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Document Details : Title: The Concept of the Romantic Artist in the Footsteps of the Mystical Passions Subtitle: Case Study: Coleridge and Chatterton Author(s): VAN DER LEEST, Janneke Journal: Studies in Spirituality Volume: 34 Date: 2025 Pages: 272-289 DOI: 10.2143/SIS.34.0.3294899 Abstract : The concept of the romantic artist as suffering, prophetic and neglected outlaw and genius has its roots at the end of the eighteenth century. Thomas Chatterton (1752-1770) became the archetype of the suffering romantic artist. This article gives a brief outline of the path that led to this classification. In doing so, it distinguishes some devotional aspects associated with the mythologizing process, including the call for compassion for Chatterton and his fate after his death. Formal parallels between the ‘martyrs of poetry’ and Christian saints and martyrs are drawn. Through the martyrs, the article arrives at the mystics with their extreme devotion to God and passionate identification with Christ and his Passion. Chatterton sacrificed himself to poetry, like the mystic who sacrifices him/herself completely in his/her passion for God. Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem ‘Monody on the Death of Chatterton’ serves as a case study to illustrate this. |
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