The Portrayal of Escapism in John Clare’s Poetry

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to shed light on how Clare portrayed his tendency toward escapism in his poetry. Clare’s works are known for the reiteration of themes of nature, alienation, and nostalgia. The use of nature, conjuring up childhood memories, and seeking death were the means by which he managed to achieve this purpose. By using the psychoanalytic approach, this paper explores the latent meanings beyond the manifest language, and provides possible motives and drives behind each of these choices by which he strived to fulfill this tendency.