To The Rural Muse and Other Poems


Read by Alan Mapstone

The English poet John Clare was the son of a farm labourer and was often referred to as "the Northamptonshire Peasant Poet". His work is mostly inspired by the English countryside and the rural way of life. In "To the Rural Muse" he explains how he regarded some aspects of the rural life as a kind of Poetic Muse.

Clare originally wrote in Northamptonshire dialect with little or no punctuation. Modern editions of his work often revise these aspects.

(Summary by Alan Mapstone) (1 hr 12 min)

Chapters

To the Rural Muse 14:28 Read by Alan Mapstone
On May Morning 7:34 Read by Alan Mapstone
Thoughts in a Churchyard 2:56 Read by Alan Mapstone
Sonnet - To Napoleon 1:32 Read by Alan Mapstone
On an Infant Killed by Lightning 1:44 Read by Alan Mapstone
The Shepherd's Song 2:17 Read by Alan Mapstone
The Evening Star 3:10 Read by Alan Mapstone
Insects 2:15 Read by Alan Mapstone
The Skylark 2:35 Read by Alan Mapstone
Genius 5:33 Read by Alan Mapstone
The Milking Hour 2:18 Read by Alan Mapstone
The Pasture 2:57 Read by Alan Mapstone
SONNETS: Rural Scenes 1:31 Read by Alan Mapstone
Lord Byron 1:29 Read by Alan Mapstone
Crowland Abbey 1:33 Read by Alan Mapstone
November 1:34 Read by Alan Mapstone
The Milking Shed 1:33 Read by Alan Mapstone
To Charles Lamb 1:34 Read by Alan Mapstone
Boston Church 1:31 Read by Alan Mapstone
Izaac Walton 1:29 Read by Alan Mapstone
The Hail-storm in June 1831 1:33 Read by Alan Mapstone
The Flood 1:31 Read by Alan Mapstone
Shepherd's Hut 1:34 Read by Alan Mapstone
A Woodland Seat 1:28 Read by Alan Mapstone
On Leaving the Cottage of my Birth 5:04 Read by Alan Mapstone