THE ELEGY BY THOMAS CHATTERTON IN THE CONTECST OF «GRAVEYARD» POETRY AS A SIGNIFICAN STEP IN THE TRANSITION FROM SENTIMENTALISM TO PREROMATICISM

Abstract

The article analyzes the most significant works of sentimental “graveyard” poetry by Thomas Parnell, Edward Young and Thomas Gray, as well as the “graveyard” elegy by Thomas Chatterton. The main purpose of this research is to identify the transitional literary trends of sentimentalism and pre-romanticism in the English poetry of the mid-18th century, to recognize their particular features as well as to show the smooth transition from one to the other and to prove their importance in the formation of the new romantic era. Using the comparative analysis of the text the features of sentimentalism and preromanticism in the works of the “graveyard” school are to be revealed. It should also be proved that Chatterton's graveyard elegy in terms of plot, metrics and stylistics has differences from the other works of this genre, and also contains new artistic principles which therefore marked the transition from sentimental poetry to pre-romanticism and laid the foundation for the formation of the romantic movement in literature.