The poem ‘first love’ is written by John Clare. The thoughts here come across as more idealized rather than believable. Clare starts of the poem by saying ‘I newer was struck before that hour’ the hyperbole used here conveys an overpowering sense of shock as he has never before felt love so strongly. The word ‘struck’ can imply to cupid hitting him with an arrow and as a result Clare is now love struck. The poet then tells us how ‘Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower And stole my heart away complete. Clare remarks at how this motion is unexpected yet wonderful and his loves face reminds him of the radiance of a blooming ‘flowers’. The poet tells us when he sees her instantly his heart leaves him and belongs to her on a complete level. In my opinion Claret’s emotions toward this ‘women’ are superficial and clinch© as he just attracted to her because of her physical beauty. The poet then says, ‘My face turned pale as deadly pale’ the emotions overwhelming Clare are so intense that his face is drained out of color and he feels as though he is paralyzed nice his ‘legs refuse to walk’.
Clare then continues to tell us one single look from his love makes his life and all seemed turned to clay’ here we see life for Clare is so captivated by the women’s beauty that life becomes meaningless when she looks at him. Clare then continues to say, ‘my blood rushed to my face and took my eyesight quite away: the poet exaggerates his emotions and tells us how most of his senses stop functioning normally the moment first love strikes him.
The earlier ‘pale’ face is now flushed with blood and his eyes ail him as they refuse to focus on anything but her. The poet then says ‘the trees and bushes round the place Seemed midnight at noonday’ here we see that Clare is so distracted by this women’s beauty that the color of life becomes nonexistent and he cannot tell the difference between night and day. The poet then continues to say ‘I could not see a single thing,’ this line suggests that when Claret’s sees this woman the world around him becomes dark and meaningless.
Words from my eyes did start They spoke as chords o from the string, This suggests how he is dumbstruck and his jaw won’t let his mouth speak for himself, but his eyes are trying to. Reality finally hits Clare and his somewhat unrealistic perceptions grow mature in the concluding stanza. With the help of paradoxes Clare highlights the vast differences between the reality and his idealistic expectations as he says ‘Are flowers the winter’s choice? ‘ here we see Clare expected flowers but the only available choice was a cold wintry season.
Clare then asks another question Is love’s bed always snow? ‘ again we see the poet dreamt of the warmth of a ‘lovers bed’ but was granted unfeeling snow. The fact that Clare says ‘She seemed to hear my silent voice,’ shows that the poet and the women were communicating telepathically she could hear Clarke even when he had lost his speech and was speaking through his eyes. The poet then says ‘not love appeals to know over here Clarke says if love is there it is not significant to ask why.
Although Claret’s relationship with that women never turned into laity he still acknowledges that in his mind his love’s faces still appears ‘sweet’. The poet concludes with a realistic reconciliation to reality as he says ‘my heart has left its dwelling-place and can return no more ‘It also conveys the poet’s inability to recover from such an emotion. A sense of dissertation and loneliness is illustrated here as he realizes the women will never share the same feeling he has for her.
