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."The Nobel Prize in Literature 1910 nobelprize.org He is the third German recipient of the prize after Rudolf Christoph Eucken in 1908.Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse britannica.com
Laureate
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.Paul Heyse – Facts nobelprize.org 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).
Deliberations Nominations 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. The nomination for Paul Heyse was made by a great number of professors and others in Munich, Berlin, Breslau, Halle, Leipzig and Vienna.Nomination archive – Paul Heyse nobelprize.org
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.Nomination archive – 1910 nobelprize.org
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.
Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)1Juhani Aho (1861–1921) ()novel, short storyLeo Mechelin (1839–1914)2Wilhelm Benignus (1861–1930)short story, poetry, essaysMarion Dexter Learned (1857–1917)3Georg Brandes (1842–1927) literary criticism, essays4Robert Bridges (1844–1930)poetry, essaysCharles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)5William Chapman (1850–1917) poetry, translationAmédée Gosselin (1863–1941)6Francesco D'Ovidio (1849–1925) philology, literary criticismErnesto Monaci (1844–1918)7Antonio Fogazzaro (1842–1911) novel, poetry, short storyEugène-Melchior de Vogüé (1848–1910)8Alfred Fouillée (1838–1912)philosophyCarl David af Wirsén (1842–1912)9Anatole France (1844–1924) poetry, essays, drama, novel, literary criticismPaul Hervieu (1857–1915)10Martin Greif (1839–1911) poetry, drama August Sauer (1855–1926)11Ángel Guimerá Jorge (1845–1924) drama, poetry20 members of the Reial Acadèmia de Bones Lletres de Barcelona12Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) novel, short story, poetry 6 members of the Society of Authors13Paul Heyse (1830–1914)poetry, drama, novel, short storyprofessors in Munich, Berlin, Breslau, Halle, Leipzig and Vienna14William Dean Howells (1837–1920)novel, short story, literary criticism, dramaBrander Matthews (1852–1929)15Andrew Lang (1844–1912)poetry, novel, short story, essays, literary criticism, translationEdith Nesbit (1858–1924)16Ernest Lavisse (1842–1922) historyFrédéric Masson (1847–1923)17Pierre Loti (1850–1923) novel, short story, autobiography, essaysGabriel Hanotaux (1853–1944)18Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949) drama, poetry, essays Carl Bildt (1850–1931)19Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo (1856–1912) history, philosophy, philology, poetry, translation, literary criticism4 members of the Royal Spanish Academy20John Morley (1838–1923) biography, literary criticism, essays28 members of the Society of Authors21Édouard Rod (1857–1910)novel, short story, essays, literary criticismEdmond Rossier (1865–1945)22Salvador Rueda Santos (1857–1933) poetry, essays7 professors at the Complutense University of Madrid23Molly Elliot Seawell (1860–1916) history, novel, short story Charles William Kent (1860–1917)24Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830–1916) novel, short story, dramaEmil Reich (1854–1910)25Gustav Warneck (1834–1910)theology, history
Prize decision 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."
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. 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.
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."
Reactions 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.Thomas Oliver Beebee German Literature as World Literature, Bloomsbury Publishing USA 2014, p.152
Notes
References
External links Award ceremony speech by C.D. af Wirsén nobelprize.org