1910 Nobel Prize in Literature
 1910 Nobel Prize in Literature | |
|---|---|
| Paul von Heyse | |
 "as a tribute to the consummate artistry, permeated with idealism, which he has demonstrated during his long productive career as a lyric poet, dramatist, novelist and writer of world-renowned short stories." | |
| Date |
|
| Location | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Presented by | Swedish Academy |
| First award | 1901 |
| Website | Official website |
The 1910 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the German writer Paul Heyse (1830–1914) "as a tribute to the consummate artistry, permeated with idealism, which he has demonstrated during his long productive career as a lyric poet, dramatist, novelist and writer of world-renowned short stories."[2] He is the third German recipient of the prize after Rudolf Christoph Eucken in 1908.[3]
Laureate
[edit]Paul Heyse translated Italian poetry in addition to writing short tales, poems, novels, and plays. He belonged to Die Krokodile and Tunnel über der Spree, two literary organizations. Heyse's became better known as a writer of short stories with his famous works Der Jungbrunnen ("The Fountain of Youth", 1850) and L'Arrabiata ("The Fury", 1852), which is one of his most well-known novellas. The emphasis of Heyse's writings is on individuality and freedom.[4][3]
He was dubbed Dichterfürst o prince of poetry, and he worked tirelessly to promote international understanding within Europe. His last published works were Letzten Novellen ("Recent Novellas") and Italienischen Volksmärchen ("Italian Folktales", 1914).[3]
Deliberations
[edit]Nominations
[edit]Heyse had not been nominated for the prize before 1910, making it one of the rare occasions when an author have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature the same year they were first nominated.[5] The nomination for Paul Heyse was made by a great number of professors and others in Munich, Berlin, Breslau, Halle, Leipzig and Vienna.[6]
In total, the Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy received 27 nominations for 25 writers, among them Georg Brandes, Juhani Aho, and Ángel Guimerá. Twelve of the nominees were nominated first-time including Thomas Hardy, Andrew Lang, Robert Bridges, William Dean Howells, Alfred Fouillée, Gustav Warneck, Édouard Rod, Pierre Loti. Two of the nominees were women and both were also nominated first-time: American historian Molly Elliot Seawell and Austrian novelist Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach.[7]
The authors Giuseppe Cesare Abba, Vittoria Aganoor, Otto Julius Bierbaum, Samuel Langhorne Clemens (known as Mark Twain), Frederick James Furnivall, Julia Ward Howe, William James, Emil Friedrich Kautzsch, Maria Konopnicka, William Vaughn Moody, George Panu, William Sydney Porter (known as O. Henry), Wilhelm Raabe, Jules Renard, Bertilda Samper Acosta, Florencio Sánchez, Catherine Helen Spence, and Toini Topelius died in 1910 without having been nominated for the prize. The Swiss novelist Édouard Rod died months before the announcement.
| No. | Nominee | Country | Genre(s) | Nominator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juhani Aho (1861–1921) |  Russia(  Finland) |
novel, short story | Leo Mechelin (1839–1914) |
| 2 | Wilhelm Benignus (1861–1930) |  Germany United States |
short story, poetry, essays | Marion Dexter Learned (1857–1917) |
| 3 | Georg Brandes (1842–1927) |  Denmark |
literary criticism, essays |
|
| 4 | Robert Bridges (1844–1930) |  Great Britain |
poetry, essays | Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924) |
| 5 | William Chapman (1850–1917) |  Canada |
poetry, translation | Amédée Gosselin (1863–1941) |
| 6 | Francesco D'Ovidio (1849–1925) |  Italy |
philology, literary criticism | Ernesto Monaci (1844–1918) |
| 7 | Antonio Fogazzaro (1842–1911) | Italy |
novel, poetry, short story | Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé (1848–1910) |
| 8 | Alfred Fouillée (1838–1912) |  France |
philosophy | Carl David af Wirsén (1842–1912) |
| 9 | Anatole France (1844–1924) | France |
poetry, essays, drama, novel, literary criticism | Paul Hervieu (1857–1915) |
| 10 | Martin Greif (1839–1911) | Germany |
poetry, drama | August Sauer (1855–1926) |
| 11 | Ángel Guimerá Jorge (1845–1924) |  Spain |
drama, poetry | 20 members of the Reial Acadèmia de Bones Lletres de Barcelona |
| 12 | Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) | Great Britain |
novel, short story, poetry | 6 members of the Society of Authors |
