Chatterton (pièce De Théâtre)
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Thomas Chatterton (20 November 1752 – 24 August 1770) was an English poet whose precocious talents ended in suicide at age 17. He was an influence on Romantic artists of the period such as Shelley,
Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tub ...
,
Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ...
and
Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...
. Although fatherless and raised in poverty, Chatterton was an exceptionally studious child, publishing mature work by the age of 11. He was able to pass off his work as that of an imaginary 15th-century poet called Thomas Rowley, chiefly because few people at the time were familiar with medieval poetry, though he was denounced by
Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London ...
. At 17, he sought outlets for his political writings in London, having impressed the Lord Mayor, William Beckford, and the radical leader
John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...
, but his earnings were not enough to keep him, and he poisoned himself in despair. His unusual life and death attracted much interest among the romantic poets, and
Alfred de Vigny Alfred Victor, Comte de Vigny (; 27 March 1797 – 17 September 1863) was a French poet and early French Romanticism, Romanticist. He also produced novels, plays, and translations of Shakespeare. Biography Vigny was born in Loches (a town to wh ...
wrote a play about him that is still performed today. The oil painting ''
The Death of Chatterton ''The Death of Chatterton'' is an oil painting on canvas, by the English Pre-Raphaelite painter Henry Wallis (1830–1916), now in Tate Britain, London. Two smaller versions, sketches or replicas, are possessed by the Birmingham Museum and Ar ...
'' by Pre-Raphaelite artist
Henry Wallis Henry Wallis (21 February 1830 – 20 December 1916) was a British Pre-Raphaelite painter, writer and collector. Wallis was born in London on 21 February 1830; his father's name and occupation are unknown. When in 1845 his mother, Mary Ann ...
has enjoyed lasting fame.


Childhood

Chatterton was born in
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
where the office of sexton of
St Mary Redcliffe The Church of St Mary the Virgin, widely known as St Mary Redcliffe, is the main Church of England parish church for the Redcliffe district of the city of Bristol, England. The first reference to a church on the site appears in 1158, with the pr ...
had long been held by the Chatterton family. The poet's father, also named Thomas Chatterton, was a musician, a poet, a
numismatist A numismatist is a specialist, researcher, and/or well-informed collector of numismatics, numismatics/coins ("of coins"; from Late Latin , genitive of ). Numismatists can include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholar-researchers who use coi ...
, and a dabbler in the
occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...
. He had been a sub-chanter at
Bristol Cathedral Bristol Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bristol. The cathedral was originally an abbey dedicated to St ...
and master of the Pyle Street free school, near Redcliffe church. After Chatterton's birth (15 weeks after his father's death on 7 August 1752),
Wikisource Wikisource is an online wiki-based digital library of free-content source text, textual sources operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole; it is also the name for each instance of that project, one f ...
. Retrieved 14 March 2014
his mother established a girls' school and took in sewing and ornamental needlework. Chatterton was admitted to
Edward Colston Edward Colston (2 November 1636 – 11 October 1721) was an English merchant, Atlantic slave trade, slave trader, philanthropy, philanthropist and Tories (British political party), Tory Member of Parliament. Colston followed his father in th ...
's Charity, a Bristol
charity school Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...
, in which the curriculum was limited to reading, writing, arithmetic and the
catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...
. Chatterton, however, was always fascinated with his uncle the sexton and the church of St Mary Redcliffe. The knights, ecclesiastics and civic dignitaries on its
altar tomb A church monument is an architectural or sculptural memorial to a deceased person or persons, located within a Christian church. It can take various forms ranging from a simple commemorative plaque or mural tablet affixed to a wall, to a lar ...
s became familiar to him. Then he found a fresh interest in oaken chests in the
muniment A muniment or muniment of title is a legal term for a document, title deed or other evidence, that indicates ownership of an asset. The word is derived from the Latin noun ''munimentum'', meaning a "fortification, bulwark, defence or protection". ...
room over the porch on the north side of the
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
, where parchment deeds, old as the
Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...
, lay forgotten. Chatterton learned his first letters from the illuminated capitals of an old musical folio, and he learned to read out of a black-letter Bible. His sister said he did not like reading out of small books. Wayward from his earliest years, and uninterested in the games of other children, he was thought to be educationally backward. His sister related that on being asked what device he would like painted on a bowl that was to be his, he replied, "Paint me an angel, with wings, and a trumpet, to trumpet my name over the world." From his earliest years, he was liable to fits of abstraction, sitting for hours in what seemed like a trance, or crying for no reason. His lonely circumstances helped foster his natural reserve, and to create the love of mystery which exercised such an influence on the development of his poetry. When Chatterton was age 6, his mother began to recognise his capacity; at age 8, he was so eager for books that he would read and write all day long if undisturbed; by the age of 11, he had become a contributor to Felix Farley's ''Bristol Journal''. His
confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...
inspired him to write some religious poems published in that paper. In 1763, a cross which had adorned the churchyard of St Mary Redcliffe for upwards of three centuries was destroyed by a churchwarden. The spirit of veneration was strong in Chatterton, and he sent to the local journal on 7 January 1764 a satire on the parish vandal. He also liked to lock himself in a little attic which he had appropriated as his study; and there, with books, cherished parchments, loot purloined from the muniment room of St Mary Redcliffe, and drawing materials, the child lived in thought with his 15th-century heroes and heroines.


