The "Community" of John Clare's Helpston

This article explores John Clare's sense of "community" with respect to the village environment in which he lived in Helpston. Through comparison with William Wordsworth, it examines the extraordinary cohesion of the community that Clare often represents in his verse, distinguishing the ways in which knowledge of the ideal is transmitted through rituals, including festivities and storytelling, and considering the peculiarities of Clare's memory. The article concludes by discussing the relevance of the "ideal" model and by noting Clare's representation of its decline.