CONTENTS PREFACE ... xiii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ... xv ABBREVIATIONS ... xvii INTRODUCTION ... 1 NOTE ON THE TEXT ... 28 The early days(1818-20) 1 <B><FONT color ... #0000 2 John Care addresses the public, 1818 ... 30 3 <B><FONT color ... #0000 4 The problem of the 'Dedication' to Poems Descriptive, 1818 ... 32 5 ED WARD DRURY AND JOHNTAYLOR, Words of warning, January 1820 ... 33 6 OCTAVIUS GIL CHRISTINTRODUCES Clare to the literary world, January 1820 ... 35 Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery(1820) 7 TAYLOR, Introduction to Poems Descriptive, 1820 ... 43 8 From an unsigned review, New Times, January 1820 ... 54 9 GILCHRIST ON Poems Descriptive, January 1820 ... 56 10 Tributes in verse, 1820, 1821 ... 57 11 Advice on alterations and omissions : trouble with the native, February-December 1820 ... 60 12 ELIZAEMMERSON on her admiration of 'Nature's Child', February 1820 ... 65 13 CHARLES MOSSOP on the source of Clare's success, February 1820 ... 67 14 From and unsigned review, New Monthly Magazine, March 1820 ... 68 15 From an unsigned review, Monthly Review, March 1820 ... 73 16 Unsigned notice, Monthly Magazine, March 1820 ... 76 17 JOHNSCOTT, from an unsigned review, London Magazine, March 1820 ... 78 18 <B><FONT color ... #0000 19 ELIZA EMMERSON on the certainty of ultimate success, March 1820 ... 84 20 An enquirer after Clare's welfare, March 1820 ... 85 21 ELIZAEMMERSON on critical reactions, April 1820 ... 86 22 GILCHRIST on having to write another article on Clare, April 1820 ... 87 23 From an unsigned review, Eclectic Review, April 1820 ... 88 24 JAMESPLUMPTRE on rural poetry according to particular principles, April 1820 ... 93 25 GILCHRIST, from an unsigned review, Quarterly Review, May 1820 ... 94 26 Unsigned article, Guardian, May 1820 ... 100 27 J. G. LOCKHART on Clare, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, June 1820 ... 102 28 From an unsigned review, British Critic, June 1820 ... 103 29 From an unsigned review, Antijacobin Review, June 1820 ... 105 30 ROBERTBLOOMFIELD on the pleasure afforded him by Clare's poems, July 1820 ... 107 31 An admirer comments on Clare's poetry, July 1820 ... 108 32 ELIZAEMMERSON on reactions in Bristol, November 1820 ... 109 33 DRURY on the poems people like, 1820 ... 110 34 Clare and 'Native Genius', January and April 1821 ... 111 35 Some brief comments on Clare, April-July 1821 ... 117 The period prior to publication of The Village Minstrel : incidental comments(March 1820-August 1821) 36 Some opinions on 'Solitude', March - September 1820 ... 120 37 TAYLOR on narrative poetry, April 1820 ... 122 38 DRURY with some good advice, May 1820 ... 123 39 TAYLOR on the next volume, May 1820 ... 124 40 DRURY on the songs, May 1820 ... 124 41 <B><FONT color ... #0000 42 <B><FONT color ... #0000 43 More advice from ELIZAEMMERSON, July-September 1820 ... 127 44 <B><FONT color ... #0000 45 TAYLOR on Clare's good taste, December 1820 ... 129 46 TAYLOR on true poetry, January 1821 ... 130 47 DRURY on 'The Last of Autumn', January 1821 ... 131 48 Some opinions on 'The Last of Autumn', January 1821 ... 132 49 TAYLOR on the prospects of success, February 1821 ... 133 50 Comments on 'prettiness' in poetry, April-May 1821 ... 134 51 Comments in Anticipation of the new volume, April-May 1821 ... 135 The village Minstrel(1821) 52 TAYLOR, from the Introduction to The Village Minstrel, 1821 ... 136 53 <B><FONT color ... #0000 54 From an unsigned review, Literary Gazette, October 1821 ... 141 55 Two views of Clare, Literary chronicle, October 1821 ... 145 56 From an unsigned review, Monthly Magazine, November 1821 ... 150 57 TAYLOR on Clare, London Magazine, November 1821 ... 157 58 From an unsigned review, European Magazine, November 1821 ... 165 59 Unsigned review, New Monthly Magazine, November 1821 ... 167 60 From an unsigned review, Eclectic Review, January 1822 ... 168 61 TOWNSEND on The Village Minstrel, January 1822 ... 172 62 <B><FONT color ... #0000 63 An admirer on The Village Minstrel, April 1822 ... 174 64 CHARLESLAMB on the 'true rustic style', August 1822 ... 175 65 The REV. W. ALLEN on Clare, 1823 ... 176 66 <B><FONT color ... #0000 67 CHARLESELTON, 'The Idler's Epistle to <B><FONT color ... #0000 The period prior to publication of The Shepherd's Calendar : incidental comments(january 1822-December 1826) 68 ELIZAEMMERSON comments on 'Superstition's Dream', January 1822 ... 187 69 GILCHRIST on a magazine poem by Clare, February 1822 ... 