First "medieval" works

The first of his literary mysteries was the
dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American and British English spelling differences, American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literature, literary and theatrical form that depicts suc ...
of "Elinoure and Juga," which he showed to Thomas Phillips, the usher at Colston's Hospital (where he was a pupil), pretending it was the work of a 15th-century poet. Chatterton remained a boarder at Colston's Hospital for more than six years, and it was only his uncle who encouraged the pupils to write. Three of Chatterton's companions are named as youths whom Phillips's taste for poetry stimulated to rivalry; but Chatterton told no one about his own more daring literary adventures. His little pocket-money was spent on borrowing books from a
circulating library A circulating library (also known as lending libraries and rental libraries) lent books to subscribers, and was first and foremost a business venture. The intention was to profit from lending books to the public for a fee. Overview Circulating li ...
; and he ingratiated himself with book collectors, in order to obtain access to
John Weever John Weever (1576–1632) was an English antiquary and poet. He is best known for his ''Epigrammes in the Oldest Cut, and Newest Fashion'' (1599), containing epigrams on Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and other poets of his day, and for his ''Ancient ...
,
William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Colesh ...
and Arthur Collins, as well as to Thomas Speght's edition of
Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He ...
,
Spenser Spenser is an alternative spelling of the British surname Spencer. It may refer to: Geographical places with the name Spenser: * Spenser Mountains, a range in the northern part of South Island, New Zealand People with the surname Spenser: * Dav ...
and other books. At some point he came across Elizabeth Cooper's anthology of verse, which is said to have been a major source for his inventions. Chatterton's " Rowleian" jargon appears to have been chiefly the result of the study of
John Kersey John Kersey the younger ( fl. 1720) was an English philologist and lexicographer of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. He is notable for editing three dictionaries in his lifetime: '' A New English Dictionary'' (1702), a revise ...
's ''
Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum The ''Dictionarium Anglo-Britannicum'' is a dictionary compiled by philologist John Kersey, which was first published in London in 1708. It was the third dictionary he had edited, after his 1702 '' A New English Dictionary'' and his 1706 revisi ...
'', and it seems his knowledge even of
Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He ...
was very slight. His holidays were mostly spent at his mother's house, and much of them in the favourite retreat of his attic study there. He lived for the most part in an ideal world of his own, in the reign of
Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
, during the mid-15th century, when the great Bristol merchant William II Canynges (died 1474), five times mayor of Bristol, patron and rebuilder of St Mary Redcliffe "still ruled in Bristol's civic chair." Canynges was familiar to him from his recumbent effigy in Redcliffe church, and is represented by Chatterton as an enlightened patron of art and literature.


