Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (21 October 1790 – 28 October 1969) was a famed French poet and politician of the 19th Century. Born in nobility, he was famous for his autobiographical poem, “Le Lac” and publications like “Meditations poetiques” earned him fame.
The major transition came in his life in the 1840s, when he decided to dedicate himself solely to politics; he brought in some significant changes during that time.
Table of Contents
Early Life
Born in Macon, Lamartine was the eldest amongst six siblings. He studied in a Jesuits school in Belley. He was born in a royal family and spent his childhood on the very estate. He was a Catholic and thus believed that reality is equivalent to God, instead of believing God as a separate entity.
His father was an aristocrat, who got arrested during French Revolution; however, he, fortunately, managed to escape. Lamartine wanted to join the army but during that time France was ruled by Napoleon. His father did not want him to serve under Napoleon’s reign who was a usurper for him.
In consequence, he spent some idle years wandering around the countryside which he vividly described, in his poetry.
He joined the army when the Bourbon monarchy was restored in 1814 but soon after the return of Napoleon, he left the military profession.
Courtship and Marriage
During his travel through Italy in 1812, he met a woman who worked for a tobacco factory, Antoniella. He fell in love with her and after they parted; she soon died. He wrote about this experience in his novel titled Graziella. He wrote about his love for a fisherman’s granddaughter – Graziella (Antoniella) during his visit to Naples, Italy.
In Graziella, he conveys, “To love for the sake of being loved is human, but to love for the sake of loving is angelic.”
Later, in 1816, he was passionately involved with Julie Charles, wife of a physician. However, she suffered tuberculosis and died in December 1817. During their relationship, Lamartine dedicated her many verses but after her death, he expressed his grief through one of his poems, “L’Isolement”, Méditations Poétiques.
It says, “Sometimes, only one person is missing, and the whole world seems depopulated.”
In 1820, he married a girl of a royal family, Mary-Ann Birch. His father gifted him a castle of Saint-Point. In the same year, one of his most renowned works, Méditations Poétiques was published. It earned him immense success and fame.
Later, his suitability for literature was substantiated by Nouvelles méditations poétiques, Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, and so on.
He was elected as a member of the French Academy and in the Chamber of Deputies, in 1829 and 1833 respectively. In 1835, Voyage en Orient was published which accounted for his journey to the countries of the Orient. His biggest grief was the death of his only daughter during that voyage, after which he thought of restricting himself to prose writing.
Rise of Political Career
Lamartine confined his literary career to actively participate in politics. In 1830, during the monarchy of Louis Philippe, Lamartine entered into politics with a noble aim of Liberalism, especially for the
Proletariat. He was unwilling to serve under July Monarchy but after not getting elected for legislative elections, he decided to take a break. He went on a long voyage to Beirut, with his daughter and wife, where he lost his only daughter because of tuberculosis.
On returning from the voyage, to his surprise, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in1833. Later, he became the founding member of a French Society which was for the abolition of Slavery. Publication of Histoire des Girondins made him immensely popular and marked his commitment to politics.
Lamartine subsequently joined Republicans. After the fall of Louis Philippe during the Revolution of 1848, Second Republic was proclaimed. Lamartine became the secretary of Foreign Affairs; however, it was headed by Dupont de l’Eure. Most of the duties were given to Lamartine owing to his influential skills and leadership qualities.
During his time from late February 1948 to May 1948, some of the major reforms were introduced by him like the abolition of the death sentence, freedom of the press, universal suffrage, freedom of teaching without expenses, abolition of slavery, and so on. He worked for the betterment of people and their lives.
On 25 February 1848, he introduced the tricolour flag against the red flag which remained unequivocally the national symbol. Later, in December 1848, he lost against Louis Napoleon Bonaparte in the Presidential election by a huge margin. After this huge failure, he decided to quit politics with a bitter heart.
Literary Works
Méditations Poétiques published in 1820 gained enormous success. It gave new meaning to French poetry and Romanticism. In contrast to dull and dark-driven poetry, it was much more enlivened and intimate. Le lac meaning The Lake expresses some famous lines as “I say to this night: Pass more slowly, and the dawn will come to dispel the night.”
“Limited in his nature, infinite in his desires, man is a fallen god who remembers the heavens.” The imagination, revelation, and rhythm brought a new tone to romantic poetry.
Graziella published in 1852 is the love story of the author and the fisherman’s daughter whom he met during his Italy tour.
Voyage en Orient published in 1835 gives a detailed narration of Lamartine’s tour to the countries of the Orient. This was a very influential trip for him not only considering this book but also followed by the staging of his other poems in Lebanon. There lies a Cedar tree, which was named Lamartine Cedar to commemorate his visit.
Histoire des Girondins published in 1847, replacing Girondins for Brissotins. It earned him popularity and marked his commencement solely in politics. It contains the history of the rights of Girondins.
Thereafter, many more work was written and published which includes Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, Nouvelles méditations poétiques, Jocelyn, Les Visions, La Chute d’un ange, and so on.
Final Years
He called himself, “literary hard labour to exist and pay his debts.” He did not spend lavishly but faced financial issues due to the large compensation that he gave to his sisters for the property he inherited being the only male child in the family. He constantly wrote and taught to earn his living. Lamartine’s life ended in poverty and he died in Paris on 28th February 1869.
FAQs
Who was Lamartine’s wife and what was her profession?
Elisa de Lamartine (Mary Ann Elisa Birch) was Lamartine’s wife. She was born on 13 March 1790 in Languedoc, France. She was a painter and a sculptor. Her usual style of painting was oil on canvas. Some of her famous portraits are- Roman Charity, The Flower on the Altar, the portrait of Marie de Louis Lamartine, and so on.
Which were the famous poems written by Lamartine?
Méditations Poétiques is a collection of poems by Lamartine. Its first edition contains 24 poems and second edition includes 41 poems. Some of his famous poems are- Le Lac, L’Isolement, Invocation, Le Vallon, Le Soir, and so on.
What was the colour of the flag introduced by Alphonse de Lamartine?
Lamartine introduced a tricolour flag which has blue, red, and white colours. He rejected the red flag and introduced the tricolour flag on the 25th of February, 1848 as the national symbol. He said that the tricolour flag denotes glory and liberty whereas the red colour flag reflects people’s blood.