ENG308Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Radical Change
John%Clare
•
Idea%of%"rustic%theme%park"%with%upperclassmen%
○
Patronising,%condescending
•
But%Clare%was%a%"peasant%poet"%-the%real%thing
○
Natural%Poet
•
Born%in%1793
○
Son%of%a%field%labourer
○
His%mother%was%entirely%illiterate
•
Had%a%little% bit%of%schooling
○
Learned%to%read%and%write
○
Formal%schooling%did%not%go%beyond%that
•
Sickly%child,%but%he%worked%hard%in%the%field
•
Showed%an%interest%in%poetry%from%a%very%young%age
○
As%a%child%he%would%go%out%into%the%field%and%compose%poetry
○
Just%a%simple%notebook%could%cost%him%a%full%week's%wages
•
Entirely%impoverished%human%being%who%discovers%an%immense%passion%for%
poetry
•
1820%-published%a%book%of%poems%that%get%him%some%attention
○
Poems%Descriptive%of%Rural%Life%and%Scenery
○
In%the%midst%of%a%huge%interest%for%rustic%life
○
People%were%excited%to%get%it%from%the%real%thing
○
But%it%was%a%fad%and%his%infamy%faded
○
His%later%books%were%financial%failures
•
Suffered%from%mental%illness%under%various%disappointments
○
Overcome%by%this%in%1837
○
Spent%the%rest%of%his%life%in%an%asylum
○
In%the%middle%of%reform%for%mental%illness
○
Still%were%mentally%ill%people%being%chained%to%posts
○
But%he%was%fortunate%enough%to%be%in%good%care
○
Was%still%allowed%to%wander%the%countryside
•
He%was%still%quite%well%read,%considering
○
You%can%see%the%influence%of%Wordsworth,%Coleridge,%etc.
•
Urgent%insistence%about%the%value%of%a%landscape%in%Wordsworth%and%
Coleridge
○Encroaching%urbanisation
○Redistribution%of%wealth
○Threats%to%the%rural%landscape
The%Lament%of%Swordy%Well
•Land%enclosure,%private%property
○Radical%change%in%urban%environment
•Homeless%man%describing%changes%he%has%had%to%endure
○Prefers%not%to%be%a%petitioner
•Swordy%well,%the%landscape,%is%personified%as%a%homeless%man%who%has%
become%a%charity%case
○Indignant%about%his%status
○He%is%a%member%of%the%parish%poor
•He%is%not%begging,%he%prays%to%keep%his%own
•Taking'into'account'the'whole'poem,'if'Swordy'Well'is'not'begging,'what'is'
it'that'he'is'asking'for?
○Line%177-"There%was%a%time%my%bit%of%ground…Till%vile%enclosure%came%
and%made%/%A%parish%slave%of%me"
§Looking%for%autonomy,%wants%to%be%self-possessed
○Line%193-"And%if%I%could%but%find%a%friend…%Who'd%send%me%some%few%
sheep%to%tend,%/%And%leave%me%as%I%am"
§Wants%to%be%useful,%wants%to%work
§Wants%to%be%communal
•Persona%very%aware%of%a%reading%audience
○We%are%being%addressed
○He%is%appealing%to%%his%customary%rights
•"I'm%Swordy%Well,%a%piece%of%land%/%That's%fell%upon%the%town,%/%Who%worked%
me%till%I%couldn't%stand%/%And%crush%me%now%I'm%down"%(20-24)
○The%homeless%man%is%not%merely%a%lazy%pauper
○Imagery%of%a%labourer%who%has%been%broken
○He%is%coming%to%"pray%to%keep%me%own"%(12)
•First%time%in%literature%that%nature%appears%as%a%homeless%person
○Everything%he%owns%has%been%taken%from%him
○Bounty%of%the%land%has%been%stripped%away%by%money-grubbers
•What'is'it'that'Swordy'Well'is'seeking'in'the'stanza?'(41-49)
○He%wants%the%wrongs%that%have%been%done%to%him%to%be%addressed
○He%wants%justice,%but%poetry%is%his%only%justice
○He%doesn’t%have%access%to%a%legal% court%of%appeal
○He%doesn’t%have%any%legal% claim/justice
○He%would%like%some%sort%of%right
○He%doesn’t%have%legal/social%justice
○The%only%hearing%he%could%possibly%have%is%in%poetry
•Swordy%well%speaks%of%changes%to%the%landscape%that%are%permanent
