I was immediately drawn to this poem when I was in my teens, that age when at times so many of us like to paint ourselves as a tragic figure - usually when something has not gone according to our desires. However, I think we can all be drawn to John Clare himself due to his intense sensitivity and vulnerability. Another case of someone giving us delight with their art but at a great cost to themselves. Thank you for this analysis.
It is ironic maybe, that a poem so lonely and desolate has deeply touched so many people, that this least confident and agonised piece continues to strike such a beautiful chord with readers of all different ages and nationalities over the years. Clare therefore seems to achieve the very thing with his great poem that he despaired of in life, making deep connections with those of us who share his uncertainty and grief, of which there always have been a far greater number, I think, than he may have supposed. What greater thing can a poem achieve than this?
Though desperate and tragic this beautiful poem gives voice to a cry to the creator. The poet has lost faith in himself and all about him. I suspect that the return to childhood sleep is yearned for by many. There is a presumption of safety and happier times when the child had somone to watch over him. And here we are in 2023 where a man is about to spend outrageous money on having himself declared king. We have the rise of the feudal system and landlord society. They call our times crisis The elites fraudulently robbing the public purse and the perpetual lies of the political class. People cant afford to eat nourishing food .And eviction is on the rise. I wonder how many little ones can safely sleep? And the lunatic asylums have been replaced with actual prisons. This poem could have been written by a millennial that is why it resonates so much. I also note that this was the romantic poetry times. And yet I am - not convinced that such a thing exists there is nothing romantic in desperate times. Thank you I enjoyed your analysis.
This poem, “I Am,” subtly conveys some of the experience of being, for whatever reason, incarcerated. The first five lines describe in detail the increasing feeling of being “lost” which one is overcome by when one is first locked up: being abandoned by those whom one once turned turn to for solace or for an anchor in reality; being consumed by the inner dialogue of “How did I get here? How can I get out?”; and finally, the oblivion of being just another in a herd of people who are similarly lost in being crazy or criminal. The sixth line’s “I am” leads by enjambment from one’s internal, personal space of suffering to, in the first three lines of the next stanza, the Day Room, Community Room or TV Room. Indeed, a living sea of scorn and noise where the shipwreck of one’s own Self is separate (estranged) from, yet more peculiar than, the Others’. The third stanza describes the all-pervasive dream of returning to the conditions one enjoyed before one’s life began to fall apart common to all the inmates.
Thank you for the video! It reminds me of the "Intro into Lit" Courses I received some time ago. So far as I can remember, we spent two hours "close reading" just the first stanza. You can always enjoy how language and structure work in the sense of "Art for art's sake". We never went outside the text (to analyse for example the historical context or the poet's biography), as the underlying theory behind "close reading" suggests. I appreciate the efforts you put into making this analysis (Close reading) of Clare's "I Am". I am sure that this shall just serve as an introduction into an elaborate "close reading" of the poem.
I stumbled (perhaps not inadvertantly) across this stunning poem about Me, Too... it's as if part of his spirit is alive in me, which sounds whack-a-doodle but why else would I immediately relate, and even tear the page from the paperback book in order to carry it with me for 43 years? Every word rings true and this brilliantly spoken analysis confirmed my thoughts as to interpretation and sense of self. Selfism grew out of the age of reason, and I think John Clare had a spiritual view that the Age of Enlightenment was already-in his own time -becoming the Age of Entitlement, the self is everything and love self first and foremost. A despair to see humanity drifting intentionally away from the Spirit and into the mind of reason which denies the unseen (unscientific, unprovable) realm of spiritual forces. Clare felt my angst way before I was way before I am. Didn't you know that Moses asked the burning bush who to say was giving a message to the Hebrews in Egypt, God replied "I AM who I AM." Tell them The Great I AM sent you, is what God suggested Moses say, and Jesus referred to his person in the same sense. If you would imagine it's Jesus speaking this poem it works that way too, as the passion week is unfolding to crucifixion. Love Love Love.