Adopts persona of Thomas Rowley

Chatterton soon conceived the romance of Thomas Rowley, an imaginary monk of the 15th century, and adopted for himself the pseudonym Thomas Rowley for poetry and history.
Psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk th ...
Louise J. Kaplan suggested that Chatterton being fatherless played a great role in his imposturous creation of Rowley. The development of his masculine identity was held back by the fact that he was raised by two women: his mother Sarah and his sister Mary. Therefore, "to reconstitute the lost father in fantasy," he unconsciously created "two interweaving family romances antasies each with its own scenario." The first of these was the romance of Rowley for whom he created a fatherlike, wealthy patron, William Canynge, while the second was as Kaplan named it his romance of "
Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale with ancient origins. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition :File:Round about our Coal Fire, or, Christmas Entertainments, 4th edn, 1734.pdf, On C ...
." He imagined he would become a famous poet who by his talents would be able to rescue his mother from poverty. At the same time, there was a real poet named Thomas Rowley in
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
, although it is unlikely that Chatterton was aware of the existence of the American poet.


Chatterton's search for a patron

To bring his hopes to life, Chatterton started to look for a patron. At first, he was trying to do so in Bristol where he became acquainted with William Barrett, George Catcott and Henry Burgum. He assisted them by providing Rowley transcripts for their work. The antiquary William Barrett relied exclusively on these fake transcripts when writing his '' History and Antiquities of Bristol'' (1789) which became an enormous failure. But since his Bristol patrons were not willing to pay him enough, he turned to the wealthier
Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London ...
. In 1769, Chatterton sent "The Ryse of Peyncteynge yn Englade" to Walpole, along with specimens of pseudo-medieval poetry he attributed to Rowley and others. Walpole professed himself "singularly obliged," calling the letter "valuable and full of information" and the poems "wonderful for their harmony and spirit," and offering to print them "if they have never been printed." Later, however, after Chatterton confessed his age and situation, Walpole consulted his friends
Thomas Gray Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, and classics, classical scholar at Cambridge University, being a fellow first of Peterhouse then of Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College. He is widely ...
and
William Mason William, Willie, or Willy Mason may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Mason (poet) (1724–1797), English poet, editor and gardener *William Mason (architect) (1810–1897), New Zealand architect *William Mason (composer) (1829–1908), Ame ...
about the veracity of the writings, and Gray "at once pronounced them forgeries." Walpole's pride was injured at having been duped by Chatterton, and he scornfully cut off correspondence with the poet. Many later commentators have reproached Walpole for this, especially in light of Walpole's having passed off his own
Gothic novel Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean ...
''
The Castle of Otranto ''The Castle of Otranto'' is a novel by Horace Walpole. First published in 1764, it is generally regarded as the first Gothic novel. In the second edition, Walpole applied the word 'Gothic' to the novel in the subtitle – ''A Gothic Story''. Se ...
'' as a translation from a medieval Italian manuscript. Walpole's comment that Chatterton's "ingenuity in counterfeiting styles, and, I believe, hands, might easily have led him to those more facile imitations of prose, promissory notes" led
Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...
to remark: "Oh! ye who honor the name of ''man'', rejoice that Walpole is called ''a lord.''" Some writers have speculated that, had Walpole reacted differently, "a slight effort, at this time, ... might have saved from destruction Thomas Chatterton."


Political writings

Badly hurt by Walpole's snub, Chatterton wrote very little for a summer. Then, after the end of the summer, he turned his attention to periodical literature and politics, and exchanged Farley's ''Bristol Journal'' for the ''Town and Country Magazine'' and other London periodicals. Imitating the style of the pseudonymous letter writer Junius (writer), Junius, then in the full blaze of his triumph, he turned his pen against the Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, Duke of Grafton, the John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, Earl of Bute and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (the then Princess of Wales).


Leaving Bristol

He had just dispatched one of his political diatribes to the ''Middlesex Journal'' when he sat down on Easter Eve, 17 April 1770, and penned his "Last Will and Testament," a satirical compound of jest and earnest, in which he intimated his intention of ending his life the following evening. Among his satirical bequests, such as his "humility" to the Rev. Mr Camplin, his "religion" to Dean Barton, and his "modesty" along with his "prosody and grammar" to Mr Burgum, he leaves "to Bristol all his spirit and disinterestedness, parcels of goods unknown on its quay since the days of Canynge and Rowley." In more genuine earnestness, he recalls the name of Michael Clayfield, a friend to whom he owed intelligent sympathy. The will was possibly prepared in order to frighten his master into letting him go. If so, it had the desired effect. John Lambert, the attorney to whom he was apprenticed, cancelled his indentures; his friends and acquaintances having donated money, Chatterton went to London.


