The 1911 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Belgian author

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...

(1862–1949) "in appreciation of his many-sided literary activities, and especially of his dramatic works, which are distinguished by a wealth of imagination and by a poetic fancy, which reveals, sometimes in the guise of a fairy tale, a deep inspiration, while in a mysterious way they appeal to the readers' own feelings and stimulate their imaginations." He is the first and remains only the Belgian recipient of the prize.Maurice Maeterlinck
britannica.com

Laureate

Maeterlinck was a symbolist and agnostic who explored the inner lives of people and the subconscious in his surreal plays and poems. His dramas frequently feature shifting and ambiguous milieux and epochs, which enhances the symbolism. He made his debut with the play ''

La Princesse Maleine ''Princess Maleine'' (french: La Princesse Maleine) is a play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck. It was the author's first play. It is an adaptation of the Brothers Grimm's Maid Maleen. Publication The play was first published in seria ...

'' ("Princess Maleine", 1889). Instead of expressing reality, he focused himself to generating feelings. Since human players would interact with the symbolic, several of Maeterlinck's plays were created for puppets. The puppets, he rgued, were a potent representation of how fate controls people.Maurice Maeterlinck – Facts
nobelprize.org His most famous plays include ''

L'Intruse ''Intruder'' (french: L'Intruse) is a one-act play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck, which appeared first in publication in 1890. Journalistic appreciations of the text throughout that year prompted Parisian independent theatre producers t ...

'' ("Intruder", 1890), '' Les Aveugles'' ("The Blind", 1890), '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' ("Pelléas and Mélisande", 1893), '' Intérieur'' ("Interior", 1895), and '' L'Oiseau bleu'' ("The Blue Bird", 1908). Nicholas Roerich, the Blind, 1906

Deliberations

Nominations

Maeterlinck was nominated on 8 occasions (two nominations in 1903, three nominations in 1909, single nominations in 1904, 1910, and 1911). For the 1911 prize, which he was awarded eventually, he was nominated by

Carl Bildt Nils Daniel Carl Bildt (born 15 July 1949) is a Swedish politician and diplomat who was Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994. He was the leader of the Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999. Bildt served as Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affair ...

(1850–1931), member of the Swedish Academy. In total, the Nobel Committee received 30 nominations for 27 individuals. Ten of the nominees were nominated first-time, among them Karl Adolph Gjellerup (awarded in

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...

Albert de Mun Adrien Albert Marie, Comte de Mun (, 28 February 18416 October 1914), was a French political figure and Social Reformer of the nineteenth century. Biography Early years Albert was born at Lumigny-Nesles-Ormeaux, Seine-et-Marne, son of the Marqu ...

Gustaf Fröding Gustaf Fröding (; 22 August 1860 – 8 February 1911) was a Swedish poet and writer, born in Alster outside Karlstad in Värmland. The family moved to Kristinehamn in the year 1867. He later studied at Uppsala University and worked as a journali ...

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

(awarded in 1925),

Harald Høffding Harald Høffding (11 March 1843 – 2 July 1931) was a Danish philosopher and theologian. Life Born and educated in Copenhagen, he became a schoolmaster, and ultimately in 1883 a professor at the University of Copenhagen. He was strongly influe ...

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

, and

Peter Rosegger Peter Rosegger (original ''Roßegger'') (31 July 1843 – 26 June 1918) was an Austrian writer and poet from Krieglach in the province of Styria. He was a son of a mountain farmer and grew up in the woodlands and mountains of Alpl. Rosegger (or ...

. Two of the nominees were women namely the American historian

Molly Elliot Seawell Molly Elliot Seawell (October 23, 1860 – November 15, 1916), an early American historian and writer, was a descendant of the Seawells of Virginia and a niece of POTUS, President John Tyler. Reared upon a large plantation, her education includ ...

and Austrian writer

Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach Countess Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach ( cs, Marie von Ebner-Eschenbachová, german: link=no, Marie Freifrau von Ebner-Eschenbach; 13 September 183012 March 1916) was an Austrian writer. Noted for her psychological novels, she is regarded as one of t ...

