John Clare | |
|---|---|
 John Clare by William Hilton, oil on canvas, 1820 | |
| Born | 13 July 1793 Helpston, Northamptonshire, England |
| Died | 20 May 1864 (aged 70) Northampton, Northamptonshire, England |
| Genre | Rural |
| Notable works | Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery |
| Signature | |
 | |
John Clare (13 July 1793 – 20 May 1864) was an English poet. The son of a farm labourer, he became known for his celebrations of the English countryside and sorrows at its disruption.[1] His work underwent major re-evaluation in the late 20th century; he is now often seen as a major 19th-century poet.[2] His biographer Jonathan Bate called Clare "the greatest labouring-class poet that England has ever produced. No one has ever written more powerfully of nature, of a rural childhood, and of the alienated and unstable self."[3]
- ^ Summerfield, Geoffrey, ed. (1990). Selected Poems. Penguin Books. pp. 13–22. ISBN 0-14-043724-X.
- ^ Sales, Roger (2002). John Clare: A Literary Life. New York City: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-65270-3.
- ^ Bate, Jonathan (2003). John Clare: A biography. New York City: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0374179908.