London

Chatterton already was known to the readers of the ''Middlesex Journal'' as a rival of Junius under the Pen name, nom de plume of Decimus. He also had been a contributor to ''Hamilton's Town and Country Magazine'', and speedily found access to the ''Freeholder's Magazine'', another political miscellany supportive of
John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...
and liberty. His contributions were accepted, but the editors paid little or nothing for them. He wrote hopefully to his mother and sister, and spent his first earnings in buying gifts for them. Wilkes had noted his trenchant style "and expressed a desire to know the author"; and Lord Mayor of London, Lord Mayor William Beckford graciously acknowledged a political address of his, and greeted him "as politely as a citizen could." Chatterton was :wikt:abstemious, abstemious and extraordinarily diligent. He could assume the style of Junius or Tobias Smollett, reproduce the satiric bitterness of Charles Churchill (satirist), Charles Churchill, parody James Macpherson's ''Ossian'', or write in the manner of Alexander Pope or with the polished grace of
Thomas Gray Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, and classics, classical scholar at Cambridge University, being a fellow first of Peterhouse then of Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College. He is widely ...
and William Collins (poet), William Collins. He wrote political letters, eclogues, lyrics, operas and satires, both in prose and verse. In June 1770, after nine weeks in London, he moved from Shoreditch, where he had lodged with a relative, to an attic in Brook Street, Holborn (now beneath Alfred Waterhouse's Holborn Bars building). He was still short of money; and now, state prosecutions of the press rendered letters in the Junius vein no longer admissible. This threw him back on the lighter resources of his pen. In Shoreditch, he had shared a room; but now, for the first time, he enjoyed uninterrupted solitude. His bed-fellow at Mr Walmsley's, Shoreditch, noted that much of the night was spent by him in writing; and now he could write all throughout the night. The romance of his earlier years re-emerged, and he transcribed from an imaginary parchment of the old priest Rowley his "Excelente Balade of Charitie." This poem, disguised in archaic language, he sent to the editor of the ''Town and Country Magazine'', where it was rejected. Mr Cross, a neighbouring apothecary, repeatedly invited him to join him at dinner or supper; but he refused. His landlady, too, pressed him to share her dinner, but in vain. "She knew," as she afterwards said, "that he had not eaten anything for two or three days." However, Chatterton assured her that he was not hungry. The note of his actual receipts, found in his pocket-book after his death, shows that Hamilton, Fell and other editors who had been so liberal in flattery, had paid him at the rate of a shilling for an article, and less than eightpence each for his songs; much of the accepted material was held in reserve and still unpaid for. According to his foster-mother, Chatterton had wished to study medicine with Barrett, and in his desperation he wrote to Barrett for a letter to help him to an opening as a surgeon's assistant on board an African trading ship.


Death

In August 1770, while walking in St Pancras Old Church, St Pancras Churchyard, Chatterton was much absorbed in thought, and did not notice a newly dug open grave in his path, and tumbled into it. On observing this event, his walking companion helped Chatterton out of the grave, and told him in a jocular manner that he was happy in assisting at the resurrection of genius. Chatterton replied, "My dear friend, I have been at war with the grave for some time now." Chatterton committed suicide three days later. On 24 August 1770, he retired for the last time to his attic in Brook Street, carrying with him arsenic, which he drank after tearing into fragments whatever literary remains were at hand. He was 17 years and nine months old. There has been some speculation that Chatterton may have taken the arsenic as a treatment for a venereal disease, as it was commonly used for such at that time. A few days later, one Dr Thomas Fry came to London with the intention of giving financial support to the young boy "whether discoverer or author merely." A fragment, probably one of the last pieces written by the poet, was put together by Dr Fry from the shreds of paper that covered the floor of Chatterton's attic on the morning of 25 August 1770. The would-be patron of the poet had an eye for literary forgeries, and purchased the scraps that the poet's landlady, Mrs Angel, swept into a box, cherishing the hope of discovering a suicide note among the pieces.Meyerstein 452 This fragment, possibly one of the remnants of Chatterton's very last literary efforts, was identified by Dr Fry to be a modified ending of the poet's tragical interlude ''Aella''. The fragment is now in the possession of Bristol Public Library and Art Gallery.
Coernyke. Awake! Awake! O Birtha, swotie mayde! Thie Aella deadde, botte thou ynne wayne wouldst dye, Sythence he thee for renomme hath betrayde, Bie hys owne sworde forslagen doth he lye; Yblente he was to see thie boolie eyne, Yet nowe o Birtha, praie, for Welkynnes, lynge! How redde thie lippes, how dolce thie deft cryne, .......................................scalle bee thie Kynge! .......................................a. ...........................................omme the kiste ................................................................
The final Alexandrine is completely missing, together with Chatterton's notes. However, according to Dr Fry, the character who utters the final lines must have been Birtha, whose last word might have been something like "kisste". The above deathbed poem and details of its discovery were forged by Tamás Németh in 2012 and were added to Wikipedia as a hoax.


