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Thomas Chatterton (November 20th 1752, Bristol-board - August 24th 1770) was a poet English. It was shown to be a forger of pseudo-medieval poetry by some of its most influential contemporaries, and if the fact is undeniable today, it is not recognized less by it today for a poet of talent, in spite of his strong young age. He preferred to commit suicide with the Arsenic rather than to die of Faim, thus becoming, for the Romantiques, the symbol of the man of genius not recognized.

Life and work

Infancy

Thomas Chatterton was born in Bristol on November 20th, 1752, where the post of sexton of the parish church of St Mary Redcliffe was held by its family since nearly two centuries.

His/her father, also fore-mentioned Thomas, was schoolmaster in Pyle Street, and under-cantor of the Cathédrale of Bristol-board. He was impassioned of music and of reading, the coins of Roman Monnaie collected and was also interested in the Magie by studying the writings of Cornelius Agrippa. In spite of this culture which raised it above its social class, he was regarded as a dépravé character, even brutal. He died approximately three months before the birth of his son (of other versions indicate the four month old figure). It was thus his/her mother who dealt with the education of the Thomas young person and her Mary sister, two years her elder. It also created a school of young girls and dealt with various work of decorative seam. The childhood of Thomas Chatterton is determining for the comprehension of the evolution of the poet. He was a limited child who had not learned yet large thing at the four years age, then, at the six years age, a boy which could plunge in long periods of abstraction and tears stripped of reason, so much and so that his mother and his/her grandmother took fear for her reason and regarded it as a “complete idiot”. His/her sister tells that it also developed, rather prematurely, a taste for preeminence and behaved, with her companions, as if he were their Master and them its being useful. With seven years and half, it convainquit its génitrice which she had not put an idiot at the world while learning how to read quickly by means of a Bible in Gothic script (it is interesting to note that Thomas Chatterton hated to read in books of restricted format). As of this moment, Chatterton devours with enthusiasm all volumes which fall to him under the hand. Its centers of interest become extremely varied, with the antipode of those of the children of its age (as well as good number of adults): the heraldic one, history, astronomy, theology. At the eight years age, Thomas Chatterton is convinced that it will become famous. He reads all the day, or as a long time as one allows him. He also will be allowed with the Colston 'S Hospital, a local school. The program was only little packed, being limited to arithmetic, the reading, the writing and catechism. The hope and the thirst for knowledge of Adhesive tape suffered from it, pushing it with the conclusion which he would learn better at his place. An anecdote illustrates very well this desire of recognition which emerged very early at Chatterton. A potter promised to him a terra cotta ball marked of the inscription of its choice. The sympathetic nerve guy was to probably expect that the young Adhesive tape requires of him to engrave a completely banal sentence, such as " the ball of Thomas". " Paint to me " , asked him Chatterton, " an angel, with wings and a trumpet, for claironner my name all over the world. "

The cursed poet

He composed of the satires as of the 11 years age, made appear at 16 years several pieces written in an ancient style. He at that time sent worms to Horace Walpole, which started by admiring them then, having learned the age from their author, returned to him scornful. He is mainly known for his poetry written under the name of a monk of XVesiècle, Thomas Rowley. There he came to London, believing to make fortune; but not having found means sufficient of existence and its guard has just died, he poisoned himself with arsenic (1770), after having fought a few days against the hunger; he had 17 years and a few months.

One was interested in him after his death, and one collected his works, 1771 and 1803.

They were translated by Javelin Pagnon (with a Vie of Adhesive tape , by Auguste Callet), 1840, 2 volumes in-8.

Character

The character of Adhesive tape was taken again by Alfred de Vigny in his play Chatterton , written in 1834, and it is lengthily evoked in the Stello of the same author, as well as the poet Gilbert and André Chénier.

Anecdote

In 1967 Serge Gainsbourg written and composes a titrated song " Chatterton" in which it enumerates plusior large artists committed suicide and by beginning each verse with " Adhesive tape! Committed suicide! ".

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