Blackwell Reference Online

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Alphonse de Lamartine flashed across the historical landscape during France's Revolution of 1848. A political moderate rather than a revolutionary, the lofty rhetoric for which Lamartine was known was not matched by skills in governing. In the end, Lamartine's fall was as grand as his rise. Lamartine was born in Burgundy and given a Jesuit education, though intellectually he fit the Deist tradition. He spent much of his youth traveling. Unlike many Romantic-era contemporaries, Lamartine mostly rejected the influence of classical thinkers and instead was drawn to more recent authors like Jean-Jacques Rousseau . A poet and writer himself, Lamartine's fame came early with Méditations poétiques (1820). Elected to the Academie francaise (French Academy) in 1829, his literary reputation paved the way for a political career, beginning with election to the Chamber of Deputies. During the July Monarchy (1830–48), Lamartine cultivated a reputation as a brilliant speaker who was sympathetic to the “social question.” His appeal also derived from the success of History of the Girondins (1846). Lamartine's place in history especially comes from his role in the French Revolution of 1848. A critic of the Orleanist monarchy, he was a prominent actor in the February Revolution that saw Louis-Philippe deposed, a provisional government declared, and France made a (Second) Republic. Lamartine ... log in or subscribe to read full text