The 1907 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the British writer Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) "in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author."The Nobel Prize in Literature 1907 nobelprize.org He is the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and being aged 41, is its youngest recipient to date.Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature nobelprize.org
Laureate
Rudyard Kipling praised the British colonial empire in his works as a poet, short story author, journalist, and novelist, which made his poetry well-liked in the British Army. Children all across the globe have grown to know and love him as a result of The Jungle Book (1894), especially because of Disney's 1967 motion picture adaptation. The Swedish Academy said that Kipling's human portraits and social environment descriptions that "penetrate to the substance of things" rather than merely repeating the fleeting" were his distinctive qualities.Rudyard Kipling – Poetry Foundation poetryfoundation.org His classic literary works include Kim (1901), the Just So Stories (1902) and many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King (1888).Rudyard Kipling – Facts nobelprize.orgRudyard Kipling britannica.com
Deliberations Nominations Kipling was nominated four times beginning in 1904. He was nominated in 1907 by Charles Oman, professor of modern history at the University of Oxford, which later led to him being awarded the Nobel prize.Nomination archive – Rudyard Kipling nobelprize.org
In total, the Swedish Academy received 37 nominations for 21 writers. The highest number of nominations – five nominations – were for the Italian writer Angelo de Gubernatis followed by American theologian Borden Parker Bowne with four nominations. Eight of the nominees were nominated first-time such as Holger Drachmann, Eduardo Benot, Andrés Manjón, Àngel Guimerà, and Paul Bourget. Selma Lagerlöf is the only female nominee for that year.Nomination archive – 1907 nobelprize.org The American writer Mark Twain was purportedly nominated in 1907 and 1908, but is not included in the archives.
The authors Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Mary Elizabeth Coleridge, Mary De Morgan, Charles Guérin, Louise Granberg, Benedikt Sveinbjarnarson Gröndal, Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, Joris-Karl Huysmans, Alfred Jarry, Mkrtich Khrimian, Hector Malot, David Masson, Bertram Fletcher Robinson, André Theuriet, Marko Vovchok, Iosif Vulcan, and Stanisław Wyspiański died in 1907 without having been nominated for the prize. The British minister Ian Maclaren and Spanish academic Eduardo Benot died months before the announcement.
Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)1Eduardo Benot Rodríguez (1822–1907)poetry, drama, essaysDaniel de Cortázar Larrubia (1844–1927)2João Bonança (1836–1924)law, essaysTeófilo Braga (1843–1924)3Paul Bourget (1852–1935) novel, short story, literary criticism, essays René Bazin (1853–1932)4Borden Parker Bowne (1847–1910) philosophy, theology, essays5Georg Brandes (1842–1927) literary criticism, essays 6Angelo de Gubernatis (1840–1913) drama, essays, philology, poetry7Holger Drachmann (1846–1908)poetry, dramaHarald Høffding (1843–1931)8Antonio Fogazzaro (1842–1911) novel, poetry, short storyEugène-Melchior de Vogüé (1848–1910)9Ángel Guimerá Jorge (1845–1924)drama, poetryJoaquim Miret i Sans (1858–1919)10Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) short story, novel, poetryCharles Oman (1860–1946)11Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940)novel, short story12Ian Maclaren (1850–1907)short story, novel, theology, essaysWaldemar Rudin (1833–1921)13Andrés Manjón y Manjón (1846–1923)pedagogy, theology, essays, lawÁngel Sánchez-Rubio Ibáñez (1852–1910)14Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo (1856–1912) history, philosophy, philology, poetry, translation, literary criticism15George Meredith (1828–1909) novel, poetryMary Augusta Ward (1851–1920)16John Morley (1838–1923) biography, literary criticism, essays15 members of the Incorporated Society of Authors17Lewis Morris (1833–1907) poetry, songwriting, essays18George Lansing Raymond (1839–1929) essays, philosophyCharles Needham (1848–1935)19Georgios Souris (1852–1919)poetry, songwriting, essays20Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909) poetry, drama, literary criticism, novel21Jaroslav Vrchlický (1853–1912) ()poetry, drama, translation
Prize decision In 1907, the Nobel committee proposed that the Nobel Prize in Literature should be awarded to the English author Rudyard Kipling, noting that "Kipling is a lover of concretion and concentration; one almost never finds in him empty abstractions and never paraphrases. He quickly finds the striking expression, the descriptive epithet. One does not notice a trace of imitation in him. He has been compared to Bret Harte, to Pierre Loti, to Dickens; but he is always original, and his power of invention is, it seems, inexhaustible."
The Nobel committee also made special mentions of the Catalan poet Àngel Guimerà y Jorge, English author Algernon Charles Swinburne, French writer Paul Bourget and Italian writer Antonio Fogazzaro as worthy candidates for the prize. The candidacy of Selma Lagerlöf, (who was eventually awarded the 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature), "whose developed genius in certain works, such as the first part of "Jerusalem", could not, in all members of the committee, erase the impression of a certain artificial manner in "Gösta Berling's Saga" or of the arbitrary mixing of saga and reality, which takes place in the folk book about Nils Holgersson" divided the members of the committee.
Nobel committee member Carl David af Wirsén advocated a prize for Swinburne, but ultimately Wirsén chose to support Kipling's candidacy as a way of blocking Selma Lagerlöf, whose writing Wirsén disliked, from being awarded.Gustav Källstrand Andens Olympiska Spel: Nobelprisets historia, Fri Tanke 2021, p. 191-192
On 7 November 1907 the Swedish Academy decided that the Nobel Prize in Literature should be awarded to Rudyard Kipling "in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author".
Reactions The choice of Rudyard Kipling was very well received. Kipling was widely celebrated by both the Swedish press and public crowds when he arrived in Stockholm to accept the prize.Gustav Källstrand Andens olympiska spel, Fri Tanke 2021 p.189
Award Ceremony At the award ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December 1907, the Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, Carl David af Wirsén, praised both Kipling and three centuries of English literature, saying:
"The Swedish Academy, in awarding the Nobel Prize in Literature this year to Rudyard Kipling, desires to pay a tribute of homage to the literature of England, so rich in manifold glories, and to the greatest genius in the realm of narrative that that country has produced in our times."
Notes
References
External links Award ceremony speech by C.D. af Wirsén nobelprize.org