The marginalisation of John Clare, despite renewed interest in Romanticism and the literature of madness, is still an enigma. Perhaps more than any other poet of the period, Clare has never found the contexts in which his poetry can be read. This important collection of new critical essays locates Clare's work from diverse points of view, identifying the obstacles to his reception as a major poet. It includes chapters on landscape and botany, Clare's politics, his madness, Clare and the critics, and a remarkable essay by Seamus Heaney on Clare's importance as a poetic precursor. This volume will be a landmark in the history of his reception, revealing the ways in which an appreciation of this unique poet revises the canon of Romantic and Victorian literature.