Beautiful review , these men ,women poets and poetress were trail blazers , pioneers in the use of words , to describe so many attributes in this enigma we call life and existence . I personally have always valued reasoning in the human experience , these poets ,lived in such repressive times from belief in monarchs kings and queens chose by divine choice , and the ( metro mania ) was an example that these writers were beginning to teeter on questioning the status quo of the times ,while the masses were mostly compliant , his attempt at dissection of the one realm ,he could call his own (,his own being)was no doubt on the darker side ,depression already rooted deeply in him , he no doubt born in wrong time , as the great Emily Dickinson and Poe were ,they no doubt distressed over their prison of flesh and bone , gravity the jailer ,imprisoning their spirits from soaring , poets me thinks sometimes points the way in a subliminal coded message ,hoping the reader will pursue the truth for themselves , putting his melancholy aside , he ( john claire ) chose I feel to be a spiritual masochist and try to describe to what end , As Emily Dickinson defined poetry or so I read ,it is but life distilled , I agree wholeheartedly , with her ,the sadness of Claire he wanted misery ,woe , melancholy to be distilled , I pray to the gods he is in the heavens and presence of angels ,so he may smile , I am not formally educated but love poetry , your channel is manna from heaven for me , I hope you continue it , if I may ask your opinion of Emily Dickinson ,and imagine a child from her and edgar allen poe from wedlock
I don't think, therefore I most definitely am. There is a nano-second between thoughts in which they stop. It is by placing oneself into this space between the thoughts that one truly becomes, and is. All of great literature is aimed, directly, or indirectly, at getting to this place of "being" for example Blake in the 96th canto of the mystical marriage of heaven and hell: man lives in a prison of his own making, but once the doors of perception are cleansed he sees himself for what he really is, immortal and divine. Emily bronte picks this theme up in her great poem, no coward soul is mine, "for thou art breath and being, and shall never perish. The difficulty with "i am".. it is in one's immortal essence and we, for the most part, operate through our personality, which is at odds with our essence. No poet expresses this better than Rilke in his duino elegies. A cry for "being" and "I am" if ever there was one. "to transcend the natural shock that flesh is heir to" hamlet. Noel
A beautiful, thought-provoking post Noel. Being between thoughts... But perhaps that's too like sleep? If one is not _aware_ of being is that mere existence? Octavia
@@DrOctaviaCox hello, Octavia, I feel it's exactly by stopping thoughts and fully realizing that we know nothing that we do become aware of our "being"......... a state of voluntary passivity in which something completely NEW can enter: also a completely new perception to what one has read, experienced, and perceived comes into play. The divide between the natural and the supernatural disappears. And all great art and literature is indelibly indebted to the supernatural. We tend to lose ourselves with our fixed ideas and concepts of space and time. Eliot talks about this in the four quartets: "perhaps time present is contained within time past, and time future contained within time present?" And, I believe, the most profound Quote ever : socrates at his trial: "after almost seventy-five years of life the only thing I know for absolute certain is that I know nothing worth knowing" and, Kathleen raine wrote about ten years ago "never ever in the history of Western civilization has there been so many methods whereby one can communicate, but never ever in the history of Western civilization has there been so little of genuine worth to communicate to others" 😂 funny if it were a joke. Apropos sleep and waking: the connection, if there is one, is nebulous to say the least. The link between the two is one of the most common themes in world literature. From sappho to Shakespeare. One could go on, and on, and on. Email me. Noeltroy@hotmail.co.uk I'll send you some of my poetry. Youll be very glad you did. If you do. Noel
I dont see him as insane, but so spiritually and emotionally evolved into a being who can no longer identify with yhose who stagnate in their lack of introspection ,and desire to understand their humanity
It's a really great example of a certain kind of outrageous, rambling, satirical, comic eighteenth century novel. If you like Smollett, you might also like Henry Fielding ( e.g. his novel _Tom_ _Jones_ )
Do let me know your thoughts on this most beautiful (and desolate) of poems.
I like the poem but I feel the interpretation is too speculative.
I was immediately drawn to this poem when I was in my teens, that age when at times so many of us like to paint ourselves as a tragic figure - usually when something has not gone according to our desires. However, I think we can all be drawn to John Clare himself due to his intense sensitivity and vulnerability. Another case of someone giving us delight with their art but at a great cost to themselves. Thank you for this analysis.
It is ironic maybe, that a poem so lonely and desolate has deeply touched so many people, that this least confident and agonised piece continues to strike such a beautiful chord with readers of all different ages and nationalities over the years. Clare therefore seems to achieve the very thing with his great poem that he despaired of in life, making deep connections with those of us who share his uncertainty and grief, of which there always have been a far greater number, I think, than he may have supposed. What greater thing can a poem achieve than this?