○Marks%him%out%as%distinct%from%Wordsworth
○In%Tintern%Abbey,%the%poet%grows%and%changes%against%the%stability%of%
nature
○In%Swordy%Well,%this%dynamic%is%inverted
○The%soul%of%Swordy%Well%is%what%stays%the%same
○There%is%no%cyclical% regeneration,%no%spring%coming%to%provide%for%his%
despair
○What%we%have%are%permanent%changes%to%nature
•Line%81%-The%bees%fly%round%in%feeble%rings
○Common%image%in%pastoral%poetry
○Associated%with%a%blossoming%ground
○International%erosion%of%the%bee%population%in%the%21st%century
•Cyclical%regeneration%of%nature%is%absolutely%central%-Spring%dares%to%lift%her%
head%(90)
○One%of%rebirth,%growth%&%our%confidence%in%the%permanence%of%the%
natural%cycle%of%life
○Pastoral%image%that%does%not%function%according%to%conventional%
functions%because%they%have%been%eroded%by%land%enclosure,%the%
exploitation%of%the%land
○Violent%image%of%Spring%being%cut%down%by%the%plough
•The%butterflies%cannot%stay%in%the%landscape%of%Swordy%Well
○The%streams%are%gone,%the%soil%cover%is%gone
○We%have%a%gaunt%man
•Line%121%-this%is%the%voice%of%righteous%indignation
○Proud%who's%diminishment%is%the%disgrace%of%those%who%have%imposed%
land%enclosure,%who%have%eroded%the%customary%rights%of%these%lands
•Line%169%-another%description%that%is%moving%into%an%autobiographical%
reminiscence
○Swordy%Well%was%kind%to%all
○The%poor%could%have%safety%and%rest,%but%also%room%and%grass
•Context%of%the%right%of%leisure
○Wordsworth's%experience%in%nature%is%of%the%leisure%he%could%indulge%in%
within%the%beautiful%landscape
○The%rights%of%the%poor%are%beginning%to%be%considered%
○The%workers%are%the%one%who%sustain%the%land%by%tending%it
○Leisure%for%the%working%class%became%a%political% rallying%point%for%many%
politicians%of%the%time
○Swordy%Well%is%a%remarkably%revolutionary%poem
○The%exploitation%of%the%land%deprives%the%poor%of%a%leisure%ground
•Line%185%-these%people%model%Christian%benevolence%but%yet%they%act%like%the%
conventional%image%of%oppressors
○Racist%image%of%Turks
○Less%of%a%sense%of%community
○The%way%in%which%human%dignity%is%challenged%by%the%
compartmentalisation%of%labour%that%is%exported
○An%exploited%human%being%is%like%the%exploited%human%man%of%the%poem
○He%has%nothing,%his%dignity%is%challenged%because%he%no%longer%has%
access%to%the%landscape
•Line%177%-echoes%the%Dejection%Ode
○"There%was%a%time"%when%joy%functioned
○Wordsworth%in%the%Immortality%Ode
○Foundation%of%an%autobiographical%recounting
○There%was%a%time%when%I%was%a%youthful%child%who%had%an%
undifferentiated%relationship%with%nature
○Insistence%that%they%are%still%able%to%remember%the%value%of%what%is%
important%in%their%lives
○Wordsworth%recognises%that%he%changes%but%there%is%some%continuity%
over%time
○Coleridge%is%able%to%wish%for%Joy%for%Sara
○But%here,%"there%was%a%time"%initiates%a%process%of%memory%for%which%
there%is%no%redemption
○Story%about%transformation%that%ends%in%the%land%being%a%wasteland
○He%learns,%not%of%the%years%that%bring%philosophic%mind,%but%the%fact%
that%even%nature%can%be%destroyed
○Swordy%Well%is%barely%recognisable%to%himself
•Line%203%-poetry%documents%what%is%essentially%an%ecological,%environmental%
disaster
○He%is%the%last%that%can%recognise%himself
○Swordy%Well%concludes%that%he%is%the%last%that%can%achieve%self%
recognition%in%the%landscape
○The%romantic%landscape%itself%is%eroding
○Sense%of%desperate%urgency
Lecture%21
