'The resurrection of Child Harold' : a transcription of Nor, MS6. and a reconsideration of John Clare's Child Harold and related writings.

摘要

There is, to date, no facsimile edition of John Clare's 1841 Folio manuscript,udNor, MS6 or the earlier octavo notebook known as Nor, MS8. My intention in thisudthesis is to redress this situation by firstly presenting a transcription of the entireudcontents of Nor, MS6, while secondly incorporating an account of Nor, MS8 and itsudcompositional relationship with Nor, MS6. As a direct result of this transcription I haveudoffered a full account of the layout and sequential order of Nor, MS6, which I go on toudargue requires critical commentators to reconsider not only Clare's long poem ChildudHarold but the entire contents of this manuscript. My thesis challenges a number ofudassumptions made about the construction and sequential order of the stanzas whichudmake up Child Harold that have arisen as a result of previous editorial decisions.udChapter One serves to contextualise the manuscript's contents within the frameworkudof Clare's confinement at High Beech asylum in Essex, most particularly the impact ofudconfinement on the growth and development of Clare's two long poems of 1841, DonudJuan and Child Harold.udChapter Two. This Chapter raises some issues about the responsibility an editor owesudto a Folio manuscript such as Nor, MS6. I ask a rhetorical question; 'How to edit Nor,udMS6?' and explore some of the problems which face the editor ofC1are's later work inudthe absence of any clear authorial intention. I also offer a Textual and Critical Historyudof the poetry of 1841, which inevitably and not always justifiably, has been centred on Child Harold and Don Juan. During the course of this history I trace the slow butuddiscernible development of interest in Clare's asylwn poetry written during his firstudconfinement as it moves from a biographical preoccupation with Clare's insanity to audmore coherent appreciation of its significance.udChapter Three. This Chapter describes the physical and stylistic characteristics of Nor,udMS6. I offer a detailed account of the makeup of this manuscript at the same timeudoutlining the differences between Nor, MS6 and Clare's earlier manuscript Nor, MS8.udDuring the course of this discussion I describe the importance of a nwnber of stanzasudwritten at home in Northborough after Clare's escape from High Beech and suggestudthe impact of freedom on Clare's creative output. I also explore the function andudsignificance of the Songs and Ballads in the construction of the Child Harold stanzasudand the remaining material of Nor, MS6.udChapter Four. This Chapter contains notes to the text of the entire contents of Nor,udMS6. I explain the editorial principles behind the transcription and offer a detaileduddescription of Nor, MS6.udChapter Five. A transcription of the entire contents of Nor, MS6. The transcription isudaccompanied by endnotes and a photographic reproduction of the pages of the originaludmanuscript held at Northampton.udChapter Six. 'A Reading of Child Harold'. This Chapter offers a reading of ChildudHarold in the context of the remaining material in Nor, MS6. I suggest that there isudevidence of an autobiographical presence in all the writings in Nor, MS6 which reconstructs or reworks a central autobiographical account of loss, confinement andudescape. I go on to argue that although there appear to be three different narratorialudpersonae within the manuscript they are in fact bound together by one dominantudspeaker. Clare's obsessive reconstruction of one central account, his relentless quest toudfind permanence, home, loved woman and a particular truth implicit to theseudassociations would appear to shape and control the contents ofhis notebook.udConclusion. I briefly consider two opposing contemporary views on the editing ofudClare's poetry and consider the implication these different approaches hold for theudcontents of Nor, MS6 in particular. I conclude by examining the impact presentudcopyright may have upon new readings of Clare's work and upon proposed editions ofudhis poetry.