In John Clare’s poetry, there was an odd theme that stood
out to me – his ability to keep me focused on the poem, no matter the subject, and
his unusual rhyme scheme made it all seem as a sort of children’s narrative
rather than something produced by a poet of the Romantic Period.
In a few of
these poems, we found nothing but heroic couplets throughout the stanzas,
giving off a sing-song sort of vibe that closely resembles that of a children’s
book or of a nursery rhyme. I found this odd, for sure, and I often had to
double back to read over a few lines because I had been paying more attention
to Clare’s form than his content.
However, while
it may sound like Dr. Seuss, the subject matter certainly did not mirror the
children’s author’s usual themes, especially in “The Badger.” I went into the
poem expecting another happy-sounding sort of thing, but ended up in quite a
different place. Beginning in the second stanza, Clare’s writing took a turn
for the worse when he began to graphically detail the acts taken in order to
end a hunt properly. Not only was I shocked, though, I was also a bit
mystified. Clare may have gone somewhere unexpected for me, but he certainly
still held my attention and kept me in a constant state of suspense, wondering
what would happen next and how it would all turn out.
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