Monday,%December% 5,%2016
11:15%AM
John%Clare
•Idea%of%"rustic%theme%park"%with%upperclassmen%
○Patronising,%condescending
•But%Clare%was%a%"peasant%poet"%-the%real%thing
○Natural%Poet
•Born%in%1793
○Son%of%a%field%labourer
○His%mother%was%entirely%illiterate
•Had%a%little% bit%of%schooling
○Learned%to%read%and%write
○Formal%schooling%did%not%go%beyond%that
•Sickly%child,%but%he%worked%hard%in%the%field
•Showed%an%interest%in%poetry%from%a%very%young%age
○As%a%child%he%would%go%out%into%the%field%and%compose%poetry
○Just%a%simple%notebook%could%cost%him%a%full%week's%wages
•Entirely%impoverished%human%being%who%discovers%an%immense%passion%for%
poetry
•1820%-published%a%book%of%poems%that%get%him%some%attention
○Poems%Descriptive%of%Rural%Life%and%Scenery
○In%the%midst%of%a%huge%interest%for%rustic%life
○People%were%excited%to%get%it%from%the%real%thing
○But%it%was%a%fad%and%his%infamy%faded
○His%later%books%were%financial%failures
•Suffered%from%mental%illness%under%various%disappointments
○Overcome%by%this%in%1837
○Spent%the%rest%of%his%life%in%an%asylum
○In%the%middle%of%reform%for%mental%illness
○Still%were%mentally%ill%people%being%chained%to%posts
○But%he%was%fortunate%enough%to%be%in%good%care
○Was%still%allowed%to%wander%the%countryside
•He%was%still%quite%well%read,%considering
○You%can%see%the%influence%of%Wordsworth,%Coleridge,%etc.
•
Urgent%insistence%about%the%value%of%a%landscape%in%Wordsworth%and%
Coleridge
○
Encroaching%urbanisation
○
Redistribution%of%wealth
○
Threats%to%the%rural%landscape
The%Lament%of%Swordy%Well
•
Land%enclosure,%private%property
○
Radical%change%in%urban%environment
•
Homeless%man%describing%changes%he%has%had%to%endure
○
Prefers%not%to%be%a%petitioner
•
Swordy%well,%the%landscape,%is%personified%as%a%homeless%man%who%has%
become%a%charity%case
○
Indignant%about%his%status
○
He%is%a%member%of%the%parish%poor
•
He%is%not%begging,%he%prays%to%keep%his%own
•
Taking'into'account'the'whole'poem,'if'Swordy'Well'is'not'begging,'what'is'
it'that'he'is'asking'for?
○
Line%177-"There%was%a%time%my%bit%of%ground…Till%vile%enclosure%came%
and%made%/%A%parish%slave%of%me"
§
Looking%for%autonomy,%wants%to%be%self-possessed
○
Line%193-"And%if%I%could%but%find%a%friend…%Who'd%send%me%some%few%
sheep%to%tend,%/%And%leave%me%as%I%am"
§
Wants%to%be%useful,%wants%to%work
§
Wants%to%be%communal
•
Persona%very%aware%of%a%reading%audience
○
We%are%being%addressed
○
He%is%appealing%to%%his%customary%rights
•
"I'm%Swordy%Well,%a%piece%of%land%/%That's%fell%upon%the%town,%/%Who%worked%
me%till%I%couldn't%stand%/%And%crush%me%now%I'm%down"%(20-24)
○
The%homeless%man%is%not%merely%a%lazy%pauper
○
Imagery%of%a%labourer%who%has%been%broken
○
He%is%coming%to%"pray%to%keep%me%own"%(12)
•
First%time%in%literature%that%nature%appears%as%a%homeless%person
○
Everything%he%owns%has%been%taken%from%him
○
Bounty%of%the%land%has%been%stripped%away%by%money-grubbers
•
What'is'it'that'Swordy'Well'is'seeking'in'the'stanza?'(41-49)
○
He%wants%the%wrongs%that%have%been%done%to%him%to%be%addressed
○
He%wants%justice,%but%poetry%is%his%only%justice
○He%doesn’t%have%access%to%a%legal% court%of%appeal
○He%doesn’t%have%any%legal% claim/justice
○He%would%like%some%sort%of%right
○He%doesn’t%have%legal/social%justice
○The%only%hearing%he%could%possibly%have%is%in%poetry
•Swordy%well%speaks%of%changes%to%the%landscape%that%are%permanent
○Marks%him%out%as%distinct%from%Wordsworth