| 13 | Paul Heyse (1830–1914) | Germany |
poetry, drama, novel, short story | professors in Munich, Berlin, Breslau, Halle, Leipzig and Vienna |
| 14 | William Dean Howells (1837–1920) | United States |
novel, short story, literary criticism, drama | Brander Matthews (1852–1929) |
| 15 | Andrew Lang (1844–1912) | Great Britain |
poetry, novel, short story, essays, literary criticism, translation | Edith Nesbit (1858–1924) |
| 16 | Ernest Lavisse (1842–1922) | France |
history | Frédéric Masson (1847–1923) |
| 17 | Pierre Loti (1850–1923) | France |
novel, short story, autobiography, essays | Gabriel Hanotaux (1853–1944) |
| 18 | Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949) |  Belgium |
drama, poetry, essays | Carl Bildt (1850–1931) |
| 19 | Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo (1856–1912) | Spain |
history, philosophy, philology, poetry, translation, literary criticism | 4 members of the Royal Spanish Academy |
| 20 | John Morley (1838–1923) | Great Britain |
biography, literary criticism, essays | 28 members of the Society of Authors |
| 21 | Édouard Rod (1857–1910) |  Switzerland France |
novel, short story, essays, literary criticism | Edmond Rossier (1865–1945) |
| 22 | Salvador Rueda Santos (1857–1933) | Spain |
poetry, essays | 7 professors at the Complutense University of Madrid |
| 23 | Molly Elliot Seawell (1860–1916) | United States |
history, novel, short story | Charles William Kent (1860–1917) |
| 24 | Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830–1916) |  Austria-Hungary |
novel, short story, drama | Emil Reich (1854–1910) |
| 25 | Gustav Warneck (1834–1910) | Germany |
theology, history |
|
Prize decision
[edit]The Nobel committee proposed that the Nobel prize in Literature in 1910 should be awarded to the German author Paul Heyse: "Since Paul Heyse is such an accomplished artist, the Nobel Committee considers itself unable to pass him over in this year's Nobel Prize selection, but proposes him first of all. He should have come to mind long before; but one would have liked to have him proposed from Germany, and this has, strangely enough, only happened this year."[8]
The committee praised Heyse's work and described his numerous short stories as "mostly perfect masterpieces", but had some doubts that Heyse's advanced age could be an obstacle for the Swedish Academy to award him the prize. For that reason they proposed the Belgian writer Maurice Maeterlinck (awarded the following year) as a second, alternative proposal.[8] Other writers considered but rejected for the 1910 prize included French author Anatole France (subsequently awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Literature) and English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy.[8]
On 10 November 1910 the Swedish Academy decided to award that year's Nobel Prize in Literature to Paul Heyse "as a tribute to the consummate artistry, permeated with idealism, which he has demonstrated during his long productive career as a lyric poet, dramatist, novelist and writer of world-renowned short stories."[8]
Reactions
[edit]The Nobel Prize to Paul Heyse did not receive much attention in his native Germany. Responses outside the German-speaking world were far more numerous. Particularly in Italy appreciations appeared in many publications, as well as notices in French newspapers such as Le Figaro.[9]
Notes
[edit]- 1 2 The nomination was made jointly by W. Söderhjelm and Y. Hirn, both members of the Finnish Scientific Society
- 1 2 The nomination was made by a great number of missionary societies and individuals, of whom J. Ficker and C. Mirbt are considered qualified nominators.
References
[edit]- ↑ Svensén, Bo (2001). Nobelpriset i litteratur. Nomineringar och utlåtanden 1901–1950. Svenska Akademien. ISBN 9789113010076. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
- ↑ The Nobel Prize in Literature 1910 nobelprize.org
- 1 2 3 Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse britannica.com
- ↑ Paul Heyse – Facts nobelprize.org
- ↑ "Nomineringar och utlåtanden 1901-1950" (in Swedish). Svenska Akademien.
- ↑ Nomination archive – Paul Heyse nobelprize.org
- ↑ Nomination archive – 1910 nobelprize.org
- 1 2 3 4 Svensén, Bo (2001). "1910". Nobelpriset i litteratur. Nomineringar och utlåtanden 1901-1920. Svenska Akademien.
- ↑ Thomas Oliver Beebee German Literature as World Literature, Bloomsbury Publishing USA 2014, p.152
External links
[edit]- Award ceremony speech by C.D. af Wirsén nobelprize.org
