Clare uses a very interesting form in this poem. He uses caesure and enjambment to slow down the rhythm of the piece, this makes the reader feel similar to the speaker who is observing the nightingale in the poem.
One of the most striking things about this poem is that Clare's language is much more tangible than the language of Shelley or Byron but his poetry still describes the beauty of nature. Some of the imagery is truly beautiful and intricate. Clare's use of a less formal voice allows the reader to feel closer to the content in the poetry. The nature described in his poetry is more accessible and therefore more real for the reader.
I have often been reading the poetry in this class and asking if the writer was writing for money, fame, or to write. I found that Clare lived as a peasant and this may be why he was able to write in such an accessible, "common-man" type of way. After learning this, I considered the idea that Clare may have wrote this poem about a nightingale knowing that it would sell since birds were a popular poetry topic.
Another thing that I found interesting about this poem--that I think also adds to its realness--is the lack of stanza breaks. Where the other romantic poems about birds are oftentimes pretty obviously artful, this poem seems to me more like a spew of observations.
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