After reading John Clare’s first I Am it seemed to me that he thought of himself as an eternal spirit that was not shackled by time or by body. This would explain how he thought he was Byron. Yet Clare’s Don Juan A Poem, seems to not be similar to the portion we read of Byron’s Don Juan. Both poems contain spite yet Clare’s poem seems to be more pointed and hateful. The poem seems to shift focus frequently. Whatever Clare's focus falls upon could either be praised or lambasted seemingly on a whim. Clare's second I Am seems as if it were written with a clearer head. A man plagued by illness is locked away and abandoned by his friends and family. He longs for peace with God like the peace he knew in childhood. The selection of Clare's work is a very interesting representation of his disease. The work displays the anger, hubris, and vulnerability of a troubled mind in a way that is totally unique to me.
Well, John Clare suffered from manic depression, so I agree that it is a representation of his disease. Also, I believe that his writing wasn't only focused just on anger, but this was his way to express his sufferings by writing so vividly about his illness. He definitely captures the true feelings of it by reaching into the depths of his pain through his writing.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that Clare’s works you discussed show “the anger, hubris, and vulnerability of a troubled mind”. It seems like Clare is using his poetry to sort out the array of feelings he can’t quite grasp. If you look at the time frame these poems were written, you can see a progression of feelings. “Don Juan, A Poem” was written in the height of his mental issues when he was in his first years at the Asylum. To me this poem is expressing all of his anger he has felt over the years. Both of his “I Am” poems were written after many years in the Asylum. They seem calmer, as if he is starting to better understand himself and his own world. They still appear to be the work of a troubled mind, but they do not show immense anger as in “Don Juan, A Poem”.
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