Step 1: Understanding Graveyard Poetry.
Graveyard poetry, a precursor to Romanticism, reflects a fascination with death, the sublime, and the individual's relationship with nature and mortality. Poets such as Thomas Gray and Edward Young wrote works that focused on death, decay, and the transient nature of life, themes that greatly influenced Romantic thinkers.
Step 2: Understanding The Sturm und Drang phase.
The Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress) movement in Germany, exemplified by writers like Goethe and Schiller, focused on emotion, individualism, and the rejection of rationalism, all key themes that later became central to Romanticism.
Step 3: Analyze other options.
Option (B) Picaresque novels, though influential in literary tradition, did not directly contribute to the themes of Romanticism.
Option (D) Pre-Raphaelite poetry belongs to the mid-19th century and is not a pre-Romantic movement but rather a part of the broader Romantic period.
Thus, the correct answer is (A) and (C).