Skip to content
Linespedia

The Face I Love So Dearly

By John Clare

Topics: classic

Sweet is the violet, th' scented pea,      Haunted by red-legged, sable bee,      But sweeter far than all to me      Is she I love so dearly;      Than perfumed pea and sable bee,      The face I love so dearly.      Sweeter than hedgerow violets blue,      Than apple blossoms' streaky hue,      Or black-eyed bean-flower blebbed with dew      Is she I love so dearly;      Than apple flowers or violets blue      Is she I love so dearly.      Than woodbine upon branches thin,      The clover flower, all sweets within,      Which pensive bees do gather in,      Three times as sweet, or nearly,      Is the cheek, the eye, the lip, the chin      Of her I love so dearly.

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"Sweet is the violet, th' scented pea,..."

Exploring the themes of classic, John Clare delivers a powerful performance in "The Face I Love So Dearly"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:John Clare

"Sweet is the violet, th' scented pea,..." by John Clare

For usage rights, copyright concerns, or to report an issue with this content, please visit our Copyright & Report page.

Classified Tags

Related lines

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"How oft on Sundays, when I'd time to tramp,     My rambles led me to a gipsy's camp,     Where the real effigy of midnight hags,     With tawny"

"The setting Sun withdraws his yellow light,     A gloomy staining shadows over all,     While the brown beetle, trumpeter of Night,     Proclai"

"Where the broad sheepwalk bare and brown     [Yields] scant grass pining after showers,     And winds go fanning up and down     The little str"

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

John Clare

About John Clare

John Clare (1793–1864) was an English poet known as the "peasant poet" for his humble origins. His nature poetry—including "I Am" and "Badger"—captures the English countryside with extraordinary precision and emotional honesty, and he is now recognized as one of the finest nature poets in the language.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     E..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.