Posthumous recognition

The death of Chatterton attracted little notice at the time; for the few who then entertained any appreciative estimate of the Rowley poems regarded him as their mere transcriber. He was interred in a burying-ground attached to the Workhouse, Shoe Lane Workhouse in the parish of St Andrew, Holborn, later the site of Farringdon Market. There is a discredited story that the body of the poet was recovered, and secretly buried by his uncle, Richard Phillips, in Redcliffe Churchyard. There a monument has been erected to his memory, with the appropriate inscription, borrowed from his "Will", and so supplied by the poet's own pen. "To the memory of Thomas Chatterton. Reader! judge not. If thou art a Christian, believe that he shall be judged by a Superior Power. To that Power only is he now answerable." It was after Chatterton's death that the controversy over his work began. ''Poems supposed to have been written at Bristol by Thomas Rowley and others, in the Fifteenth Century'' (1777) was edited by Thomas Tyrwhitt, a Chaucerian scholar who believed them genuine medieval works. However, the appendix to the following year's edition recognises that they were probably Chatterton's own work. Thomas Warton, in his ''The History of English Poetry, History of English Poetry'' (1778) included Rowley among 15th-century poets, but apparently did not believe in the antiquity of the poems. In 1782 a new edition of Rowley's poems appeared, with a "Commentary, in which the antiquity of them is considered and defended," by Jeremiah Milles, Dean of Exeter. The controversy which raged round the Rowley poems is discussed in Andrew Kippis, ''Biographia Britannica'' (vol. iv., 1789), where there is a detailed account by George Gregory (British writer), George Gregory of Chatterton's life (pp. 573–619). This was reprinted in the edition (1803) of Chatterton's Works by Robert Southey and Joseph Cottle, published for the benefit of the poet's sister. The neglected condition of the study of earlier English in the 18th century alone accounts for the temporary success of Chatterton's mystification. It has long been agreed that Chatterton was solely responsible for the Rowley poems; the language and style were analysed in confirmation of this view by W. W. Skeat in an introductory essay prefaced to vol. ii. of ''The Poetical Works of Thomas Chatterton'' (1871) in the "Aldine Edition of the British Poets." The Chatterton manuscripts originally in the possession of William Barrett (historian), William Barrett of Bristol were left by his heir to the British Museum in 1800. Others are preserved in the Bristol library.