Beautifully said Marc. Nothing more.
So true
I love John Clare's poems. Clock 'o' Clay is another favourite. It is very deep and meaningful to me. Thank you for thevexcellent analysis 😊
Though desperate and tragic this beautiful poem gives voice to a cry to the creator.
The poet has lost faith in himself and all about him. I suspect that the return to childhood sleep is yearned for by many. There is a presumption of safety and happier times when the child had somone to watch over him.
And here we are in 2023 where a man is about to spend outrageous money on having himself declared king.
We have the rise of the feudal system and landlord society. They call our times crisis The elites fraudulently robbing the public purse and the perpetual lies of the political class.
People cant afford to eat nourishing food .And eviction is on the rise.
I wonder how many little ones can safely sleep?
And the lunatic asylums have been replaced with actual prisons.
This poem could have been written by a millennial that is why it resonates so much.
I also note that this was the romantic poetry times.
And yet I am - not convinced that such a thing exists there is nothing romantic in desperate times.
Thank you I enjoyed your analysis.
This poem, “I Am,” subtly conveys some of the experience of being, for whatever reason, incarcerated. The first five lines describe in detail the increasing feeling of being “lost” which one is overcome by when one is first locked up: being abandoned by those whom one once turned turn to for solace or for an anchor in reality; being consumed by the inner dialogue of “How did I get here? How can I get out?”; and finally, the oblivion of being just another in a herd of people who are similarly lost in being crazy or criminal. The sixth line’s “I am” leads by enjambment from one’s internal, personal space of suffering to, in the first three lines of the next stanza, the Day Room, Community Room or TV Room. Indeed, a living sea of scorn and noise where the shipwreck of one’s own Self is separate (estranged) from, yet more peculiar than, the Others’. The third stanza describes the all-pervasive dream of returning to the conditions one enjoyed before one’s life began to fall apart common to all the inmates.
Thank you for the video! It reminds me of the "Intro into Lit" Courses I received some time ago. So far as I can remember, we spent two hours "close reading" just the first stanza. You can always enjoy how language and structure work in the sense of "Art for art's sake". We never went outside the text (to analyse for example the historical context or the poet's biography), as the underlying theory behind "close reading" suggests.
I appreciate the efforts you put into making this analysis (Close reading) of Clare's "I Am". I am sure that this shall just serve as an introduction into an elaborate "close reading" of the poem.
Great analysis which such a great poem deserves to have
Thank you. Lovely analysis. And such a powerful poem.
A full account of what it is like to be human.
I stumbled (perhaps not inadvertantly) across this stunning poem about Me, Too... it's as if part of his spirit is alive in me, which sounds whack-a-doodle but why else would I immediately relate, and even tear the page from the paperback book in order to carry it with me for 43 years? Every word rings true and this brilliantly spoken analysis confirmed my thoughts as to interpretation and sense of self. Selfism grew out of the age of reason, and I think John Clare had a spiritual view that the Age of Enlightenment was already-in his own time -becoming the Age of Entitlement, the self is everything and love self first and foremost. A despair to see humanity drifting intentionally away from the Spirit and into the mind of reason which denies the unseen (unscientific, unprovable) realm of spiritual forces. Clare felt my angst way before I was way before I am. Didn't you know that Moses asked the burning bush who to say was giving a message to the Hebrews in Egypt, God replied "I AM who I AM." Tell them The Great I AM sent you, is what God suggested Moses say, and Jesus referred to his person in the same sense. If you would imagine it's Jesus speaking this poem it works that way too, as the passion week is unfolding to crucifixion. Love Love Love.
