionless aspect of Hesperus is a reflection of Clare’s more tranquil states of mind.

Clare has used alliteration abundantly in this poem, particularly the soft ‘s’ sound;

“Soft falls the silent dew” (line 2)

“Falls round us soft and sweet” (line 6), which subconsciously give a dominant “sssh” sound to the prose, as though it is an inadvertent instruction of peace.

Hesperus’ simplicity makes it both readable and easy flowing. It is atmospheric due to the use of very romantic, almost utopian language (words such as ‘soft’, ‘flower’, ‘heaven’, ‘sleeps’, etc. evoke a feeling of quiet, languid and calm contentment.

However, despite the ‘lullaby-like’ and romantic language, Hesperus seems to have a connotation of finality, maybe even death, which could be another aspect of Clare’s emotional state, -that he is calm and at peace, but he awaits and almost yens for death and entry to his beloved idea of heaven.

He also includes an element of spiritual/religious atonement or justice in the final stanza, where he says that Hesperus;

“…tells the traveller on his way

That earth shall be forgiven” (Line 16)

This line, although (like many of Clare’s work) is obscure, could refer to his forgiveness of the family and friends who mistreated him in the past and his own belief that they shall also be forgiven in God’s eyes. This apparent feeling of mercifulness towards his past ‘tormentors’ and those who ‘forsook’ him, could be part of his willingness to cleanse/purify himself of any resentment or grievances before his anticipated death.

The two poems, although very different in mood, content and atmosphere, contain many similarities. Both Hesperus and I am are very personal, intimate poems, both displaying the inner workings and substance of Clare’s supposedly deranged mind.

They both contain regular references to heaven and God, indicating the extent of Clare’s devoutly religious nature.

I am – “There to abide with my Creator, God” (Line 15)

Hesperus – “And heaven lives in you” (Line 4)

He also seems to have a preoccupation/obsession with the idea of childhood perfection, for in both poems he refers to childhood as “sweet” or “soft” in a very romantic, idealistic manner, as though he longs to return to his childish state.

Death is also very present in both poems due to Clare’s clear longing for his life to end so he can enjoy his perfected idea of heaven, in escape of the suffering and pain felt during his life.

I am – “I long for scene, where no man hath trod

A place where woman never smiled or wept

There to abide with my Creator, God;” (Lines 13-15)

Hesperus has no direct and clear ‘admission’ of longing for death but the air of finality the words imply – references to night, the day’s end, heaven and the “closing flower” would lead to the idea that Clare’s words are more literal than they would seem. It could be that Hesperus represents, very metaphorically, Clare’s life and even Clare himself, and it’s impending end is illustrated in lines such as;

“Hesperus, the day is gone” (Line 1)

“Hesperus, the closing flower” (Line 9), as well as the final verse, which shows in the quest for purification before he enters heaven, his telling (as Hesperus) of the absolution of the earth.

In a more technical sense, both the poems use alliteration to highlight and emphasise particular atmospheric-‘inducing’ phrases.

I am – “My friends forsake me” (Line 2). This multiple ‘f’ sound stresses the phrase, heightening the idea of Clare’s dejection/rejection at the hands of those who he considered “friends”.

Hesperus – “Falls round us soft and sweet…” (Line 6)

This soft ‘s’ sound (which dominates much of the poem), accentuates Clare’s recurrent idea in Hesperus of the perfection of nature and childhood (which he later mentions in this context).

In both poems he also uses many similes and metaphors to assist his despairing (in I am) and calm (in Hesperus) words in communicating his emotional state.

I am –“But the vast shipwreck of y life esteems” (Line 10)

Hesperus – “’Tis like the breathings of a child…” (Line 8)

Although many of the ideas behind the two poems are similar (Clare’s morbid fascination with heaven and death, and his nostalgic notions of his past and childhood), they are clearly very different both in mood, pace and atmosphere, and technically, in form and structure.

If the poems were to be described and compared metaphorically, it could be said that whereas Hesperus is an almost stagnant pool of sweet, soft whispers, I am is a darker, fiercely flowing river, which dramatically transcends from murky, angry depths to a more clarified enlightenment by the poem’s end.

They are both very personal poems, however Hesperus is distinctly more obscure, than the more impassioned I am. It seems that behind the sweet, innocent, nursery rhyme-like exterior lurks a more ominous idea of finality and death, showing Hesperus to be a lot more misleading (in the extreme difference between metaphorical references to calm, tranquil, natural forms and the actual connotation behind Clare’s words), than the more straight-forward raw emotion felt in I am.

Where Hesperus is very still and composed, I am is a crazed, ‘gritty’ and even in places, unintelligible progression of ideas.

In comparison to Hesperus’ smooth, gentle style, regular rhyming scheme and little use of pausing punctuation, the coarse and uneven I am is more ‘jerky’ due to an abundance of punctuation breaks and more random rhyming scheme and meter, causing the totally different paces of the poems.

It would also seem that Clare’s states of mind are very different in the two poems. In Hesperus, it seems that he is more at peace and resigned to his situation, and again, apparently willing to forgive in order to cleanse himself of impure emotion (his religious ideas come across distinctly here). However, in I am, because of his undiluted anger and stinging pain it would seem that his emotional wounds were still raw – this could be a clue as to when the poems were written in relation to each other. With I am being the more passionate and raw, it could have been an earlier work before he had calmed from the initial rage of his confinement in the mental asylum and written the more accepting, passive Hesperus.

In conclusion, the question of which is the most impressive and moving of the two poems, must be answered. This is difficult to decide for in many different ways, both poems can be considered can be described as moving and impressive and adding even further complication is the fact that essentially, being impressive an being moving are totally different things.

Impressive, would imply an air of grandeur, an awe-inspiring factor to the poem that captures an astounded reaction, whereas moving implies a poems ability to evoke a powerful emotion from the reader.

Overall, I am is the more raw, passionate and impressive poem, however, I do not think that Hesperus can be disregarded as being nothing but a childish lullaby, for despite it’s soft and sweet connotations, it has a sinister air of finality which movingly reflects Clare’s emotional state – he has calmed from the anger of I am, but he still retains a sense of morbid anticipation for death.

However, despite Hesperus’ many attributes, in conclusion, “I am” is the more moving and impressive poem. This is because, although Hesperus’ sweet, delicate, tone (as a mask for morbid and darker ideas) gives the prose a very moving quality, I am in it’s full, rich intensity of emotion and complex and very inspiring language manages quite effortlessly to achieve both of the criteria as a moving and impressive poem, which without a doubt, along with his other work, establishes John Clare as one of the major poets of the Romantic school.