“The Yellowhammer’s Nest” is one of the best-known poems by the English Romantic poet John Clare. It was written in the mid-1820s and published in Clare’s final collection, The Rural Muse (1835), as part of a series of poems about bird’s nests. Unlike many of the Romantic poets, who saw the outdoors as a retreat from the stress and posturing of the city, Clare was a native of the countryside, born to a family of poor farmers. His poetry pays careful attention to the natural world, and displays a deep knowledge of its creatures and ecosystems.
In “The Yellowhammer’s Nest,” the speaker encourages the audience to come down by a small stream and visit the nest of the yellowhammer, a type of brilliant yellow songbird. He first emphasizes the messiness of the nest, which is partially made up of the scraps of human society: dried grain left behind after the harvest, hairs shed by horses. Then he turns to the eggs themselves, and begins to see the bird as a poet, inhabiting a pastoral paradise. Yet the poem ends on a sadder note, as the speaker remembers that even in the seemingly idyllic stream-side world, predators can bring disease and death.
The bittersweet mood of “The Yellowhammer’s Nest” is typical of Clare’s poetry. Clare’s own life was a difficult one. His career faltered, with his first collection reaching huge popularity, and his later collections never achieving the same success. He also struggled with mental illness; in 1837, he was admitted to an asylum, where he would spend the rest of his life. Although he continued writing until his death in 1864, he never published another book after The Rural Muse in 1835. Today, many critics see his “mid-period” work, including “The Yellowhammer’s Nest,” as the height of his poetic achievement. This work is characterized not only by extraordinary attention to detail and an unusually empathetic attitude towards small creatures, but also by the experimental use of language and a resonant sense of melancholy.
