Thomas Chatterton

Thomas Chatterton (1752-1770), English poet, born in Bristol. As a boy he learned to read from an old, Gothic-lettered Bible, and studied medieval inscriptions and manuscripts. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to an attorney but devoted all his spare time to writing manuscripts in imitation of those he had studied. From 1765 to 1770 he wrote a series of poems in imitative Middle English, purported to be the work of Thomas Rowley, an imaginary 15th-century monk. In 1769 he sent to the English writer Horace Walpole a manuscript containing several of his so-called Rowley poems. Walpole, at first enthusiastic, rejected the manuscripts when he found that they were not genuine.

Not finding the study of law congenial, Chatterton went to London in 1770 to engage in literary work. He wrote at a furious rate, producing squibs, political essays, satiric poems, tales, and letters. His work earned him little, however, and, despairing, he eventually committed suicide. The Rowley poems are characterized by rich invention, intensely romantic imagination, and sensitive feeling. They greatly influenced the work of several of the English romantic poets.