John Clare

John Clare (13 July 1793 – 20 May 1864) was an English poet, from rural Northamptonshire, the son of a farm labourer who came to be known for his celebratory representations of the English countryside and his lamentation of its disruption.

In 1820 his first book, ‘Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery’, was published and created a stir. His second volume of poems, ‘The Village Minstrel’ (1821), attracted little attention. His third met with the same fate. His last book again sold poorly. He began to suffer from fears and delusions and was placed in a private asylum, but was later moved. For the rest of his life he was beset by depression and mental illness. His last work, ‘The Rural Muse’ (1835), received good reviews, but this was not enough to support his wife and seven children. Clare’s mental health worsened and he spent much of the remainder of his life either in asylums, or free but in a state of delusion. He died May 1864.

His poetry underwent a major re-evaluation in the late 20th century, and he is now considered to be among the most important of 19th-century poets.