Beautiful review , these men ,women poets and poetress were trail blazers , pioneers in the use of words , to describe so many attributes in this enigma we call life and existence . I personally have always valued reasoning in the human experience , these poets ,lived in such repressive times from belief in monarchs kings and queens chose by divine choice , and the ( metro mania ) was an example that these writers were beginning to teeter on questioning the status quo of the times ,while the masses were mostly compliant , his attempt at dissection of the one realm ,he could call his own (,his own being)was no doubt on the darker side ,depression already rooted deeply in him , he no doubt born in wrong time , as the great Emily Dickinson and Poe were ,they no doubt distressed over their prison of flesh and bone , gravity the jailer ,imprisoning their spirits from soaring , poets me thinks sometimes points the way in a subliminal coded message ,hoping the reader will pursue the truth for themselves , putting his melancholy aside , he ( john claire ) chose I feel to be a spiritual masochist and try to describe to what end , As Emily Dickinson defined poetry or so I read ,it is but life distilled , I agree wholeheartedly , with her ,the sadness of Claire he wanted misery ,woe , melancholy to be distilled , I pray to the gods he is in the heavens and presence of angels ,so he may smile , I am not formally educated but love poetry , your channel is manna from heaven for me , I hope you continue it , if I may ask your opinion of Emily Dickinson ,and imagine a child from her and edgar allen poe from wedlock
Thank you. Beautiful observations. So many Romantic period poets, I think wanted misery, woe, melancholy to be distilled.
thank you so much you helped me with my presentation on romantic poetry!
It's my pleasure. I hope your presentation on romantic poetry was a success!
Enlightening, thank you for the rich insight.
My pleasure, Marcos. Octavia
An excellent analysis. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful.
An interesting analysis thank you.
I don't think, therefore I most definitely am. There is a nano-second between thoughts in which they stop. It is by placing oneself into this space between the thoughts that one truly becomes, and is. All of great literature is aimed, directly, or indirectly, at getting to this place of "being" for example Blake in the 96th canto of the mystical marriage of heaven and hell: man lives in a prison of his own making, but once the doors of perception are cleansed he sees himself for what he really is, immortal and divine. Emily bronte picks this theme up in her great poem, no coward soul is mine, "for thou art breath and being, and shall never perish. The difficulty with "i am".. it is in one's immortal essence and we, for the most part, operate through our personality, which is at odds with our essence. No poet expresses this better than Rilke in his duino elegies. A cry for "being" and "I am" if ever there was one. "to transcend the natural shock that flesh is heir to" hamlet. Noel
A beautiful, thought-provoking post Noel.
Being between thoughts...
But perhaps that's too like sleep? If one is not _aware_ of being is that mere existence?
Octavia
This is getting far too philosophical for my shallow and limited intellect to follow
@@DrOctaviaCox hello, Octavia, I feel it's exactly by stopping thoughts and fully realizing that we know nothing that we do become aware of our "being"......... a state of voluntary passivity in which something completely NEW can enter: also a completely new perception to what one has read, experienced, and perceived comes into play. The divide between the natural and the supernatural disappears. And all great art and literature is indelibly indebted to the supernatural. We tend to lose ourselves with our fixed ideas and concepts of space and time. Eliot talks about this in the four quartets: "perhaps time present is contained within time past, and time future contained within time present?" And, I believe, the most profound Quote ever : socrates at his trial: "after almost seventy-five years of life the only thing I know for absolute certain is that I know nothing worth knowing" and, Kathleen raine wrote about ten years ago "never ever in the history of Western civilization has there been so many methods whereby one can communicate, but never ever in the history of Western civilization has there been so little of genuine worth to communicate to others" 😂 funny if it were a joke. Apropos sleep and waking: the connection, if there is one, is nebulous to say the least. The link between the two is one of the most common themes in world literature. From sappho to Shakespeare. One could go on, and on, and on. Email me. Noeltroy@hotmail.co.uk I'll send you some of my poetry. Youll be very glad you did. If you do. Noel
Ps, "to live is the rarest thing of all, most just exist" Oscar wilde
Ha! Darren, I'm sure not.
Thanks!
Thank you for your explanation.✨✨🌹🌹👍
Have you watched this poem recited in the show Penny Dreadful? It's beautiful, truly.
Sad he was fated with mental illness and confinement. But what a beautiful poem!
I dont see him as insane, but so spiritually and emotionally evolved
into a being who can no longer identify with yhose who stagnate
in their lack of introspection ,and desire to understand their humanity
Are you a fan of Tobias Smollett?
I certainly think _Humphry_ _Clinker_ (Smollett's novel of 1771) is very funny.
@@DrOctaviaCox im currently reading this book and i agree it is very funny, I think Win is my favourite character
It's a really great example of a certain kind of outrageous, rambling, satirical, comic eighteenth century novel. If you like Smollett, you might also like Henry Fielding ( e.g. his novel _Tom_ _Jones_ )