I lived from 1790-1869.
I was from France, and am in the European category.
Alphonse de Lamartine was born into a noble, Catholic family on 21st October 1790 at Macon Saône-et-Loire, France.
Read full description by 'deldev' - Oldpoetry Research Team...
From an early age he read and was influenced by writers such as Fénelon, Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, Chateaubriand, Racine, Voltaire, Parny, and among foreign poets, Tasso, Dante, Petrarch, Shakespeare, and Ossian, who at the time was very popular.
Lamartine's own poetry won him immediate acclaim and his first publication, Les Méditations Poétiques (1820) - a collection of twenty four poems - brought him much success. In these poems he explored well his religious, melancholic and sometimes amorous feelings. Whilst he did draw from tradition in the style of these poems, he did also manage to add an original, almost musical, lyricism to these works. This 'musical' element was explored further in Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses (1830). Other collections included Jocelyn (1836), La Chute d'un ange (1838) and Recueillements Poétiques (1839).
By the time of the publication of his last volume of poetry, Lamartine had also established himself as a prose writer and wrote on a variety of topics, including history, criticism and personal confidences.
Lamartine's most well known prose work is Histoire des Girondins (1847) - a glorification of the the men of the French Revolution. This leads on to discussion of Lamartine's political associations. Originally, his idealism, belief in democracy and desire for social justice, had led him to shy away from political parties. However, in 1833 he was elected as a member of Parliament and proved to be a formidable public speaker. After the February Revolution of 1848, he was briefly made head of the provisional government and later a member of the executive committee that replaced it. However, his moderation cost him the support of both the left and right wings of the revolutionsists and the Coup d'etat of 2nd December 1851 marked the end of his political career.
After being ousted from politics, Lamartine devoted himself to writing in what he described as "literary hard-labor in order to exist and pay his debts". His later prose works include the novel Graziella (1849) and Les Confidences (1852).
He died in Paris on 1st March 1869.
Bibliography:
Catholic Encyclopedia;
Encyclopedia.com
'deldev' - Oldpoetry Research Team
My poetry
Ainsi, toujours poussés vers de nouveaux rivages,
Dans la nuit éternelle emportés sans retour,
64 lines, 2 comments
Souvent sur la montagne, à l'ombre du vieux chêne,
Au coucher du soleil, tristement je m'assieds;
52 lines
Autour du toit qui nous vit naître
Un pampre étalait ses rameaux,
16 lines
There was a cobbler once, who sang all day;
'Twas wonderful to see the man, and then
52 lines
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