Abstract: Readers since John Clare’s time have paid more attention to his social identity as a farmer than to his poetry itself. Refusing to follow the mainstream of Clare scholarship which focuses on the political and cultural dimension of the poet’s life and work, some critics in recent years attempt to take an ecocritical approach to his poetry and regard Clare as an anti-traditional eco-poet ahead of his time. The present paper proposes by taking The Shepherd’s Calendar as an example that, John Clare is deeply influenced by English pastoral tradition, and all his poetic innovations actually work within the frame of that tradition. By using the traditional pastoral subjects and forms, the poet shows his regret about the loss of an old way of living and working that fits in with the local environment due to the Enclosure, and expresses his desire for a socially and ecologically harmonious world.

Key words: John Clare, pastoral tradition, the Enclosure, local tradition, ecological significance