John Clare – the celebrity bard, the ‘peasant

poet’;’drunkard’; ‘madman’; as famous

in his time as Keats – acquired many loyal

and enthusiastic patrons, among them

Bishop Marsh of Peterborough and his wife.

He sometimes stayed in the medieval palace.

On one occasion, Mrs Marsh took Clare

to see a performance by a touring

theatre company, whose repertoire

comprised French melodramas and Shakespeare’s plays.

The production that night was THE MERCHANT

OF VENICE. Clare sat through the first three acts –

in the box reserved for the Lord Bishop’s wife –

totally engrossed in the words and the actions,

oblivious of Mrs Marsh’s asking him

if he were enjoying the play. At the start

of the fourth act – set in a Venetian court –

he became agitated, and, at the point

where Shylock does not give the ‘gentle answer’

hoped for, Clare stood, shouting, “You villain,

you murderous villain!” – and leaped from the box

onto the stage. A couple of the more burly

actors prevented his reaching Shylock,

and strong armed him, with difficulty,

back into the box. As Mrs Marsh

tried to soothe the distracted poet,

the play was abandoned.