The Story of Thomas Chatterton

The story of Thomas Chatterton is most certainly a curious one. His posthumous success as a poetic revolutionary is one mark of the sad tale to be spun.

Chatterton was born on the 20th of November, 1752. His father, Thomas Chatterton, was a school master at the Pyle Street free school. He died fifteen weeks before his son's birth. The Chatterton family had long held office in Bristol over St. Mary Redcliffe Church, and his uncle presided over it. To support the family, his mother opened a school for girls.

Chatterton was an eccentric child. It was said that he would read the entire day if not interrupted. He was naturally reserved and quiet. He never cared for the games of other children and preferred his literary heroes. He was said to be prone to trance-like fits and unexplained crying. He used his pocket money at the library and actively ingratiated himself with the owners of private libraries in order to gain access to their books.

By age eleven, he was a contributing writer to Felix Farley's Bristol Journal. Medieval poetry was a fascination of Chatterton's. He assumed the name of Thomas Rowley, a medieval monk, and thus passed off his work. He wrote several religious works after his confirmation. Later, he searched in vain for a patron to support him in his writings, but was unsuccessful. After being dissatisfied with the pay of some, he turned to Horace Walpole. He turned him away because of his suspicion that Chatterton's 'Rowley' poems were forgeries. He was sixteen at that point.

After Walpole's rejection, Chatterton went into a slump. He found new inspiration in political writings. He wrote for Town and Country Magazine. His pen went against such political figures as the Earl of Brute, the Duke of Grafton, and Augusta of Saxe-Goth, princess of Wales.

Ultimately, Chatterton was never able to make a living off his writings. He moved around, each time reaching for opportunity and facing failure. At seventeen years old, he was facing starvation. He penned a satirical work he called his Last Will and Testament. Afterwards, he retired to his attack room for the last time and committed suicide by arsenic.

If Chatterton had received the recognition while alive he found after death, perhaps his life would have had a different ending. Chatterton is revered as the 'patron saint' of the Romantic Movement. Romantic poets Wordsworth and Keats were both influenced by him and later wrote poems on him. His works were the spark that lit a literary revolution. Poems, plays, and paintings were created about his life and death. His influence is still seen today in such popular works such as Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling and Stephen King's series, Dark Tower.

The Death of Chatterton, painted by Henry Wallis in 1856