189 70 <B><FONT color ... #0000 71 TAYLOR on the need to avoid vulgarity, February 1822 ... 190 72 Some comments on 'The Parish', February-May 1823 ... 191 73 Two brief comments on a sonnet by 'Percy Green', July 1823 ... 193 74 JAMESHESSEY on The Shepherd's Calendar, October 1823, November 1824 ... 194 75 H. F. CARY on The Shepherd's Calendar, January 1824 ... 196 76 TAYLOR on The Shepherd's Calendar, March 1825-March 1826 ... 197 77 A 'chorus of praise' for Clare, December 1826 ... 198 78 ELIZA EMMERSON on Clare, December 1826 ... 199 The Shepherd's Calendar(1827) 79 <B><FONT color ... #0000 80 Unsigned notice, Literary Gazette, March 1827 ... 201 81 JOSIAH CONDER, unsigned review, Eclectic Review, June 1827 ... 202 82 Unsigned notice, London Weekly Review, June 1827 ... 206 83 Unsigned review, Literary Chronicle, October 1827 ... 208 The period prior to publication of The Rural Muse : incidental comments(January 1828-January 1833) 84 Some comments on 'Autumn' and 'Summer Images', January 1828-July 1831 ... 211 85 THOMASPRINGLE on Clare and fashion, August 1828 ... 212 86 GEORGEDARLEY and <B><FONT color ... #0000 87 DERWENT COLERIDGE on Clare, january 1831 ... 214 88 Some practical advice, February 1831 ... 215 89 <B><FONT color ... #0000 90 THOMAS CROSSLEY, a sonnet to Clare, December 1831 ... 217 91 <B><FONT color ... #0000 92 Two reactions to 'The Nightingale's Nest', December 1832-January 1833 ... 218 The Rural Muse(1835) 93 <B><FONT color ... #0000 94 Unsigned notice, Athenaeum, July 1835 ... 221 95 Unsigned notice, Literary Gazette, July 1835 ... 223 96 JOHN WILSON, unsigned review, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, July 1835 ... 225 97 Two readers on The Rural Muse, July 1835 ... 238 98 Unsigned notice, New Monthly Magazine, August 1835 ... 239 99 Unsigned review, Druids' Monthly Magazine, 1835 ... 240 The asylum years(1837-64) 100 THOMASDEQUINCEY on Clare, December 1840 ... 245 101 CYRUSREDDING visits <B><FONT color ... #0000 102 ED WIN PAXTON HOOD on Clare, 1851 ... 257 103 A biographical sketch of Clare, 1856 ... 266 104 Clare in passing, January 1857 ... 267 105 JOHN PLUMMER on a forgotten poet, May 1861 ... 268 Obituaries and Lives(1864-73) 106 JOHN ASKHAM on Clare, 1863, 1864 ... 271 107 JOHN DALBY a poem on Clare, June 1864 ... 273 108 PLUMMER, again, on Clare, July 1864 ... 274 109 SPENCER T. HALL on Clare and Bloomfield, March 1866 ... 275 110 A female audience for <B><FONT color ... #0000 111 An American View of a peasant poet, November 1869 ... 285 112 The doomed poet, 1873 ... 287 113 From some reviews of Cherry's Life and Remains, 1873 ... 289 114 Clare and the soul of the people, 1873, 1884 ... 292 The period 1874-1920 115 Some late nineteenth-century views of Clare, 1887, 1893, 1897 ... 298 116 NORMAN GALE, a rhapsodic VIEW, 1901 ... 299 117 ARTHUR SYMONS on Clare, 1908 ... 301 118 The distinction between early and late Clare, February 1909 ... 309 119 Clare as a poet of greatness, 1910 ... 310 120 EDWARD THOMAS on Clare, 1906, 1910, 1917 ... 311 The period 1920-35 121 ALAN PORTER, a violent view, May 1920 ... 320 122 SAMUEL LOOKER on Clare's genius, September, October 1920 ... 322 123 J.C. SQUIRE, with reservations, january 1921 ... 323 124 H.J. MASSINGHAM on Clare's uniqueness, January 1921 ... 325 125 J. MIDDLETON MURRY, an enthusiastic view, January 1921 ... 329 126 ROBERTLYND on Clare and Mr Hudson, January 1921 ... 340 127 EDMUND GOSSE, a dissentient view, January 1921 ... 343 128 Clare and Keats, February 1921 ... 346 129 MAURICE HEWLETT on Clare's derivations, March 1921 ... 349 130 HEWLETT on Clare as peasant poet(again), 1924 ... 357 131 J. MIDDLETON MURRY on Clare and Wordsworth, August 1924 ... 359 132 PORTER on a book of the moment, August 1924 ... 364 133 PERCYLUBBOCK, a hesitant view, September 1924 ... 369 134 GOSSE, again, October 1924 ... 372 135 EDMUND BLUNDEN on Clare, 1929, 1931 ... 376 The period 1935-64 136 Clare's dream, February 1935 ... 382 137 JOHN SPEIRS on Clare's limitations, June 1935 ... 384 138 H.J. MASSINGHAM on the labourer poets, 1942 ... 387 139 W.K. RICHMOND on Clare, 1947 ... 388 140 GEOFFREY GRIGSON on Clare, 1950 ... 404 141 ROBERT GRAVES on Clare as a true poet, 1955 ... 413 142 Clare as an intruder into the canon, April 1956 ... 416 143 Clare as a lyric poet, 1956 ... 421 144 More doubts about Clare, 1958 ... 425 145 Harold Bloom on Clare, 1962 ... 428 146 Some centenary comments, 1964 ... 439 BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 444 INDEX ... 445