○In%Tintern%Abbey,%the%poet%grows%and%changes%against%the%stability%of%
nature
○In%Swordy%Well,%this%dynamic%is%inverted
○The%soul%of%Swordy%Well%is%what%stays%the%same
○There%is%no%cyclical% regeneration,%no%spring%coming%to%provide%for%his%
despair
○What%we%have%are%permanent%changes%to%nature
•Line%81%-The%bees%fly%round%in%feeble%rings
○Common%image%in%pastoral%poetry
○Associated%with%a%blossoming%ground
○International%erosion%of%the%bee%population%in%the%21st%century
•Cyclical%regeneration%of%nature%is%absolutely%central%-Spring%dares%to%lift%her%
head%(90)
○One%of%rebirth,%growth%&%our%confidence%in%the%permanence%of%the%
natural%cycle%of%life
○Pastoral%image%that%does%not%function%according%to%conventional%
functions%because%they%have%been%eroded%by%land%enclosure,%the%
exploitation%of%the%land
○Violent%image%of%Spring%being%cut%down%by%the%plough
•The%butterflies%cannot%stay%in%the%landscape%of%Swordy%Well
○The%streams%are%gone,%the%soil%cover%is%gone
○We%have%a%gaunt%man
•Line%121%-this%is%the%voice%of%righteous%indignation
○Proud%who's%diminishment%is%the%disgrace%of%those%who%have%imposed%
land%enclosure,%who%have%eroded%the%customary%rights%of%these%lands
•Line%169%-another%description%that%is%moving%into%an%autobiographical%
reminiscence
○Swordy%Well%was%kind%to%all
○The%poor%could%have%safety%and%rest,%but%also%room%and%grass
•Context%of%the%right%of%leisure
○Wordsworth's%experience%in%nature%is%of%the%leisure%he%could%indulge%in%
within%the%beautiful%landscape
○The%rights%of%the%poor%are%beginning%to%be%considered%
○The%workers%are%the%one%who%sustain%the%land%by%tending%it
○Leisure%for%the%working%class%became%a%political% rallying%point%for%many%
politicians%of%the%time
○Swordy%Well%is%a%remarkably%revolutionary%poem
○The%exploitation%of%the%land%deprives%the%poor%of%a%leisure%ground
•Line%185%-these%people%model%Christian%benevolence%but%yet%they%act%like%the%
conventional%image%of%oppressors
○Racist%image%of%Turks
○Less%of%a%sense%of%community
○The%way%in%which%human%dignity%is%challenged%by%the%
compartmentalisation%of%labour%that%is%exported
○An%exploited%human%being%is%like%the%exploited%human%man%of%the%poem
○He%has%nothing,%his%dignity%is%challenged%because%he%no%longer%has%
access%to%the%landscape
•Line%177%-echoes%the%Dejection%Ode
○"There%was%a%time"%when%joy%functioned
○Wordsworth%in%the%Immortality%Ode
○Foundation%of%an%autobiographical%recounting
○There%was%a%time%when%I%was%a%youthful%child%who%had%an%
undifferentiated%relationship%with%nature
○Insistence%that%they%are%still%able%to%remember%the%value%of%what%is%
important%in%their%lives
○Wordsworth%recognises%that%he%changes%but%there%is%some%continuity%
over%time
○Coleridge%is%able%to%wish%for%Joy%for%Sara
○But%here,%"there%was%a%time"%initiates%a%process%of%memory%for%which%
there%is%no%redemption
○Story%about%transformation%that%ends%in%the%land%being%a%wasteland
○He%learns,%not%of%the%years%that%bring%philosophic%mind,%but%the%fact%
that%even%nature%can%be%destroyed
○Swordy%Well%is%barely%recognisable%to%himself
•Line%203%-poetry%documents%what%is%essentially%an%ecological,%environmental%
disaster
○He%is%the%last%that%can%recognise%himself
○Swordy%Well%concludes%that%he%is%the%last%that%can%achieve%self%
recognition%in%the%landscape
○The%romantic%landscape%itself%is%eroding
○Sense%of%desperate%urgency
Lecture%21
Monday,%December% 5,%2016 11:15%AM
