John Clare: Difference between revisions

Clare became an agricultural labourer while still a child, but attended school in [[Glinton, Cambridgeshire|Glinton]] church until he was 12. In his early adult years, Clare became a [[wikt:potboy|potboy]] in The Blue Bell public house and fell in love with Mary Joyce, but her father, a prosperous farmer, forbade them to meet. Later, Clare was a gardener at [[Burghley House]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/besom-ling-and-teasel-burrs-john-clare-and-botanising |title='Besom ling and teasel burrs': John Clare and botanising |date=20 September 2014 |work=University of Cambridge |access-date=22 July 2018 |language=en}}</ref> He enlisted in the [[Militia (United Kingdom)|militia]], tried camp life with [[Gypsies]], and worked in [[Pickworth, Rutland]], as a [[Lime kiln#Early kilns|lime burner]] in 1817. In the following year, he was obliged to accept [[Poor relief|parish relief]].<ref>Louis Untermeyer, in ''A Treasury of Great Poems, English and American, from the Foundations of the English Spirit to the Outstanding Poetry of our Own Time with Lives of the Poets and Historical Settings Selected and Integrated'', Simon and Schuster, 1942, p. 709.</ref> Malnutrition stemming from childhood may have been the main factor behind his five-foot{{convert|5|ft|spell=in|adj=on}} stature and contributed to his poor physical health in later life.