Includes bibliographical references (pages 225-244) and index
Clare's disorganized religion : a context for belief. 'still I reverence the church' : Clare and the established faith ; 'I have joind the Ranters' : alternative denominations and groups ; 'he sets his face against all mention of fairies' : 'alternative beliefs' and evangelical zeal ; 'Learning is your only wealth' : reading and reasoning ; 'faiths 'lumind scroll' : Clare and the Scriptures -- Clare's subjective faith. 'There is a language wrote on earth & sky/by Gods own pen' : the sublime experience of God ; 'long evanish'd scene' : Eden and eternity as patterns for faith ; 'There is a cruelty in all' : challenges to faith ; 'a power that governs with justice' : the tenets of Clare's faith -- Conclusion : 'Child Harold.'
Addressing a neglected aspect of John Clare's history, Sarah Houghton-Walker engages with Clare's poetry within the context of his faith and the religious milieu in which he lived. Her book engages not only with the facts of Clare's more traditional religious habits but also with the ways in which he was literally inspired and how that inspiration is connected to his vision of the natural, to his intimations of divinity, and thus to his poetry
