The Flood

1. The Flood John Clare

2. John Clare • John Clare (13 July 1793 – 20 May 1864) was an English poet, the son of a farm labourer, who came to be known for his celebratory representations of the English countryside and his lamentation of its disruption. • Was in an asylum from 1837-1841, had bouts of severe depression • Knownas The Northamptonshire Peasant Poet • Had alcohol problems

3. Structure • No punctuation- flow of uncontrolled thoughts • Irregular rhyme- irregularity of the waves • Rough sonnet form with iambic pentameter • Sonnet’s are often associated with death or love, therefore projects haunting images

4. Language • The “winter floods” are personified – image of them ‘playing’ gives the impression of power. • “dashing spray” – Clare is glorifying the waves, makes the scene appear more dramatic and majestic • “shudder jarred the arches” – creates a more violent image, first suggestion of actual impact • “shock as stubborn as before” – sibilance used to create a sinister tone

5. Language- second stanza • “More swift than shadows in a stormy day” – alliteration to show the crashing of the waves and the speed of their movement • “- all in vain” creates a pause that appears to be a reflection on the behaviour of the waves before • “- reels –” is stilted, shows the back and forth continuous movement of the waves

6. Language – third stanza • “Like plunging monsters rising underneath” – simile that makes the waves appear more dangerous, “rising” symbolises the inevitable, unexpected • “ocean blea” – (blea is directly beneath bark of a tree) – reality or past memories being revealed or exposed

7. Comparisons The Bight – violence within nature and what the consequences of nature can be, “All the untidy activity continues, awful but cheerful” and “Like trouble wandering to eternity” – continuity in the loss and misery. Binsey Poplars – images of destruction, times of very little punctuation – conveys the lack of control over the situations.