To The Rural Muse and Other Poems
John Clare
Play
Length 1 h 13 min
Chapters 25
First published 1835
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)
Chapters
1
To the Rural Muse Read by Alan Mapstone 14:28
2
On May Morning Read by Alan Mapstone 7:34
3
Thoughts in a Churchyard Read by Alan Mapstone 2:56
4
Sonnet - To Napoleon Read by Alan Mapstone 1:32
5
On an Infant Killed by Lightning Read by Alan Mapstone 1:44
6
The Shepherd's Song Read by Alan Mapstone 2:17
7
The Evening Star Read by Alan Mapstone 3:10
8
Insects Read by Alan Mapstone 2:15
9
The Skylark Read by Alan Mapstone 2:35
10
Genius Read by Alan Mapstone 5:33
11
The Milking Hour Read by Alan Mapstone 2:18
12
The Pasture Read by Alan Mapstone 2:57
13
SONNETS: Rural Scenes Read by Alan Mapstone 1:31
14
Lord Byron Read by Alan Mapstone 1:29
15
Crowland Abbey Read by Alan Mapstone 1:33
16
November Read by Alan Mapstone 1:34
17
The Milking Shed Read by Alan Mapstone 1:33
18
To Charles Lamb Read by Alan Mapstone 1:34
19
Boston Church Read by Alan Mapstone 1:31
20
Izaac Walton Read by Alan Mapstone 1:29
21
The Hail-storm in June 1831 Read by Alan Mapstone 1:33
22
The Flood Read by Alan Mapstone 1:31
23
Shepherd's Hut Read by Alan Mapstone 1:34
24
A Woodland Seat Read by Alan Mapstone 1:28
25
On Leaving the Cottage of my Birth Read by Alan Mapstone 5:04
From LibriVox, read by volunteers and in the public domain. LibriVox page (opens librivox.org) , the text (opens archive.org) , all files on the Internet Archive (opens archive.org) .
