Jocelyn

Jocelyn is an epic poem by Alphonse de Lamartine, published in 1836. It is part of his larger, unfinished work, Les Visions. The poem tells the story of a young man who, after being expelled from the seminary due to the French Revolution, falls in love. He is called back to his religious vows by a dying bishop, renounces his love, and dedicates his life to serving others as a parish priest.12

Lamartine was a significant figure in the French Romantic movement, known for his lyrical poetry that often conveyed a sense of longing and melancholy, though sometimes tempered with despair. While Jocelyn was an attempt at an epic, Lamartine is more widely celebrated for his earlier collection, Méditations poétiques.12