Lamartine, Alphonse de

(1790-1869)

   poet, statesman

   A leader in the romantic movement, Alphonse de Lamartine was born in Mâcon to a royalist family. A fervent Catholic in his youth, he became secretary to the French embassy at Naples under King louis XV III and later served at Florence. Elected to the Chamber of Deputies, he served as minister of foreign affairs in the provisional government of 1848. Remaining deeply religious, Lamartine had his faith shaken by the death of his daughter (Geth-sémani, 1834), and he became a proponent of a liberal and socially active Christianity (a view that he supported when he served in the government, 1833-51), with 1848 marking the apogee of his political career (a member of the first provisional government; foreign minister), but as a moderate he could please neither the extreme left or right. Lamartine was also interested in literature and took up writing early in life. As a writer, he is known chiefly for his poetry. it is characterized by strong sentiments, expressed with lyrical grace and refinement, as well as with a gentle melancholy and effective descriptions of nature and rural scenery. His most popular and influential volume of poems is Méditations poétiques (1820). Other volumes are Nouvelles méditations poétiques (1823), Harmonies poétiques et religieuses (1830), Jocelyn (1836), La Chute d'un ange (1838), and Les Recueillements poétiques (1839). Lamartine was also a prolific writer of history, biography, critical works, and fiction. His prose writings include Histoire des girondins (1847), Les Confidences (1849), the autobiographical novels Raphael (1849) and Graziella (1852), and his Cours familiar de littérature (1856-59). Lamartine was opposed to the regime of napoléon III (1851) but, too poor to go into self-exile, as did victor hugo, he retired from public life and "sentenced himself," he said, to "forced literary labor." Considered an inspiration to the young romantics because of his lyrical style, Lamartine was honored early in his career, being elected to the Académie Française in 1829. See also revolution of 1848.