The Shepherd's Calendar
The poet, John Clare, who lived from 1793-1864, was the son of a Northamptonshire labourer and himself at various times a herd boy, militiaman, vagrant and unsuccessful farmer. He writes of the countryside and of village life with the special intensity of one who knows the land and its people intimately. "The Shepherd's Claendar", his most ambitious single poem, is both a classic of English poetry and a piece of social history, representing a statement about English country life from the point of view of its most silent representative - the agricultural labourer.
To the modern reader "The Shepherd's Calendar" should be of interest because of the accuracy of its portrayal of natural life inthe different months of the year. It evokes natural life, using popular language, often derived from folk-songs and ballads.
The book provides a sort of almanack of country life, detailing the tasks to be performed in each month of the year: ploughing in February, lambing in March, weeding in May, hay-making in June and so on. It also describes the flowers, the birds and the beasts to be found in hedgerow and field. It celebrates the festivals of the year - May Day games, shee-shearing feasts, Harvest Home and Christmas. As such, it will appeal to anyone who knows anything about nature in Britain or about farming life.
This new edition of the text corrects numerous earlier misreadings as well as supplying substantial changes to "July" and "October". there is also a new introduction detailing the continuing importance of the poem to modern readers.
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The Shepherd's Calendar
The poet, John Clare, who lived from 1793-1864, was the son of a Northamptonshire labourer and himself at various times a herd boy, militiaman, vagrant and unsuccessful farmer. He writes of the countryside and of village life with the special intensity of one who knows the land and its people intimately. "The Shepherd's Claendar", his most ambitious single poem, is both a classic of English poetry and a piece of social history, representing a statement about English country life from the point of view of its most silent representative - the agricultural labourer.
To the modern reader "The Shepherd's Calendar" should be of interest because of the accuracy of its portrayal of natural life inthe different months of the year. It evokes natural life, using popular language, often derived from folk-songs and ballads.
The book provides a sort of almanack of country life, detailing the tasks to be performed in each month of the year: ploughing in February, lambing in March, weeding in May, hay-making in June and so on. It also describes the flowers, the birds and the beasts to be found in hedgerow and field. It celebrates the festivals of the year - May Day games, shee-shearing feasts, Harvest Home and Christmas. As such, it will appeal to anyone who knows anything about nature in Britain or about farming life.
This new edition of the text corrects numerous earlier misreadings as well as supplying substantial changes to "July" and "October". there is also a new introduction detailing the continuing importance of the poem to modern readers.
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The Shepherd's Calendar

The Shepherd's Calendar

The Shepherd's Calendar

The Shepherd's Calendar

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Overview

The poet, John Clare, who lived from 1793-1864, was the son of a Northamptonshire labourer and himself at various times a herd boy, militiaman, vagrant and unsuccessful farmer. He writes of the countryside and of village life with the special intensity of one who knows the land and its people intimately. "The Shepherd's Claendar", his most ambitious single poem, is both a classic of English poetry and a piece of social history, representing a statement about English country life from the point of view of its most silent representative - the agricultural labourer.
To the modern reader "The Shepherd's Calendar" should be of interest because of the accuracy of its portrayal of natural life inthe different months of the year. It evokes natural life, using popular language, often derived from folk-songs and ballads.
The book provides a sort of almanack of country life, detailing the tasks to be performed in each month of the year: ploughing in February, lambing in March, weeding in May, hay-making in June and so on. It also describes the flowers, the birds and the beasts to be found in hedgerow and field. It celebrates the festivals of the year - May Day games, shee-shearing feasts, Harvest Home and Christmas. As such, it will appeal to anyone who knows anything about nature in Britain or about farming life.
This new edition of the text corrects numerous earlier misreadings as well as supplying substantial changes to "July" and "October". there is also a new introduction detailing the continuing importance of the poem to modern readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781857548914
Publisher: Carcanet Press, Limited
Publication date: 12/28/2006
Pages: 272
Sales rank: 244,956
Product dimensions: 5.75(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

John Clare

John Clare (1793-1864) was an agricultural labourer who rose to fame as the Northamptonshire Peasant Poet with the publication of his first book of poems in 1820. He suffered from mental illness and ended his days in Northampton General Lunatic Asylum. He is now recognized as one of the great English Romantic poets whose writing on rural society has a special power.

Eric Robinson, together with his associate editor David Powell, is editor of the mult-volume Oxford English Texts edition of the Collected Poems of John Clare and other selections of Clare's writings, including the Major Works in Oxford World's Classics.

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