Legacy

Chatterton's genius and his death are commemorated by Percy Bysshe Shelley in ''Adonais'' (though its main emphasis is the commemoration of
Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tub ...
), by William Wordsworth in "Resolution and Independence", by
Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...
in "Monody on the Death of Chatterton", by Dante Gabriel Rossetti in "Five English Poets", and in John Keats' sonnet "To Chatterton". Keats also inscribed ''Endymion (poem), Endymion'' "to the memory of Thomas Chatterton". Two of
Alfred de Vigny Alfred Victor, Comte de Vigny (; 27 March 1797 – 17 September 1863) was a French poet and early French Romanticism, Romanticist. He also produced novels, plays, and translations of Shakespeare. Biography Vigny was born in Loches (a town to wh ...
's works, ''Stello'' and the drama ''Chatterton'', give fictionalized accounts of the poet; in the former, there is a scene in which William Beckford's harsh criticism of Chatterton's work drives the poet to suicide. The three-act play ''Chatterton'' was first performed at the Théâtre-Français, Paris on 12 February 1835. In 1876, the composer Ruggero Leoncavallo, Leoncavallo wrote an opera CHATTERTON based upon Vigny's play and novel. Sir Herbert Croft, 5th Baronet, Herbert Croft, in his ''Love and Madness'', interpolated a long and valuable account of Chatterton, giving many of the poet's letters, and much information obtained from his family and friends (pp. 125–244, letter li.). The most famous image of Chatterton in the 19th century was ''
The Death of Chatterton ''The Death of Chatterton'' is an oil painting on canvas, by the English Pre-Raphaelite painter Henry Wallis (1830–1916), now in Tate Britain, London. Two smaller versions, sketches or replicas, are possessed by the Birmingham Museum and Ar ...
'' (1856) by
Henry Wallis Henry Wallis (21 February 1830 – 20 December 1916) was a British Pre-Raphaelite painter, writer and collector. Wallis was born in London on 21 February 1830; his father's name and occupation are unknown. When in 1845 his mother, Mary Ann ...
, now in Tate Britain, London. Two smaller versions, sketches or replicas, are held by the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art. The figure of the poet was modeled by the young George Meredith. Two of Chatterton's poems were set to music as glee (music), glees by the English composer John Wall Callcott. These include separate settings of distinct verses within the ''Song to Aelle''. His best known poem, ''O synge untoe mie roundelaie'' was set to a five-part madrigal by Samuel Wesley (composer, born 1766), Samuel Wesley. Chatterton has attracted operatic treatment a number of times throughout history, notably Ruggero Leoncavallo's largely unsuccessful two-act ''Chatterton''; the German composer Matthias Pintscher's modernistic ''Thomas Chatterton'' (1998); and Australian composer Matthew Dewey's lyrical yet dramatically intricate one-man mythography entitled ''The Death of Thomas Chatterton''. In the Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, published in serial form in 1859–60, Count Fosco asks: "Who is the English poet who has won the most universal sympathy – who makes the easiest of all subjects for pathetic writing and pathetic painting? That nice young person who began life with a forgery, and ended it by a suicide - your dear, romantic, interesting Chatterton." Second Epoch, Chapter IV There is a collection of "Chattertoniana" in the British Library, consisting of works by Chatterton, newspaper cuttings, articles dealing with the Rowley controversy and other subjects, with manuscript notes by Joseph Haslewood, and several autograph letters. E. H. W. Meyerstein, who worked for many years in the manuscript room of the British Museum wrote a definitive work—"A Life of Thomas Chatterton"—in 1930. Peter Ackroyd's 1987 novel ''Chatterton'' was a literary re-telling of the poet's story, giving emphasis to the philosophical and spiritual implications of forgery. In Ackroyd's version, Chatterton's death was accidental. In 1886, architect Herbert Horne and Oscar Wilde unsuccessfully attempted to have a plaque erected at Colston's School, Bristol. Wilde, who lectured on Chatterton at this time, suggested the inscription: "To the Memory of Thomas Chatterton, One of England's Greatest Poets, and Sometime pupil at this school." In 1928, a plaque in memory of Chatterton was mounted on 39, Brooke Street, Holborn, bearing the inscription below. The plaque has been since transferred to a modern office building on the same site.
In a House on this Site Thomas Chatterton, died 24 August 1770.
Within Bromley Common, there is a road called Chatterton Road; this is the main thoroughfare in Chatterton Village, based around the public house named The Chatterton Arms. Both road and pub are named after the poet. French singer Serge Gainsbourg entitled one of his songs ''Chatterton'' (1967), stating:
''Chatterton suicidé'' ''Hannibal suicidé'' [...] ''Quant à moi'' ''Ça ne va plus très bien''.
The song was covered (in Portuguese) by Seu Jorge live and recorded in the album ''Ana & Jorge: Ao Vivo''. It was also recorded as an English language translation by Mick Harvey on the album "Intoxicated Man". French singer, songwriter and actor Alain Bashung entitled his 1994 studio album ''Chatterton (album), Chatterton''. French pop/rock band Feu! Chatterton took their name in homage to Chatterton. The band added the expression "Feu" ("fire", in French, formula once used for Kings' or Queens' death) to which they added an exclamation mark as a sign of resurrection.


