Badger by John Clare
John Clare was born in the village of Helpstone, Northamptonshire, England in 1793. He was the son of an agricultural laborer and he himself was a hedge setter, day laborer and was gardener at Burghley House from 1810 to 1811. He had no schooling so instead he studied James Thompson's Seasons and began verse writing. His poetic gift came from his parents - his father, a flail thresher, could recite over a hundred ballads and songs and his mother also sang ballads and told traditional stories. He enjoyed a brief celebrity as a 'peasant-poet'. (Peasant poet: one who is steeped in tradition of oral culture, regional dialect, and non-standard grammar. Characterized by innocence, not formally educated, interested in the landscape, class conscious, controlled and celebrated by superiors/publishers, simple language. Peasant poets usually end up losing innocence to formal diction in an effort to conform; Clare resists this.) This term represents many of the things that Clare wrote about in his works and explains why he used the grammar and style that he used. In 1837, as a result of his long disappointment of having to move away from his love, he had a mental breakdown and was admitted to an asylum in Epping Forest. Four years later, h
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Scottish Islands, Thompson's Seasons, John Clare, Northampton Asylum, Epping Forest, Clare Knowledge, Northamptonshire England, Burghley House, badger strong, knowing clare, john clare, badger poem, 18th century,
Approximate Word count = 891
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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