. The Swedish playwright

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

was nominated for the prize but the nomination arrived too late and was retrieved.Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature
nobelprize.org The authors Henry Abbey, Ida Baccini, Louis Henri Boussenard, Stanisław Brzozowski,

Amelia Denis de Icaza Amelia Denis de Icaza (November 28, 1836 – July 16, 1911) was a Panamanian romantic poet. She was the first Panamanian woman to publish her poetry. Biography Born in Panama City in 1836, her father was of French origin and her mother Panamanian ...

George Cary Eggleston George Cary Eggleston (26 November 1839 – 14 April 1911) American author and brother of fellow author Edward Eggleston (1837–1902). Sons of Joseph Cary Eggleston and Mary Jane Craig. After the American Civil War he published a serialized ...

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

Frances Harper Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (September 24, 1825 – February 22, 1911) was an American abolitionist, suffragist, poet, temperance activist, teacher, public speaker, and writer. Beginning in 1845, she was one of the first African-American women to ...

, Knud Karl Krogh-Tonning, Francis March,

Richard Barham Middleton Richard Barham Middleton (28 October 1882 – 1 December 1911) was an English poet and author. He is remembered most for his short ghost stories, in particular "The Ghost Ship". Biography Born in Staines, Middlesex, Middleton was educated at Cr ...

Philippe Monnier Philippe Monnier (2 November 1864 – 21 July 1911) was a Swiss writer in the French language. Publications Most of his writings dealt with his birthplace of Geneva and its region, from where he originated. He also wrote on the history ...

Alexandros Papadiamantis Alexandros Papadiamantis ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Παπαδιαμάντης; 4 March 1851 – 3 January 1911) was an influential Greek novelist, short-story writer and poet. Biography Papadiamantis was born in Greece, on the island of Skiatho ...

David Graham Phillips David Graham Phillips (October 31, 1867 – January 24, 1911) was an American novelist and journalist of the muckraker tradition. Early life Phillips was born in Madison, Indiana. After graduating from high school, Phillips entered Asbury ...

Joseph Pulitzer Joseph Pulitzer ( ; born Pulitzer József, ; April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American politician and newspaper publisher of the '' St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' and the ''New York World''. He became a leading national figure in ...

Howard Pyle Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. In 1894, he began ...

Emilio Salgari Emilio Salgari (, but often erroneously ; 21 August 1862 – 25 April 1911) was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of spe ...

, Hannah Whitall Smith, Friedrich Spielhagen,

Henrietta Stannard Henrietta Eliza Vaughan Stannard (née Palmer; 1856–1911) writing under the pseudonym of John Strange Winter, was a British novelist. She was founding president of the Writers' Club in 1892, and president of the Society of Women Journalists in ...

Katherine Thurston Katherine Cecil Thurston (18 April 1874 – 5 September 1911) was an Irish novelist, best known for two political thrillers. Life Born Kathleen Annie Josephine Madden at 14, Bridge Street, Cork, Ireland, the only daughter of banker Paul J. M ...

, Marie Wexelsen, and

Adolf Wilbrandt Adolf von Wilbrandt (24 August 183710 June 1911) was a German novelist and dramatist. History Wilbrandt was born in Rostock. His father was a professor at the University of Rostock. He received early education in his native town, and then enter ...

died in 1911 without having been nominated for the prize. Swedish poet Gustaf Fröding died months before the announcement.

Banquet speech

Maeterlinck was unable to partake in Nobel award ceremony due to illness. Thus, Charles C.M.A.Wauters, Minister of Belgium, delivered Maeterlinck's speech.1911 Banquet speech
nobelprize.org Prior to the speech, Prof. Karl Mörner, Director of the Royal Institute of Medicine and Surgery, expressed his disappointment that Maeterlinck was not able to be present at the ceremony whom he regarded as "a writer universally known and esteemed, whose poetic creations have filled us with enthusiasm."

References

External links

Award ceremony speech by C.D. af Wirsén
nobelprize.org {{Nobel Prize in Literature

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

Maurice Maeterlinck