Works

# 'An Elegy on the much lamented Death of William Beckford, Esq.,' 4to, pp. 14, 1770. # 'The Execution of Sir Charles Bawdwin' (edited by Thomas Eagles, F.S.A.), 4to, pp. 26, 1772. # 'Poems supposed to have been written at Bristol, by Thomas Rowley and others, in the Fifteenth Century' (edited by Thomas Tyrwhitt), 8vo, pp. 307, 1777. # 'Appendix' (to the 3rd edition of the poems, edited by the same), 8vo, pp. 309–333, 1778. # 'Miscellanies in Prose and Verse, by Thomas Chatterton, the supposed author of the Poems published under the names of Rowley, Canning, &c.' (edited by John Broughton), 8vo, pp. 245, 1778. # 'Poems supposed to have been written at Bristol in the Fifteenth Century by Thomas Rowley, Priest, &c., [edited] by Jeremiah Milles, D.D., Dean of Exeter,' 4to, pp. 545, 1782. # 'A Supplement to the Miscellanies of Thomas Chatterton,' 8vo, pp. 88, 1784. # 'Poems supposed to have been written at Bristol by Thomas Rowley and others in the Fifteenth Century' (edited by Lancelot Sharpe), 8vo, pp. xxix, 329, 1794. # 'The Poetical Works of Thomas Chatterton,' Anderson s 'British Poets,' xi. 297–322, 1795. # 'The Revenge: a Burletta; with additional Songs, by Thomas Chatterton,' 8vo, pp. 47, 1795. # 'The Works of Thomas Chatterton' (edited by Robert Southey and Joseph Cottle), 3 vols. 8yo, 1803. # 'The Poetical Works of Thomas Chatterton' (edited by Charles B. Willcox), 2 vols. 12mo, 1842. # 'The Poetical Works of Thomas Chatterton' (edited by the Rev Walter Skeat, M.A.), Aldine edition, 2 vols. 8vo, 1876.


Notes


References


Attribution

* *


Bibliography

* Cook, Daniel. ''Thomas Chatterton and Neglected Genius, 1760–1830.'' Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. * Basil Cottle, Cottle, Basil
''Thomas Chatterton''
(Bristol Historical Association pamphlets, no. 6, 1963), 15 pp. * Croft, Sir Herbert. ''Love and Madness.'' London: G Kearsly, 1780. * Groom, Nick ed. ''Thomas Chatterton and romantic culture.'' London: Macmillan; New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. * * Heys, Alistair ed. ''From Gothic to Romantic: Thomas Chatterton's Bristol''. Bristol: Redcliffe, 2005. * Haywood, Ian. ''The making of history: a study of the literary forgeries of James Macpherson and Thomas Chatterton in relation to eighteenth-century ideas of history and fiction.'' Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, c1986. * Kaplan, Louise J. ''The Family Romance of the Impostor-poet Thomas Chatterton''. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1989. * Kroese, Irvin B.. "Chatterton's Aella and Chatterton." ''SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500–1900''. XII.3 (1972):557-66. * Meyerstein, Edward Harry William. ''A Life of Thomas Chatterton.'' London: Ingpen and Grant, 1930. * Németh, T. (2012). Thomas Chatterton’s An excelente balade of charitie interpreted as a dream (Unpublished bachelor’s thesis). Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem Bölcsészet- és Társadalomtudományi Kar, Piliscsaba, Hungary.


See also

*List of 18th-century British working-class writers


External links


Thomas Chatterton
at th
Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)
* * * *

* choralwiki:Thomas Chatterton, Musical settings of Chatterton's poems
Thomas Chatterton papers
Between 1758 and 1770. 2 items. At th
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatterton, Thomas 1752 births 1770 deaths 18th-century English poets Literary forgeries Forgers Writers from Bristol Suicides by poison British child writers Suicides in Camden People educated at Colston's School English male poets English Christians 18th-century suicides English satirists English satirical poets