Poetry: "I Am!" by John Clare read by Tom Hiddleston (12/02)

"The following is by English poet, John Clare, son of a farm labourer, he was often inspired by the natural world, but this, his most famous work, is a poem that deals with self awareness, loneliness, a longing for both the cradle and the grave, amid his struggle with mental health which led to his admittance to an asylum."
"I Am!" by John Clare
I am-yet what I am none cares or knows;
My friends forsake me like a memory lost:
I am the self-consumer of my woes-
They rise and vanish in oblivious host,
Like shadows in love’s frenzied stifled throes
And yet I am, and live-like vapours tossed
Into the nothingness of scorn and noise,
Into the living sea of waking dreams,
Where there is neither sense of life or joys,
But the vast shipwreck of my life’s esteems;
Even the dearest that I loved the best
Are strange-nay, rather, stranger than the rest.
I long for scenes where man hath never trod
A place where woman never smiled or wept
There to abide with my Creator, God,
And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept,
Untroubling and untroubled where I lie
The grass below-above the vaulted sky.
Source: Ximalaya FM
DISCLAIMER: This is a non-monetized channel. No copyright infringement intended. I created/edited this video for entertainment and educational purpose only. I do not own nor claim to own anything in this video. The videos/audios/photos are property of their rightful owners. All credit goes to the owners of all the materials used in this video. #poetry #poem #actorsreadingpoetry

[@Debbie338]

He makes me understand poems I didn’t previously understand, just by the way he reads them.

[@varunsingh5955]

If you live english poem just visit #englishpoetryworld

[@sadcracker]

I kind of disliked it.

[@wildpoetryproject]

the sign of a brilliant poetry reading

I agree. I knew "I am" before, same as "Wild Geese", but it never really "klicked" for me, you know? Then, just a while ago, I heard recordings of him reading both poems - and I understood. Like a door I always walked by, that suddenly opened up.

[@Debbie338]

@ That’s a lovely way to put it.

[@michaelosuna1784]

All sad people love poetry

[@captnrobvious47]

Happy people like songs.

[@cafepoem189]

In this poem, the speaker (most likely the poet himself) talks about his depression and loneliness and looks for the next life where he could find peace alongside God in Heaven.

[@trevorbailey1486]

Thank you for explaining the poem to all those of us who struggle with English as a first language.

[@jariheimoluoto4959]

My favourite poem of all time. Gives words to how i feel

[@darrenormsby3034]

the greatest recital of this poem is by Rory Kinnear in the tv series Penny Dreadful. Nothing comes close to his performance

[@lopamudraray4571]

I wish I had a teacher who would read like him. More than his acting, i love his orations

[@wildpoetryproject]

totally agree, he reads it so wonderfully

[@tempestadivento]

Lovely voice! Thanks for making this poem even more beautiful!

[@wildpoetryproject]

he really does

[@cafepoem189]

[@carolinaplaceres865]

Thanks, really nice to hear.

[@PietroGaetanoDogoArgentino]

Top, very beautiful

[@dwanderful1]

Gorgeous thank you

[@eggyboi5762]

Dude im making a playlist. I can study to this shit. His voice is one of the best things I've ever heard

[@billwoosley7646]

Listen to Rory Kinnear recite this from Penny Dreadful.

[@p-isforpoetry]

Yes, his version with Eva is also beautiful.
Penny Dreadful (first seasons IMHO) was something special and Rory's storyline was one of my favourites from the very beginning.

[@lindamassie7784]

Why compare

[@carodelo]

@@lindamassie7784 not comparing, adding to the joy and beauty

[@frankmateus7611]

Beautiful!!

[@maryreid2572]

Well read.

[@519djw6]

*Do you know if John Clare met John Keats when he went to London? It seems that they would have been the two poets who had the most in common: Clare, "the Farmer Poet," and Keats, the "Cockney Poet"--both of them looked at as "oddities."*

[@chelvyvethanayagamK]

Some psychopath label others as having depression and mental health when actually they have that.

[@francesmaurer185]

💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

[@arunikapritimishra632]

Once you've heard Rory Kinnear recite this poem (or any poem for that matter), you just want him to recite it & non-other.

[@pippa1515]

THE ACCURACY

[@calebjtachenko]

I did this poem for Poetry out Loud and got 3rd place haha

[@calebjtachenko]

@Chuck for Emmy I'm sure I could find the video of my performance at state, I didn't win that or even get third but I still did this poem

[@ivankaramazov707]

0:45

[@fierypickles4450]

Beautiful. What is that song in the background?

[@josephdaniel7013]

What’s the name of the song playing in background is it beautiful

[@in.other.words_]

❤️😭

[@julianholman7379]

He had difficulty affording paper to write on

[@pumkxns7707]

anyone knows what the title of the track in the bg is

[@esmewoahh]

Anybody here for online homewok?

[@p-isforpoetry]

Hello, it seems so - check out the comments at Hamlet: th-cam.com/video/JOZGpqDT5VM/w-d-xo.html

[@irenaresman5138]

I am not. So I am no troubled. Almost not.

[@varunsingh5955]

#englishpoetryworld

[@coronavirus3688]

Song title?

[@mdikcvjnsdjivjfsdujvhsi]

is this a question

[@advocacies]

Avengers: Endgame

[@user-lg1tz1qh7c]

ฉันอยากให้นักเขียนไทยแปลโคลงนี้ให้ฟังจังเลย.

[@gregmoore167]

Nice, but was read wrong...this poem needs to be read by a true depressive!

[@PeteBMan]

Mmm 😬 kind of missed the rhythm and tambre