The 1912 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the German dramatist and novelist Gerhart Hauptmann (1862–1949) "primarily in recognition of his fruitful, varied and outstanding production in the realm of dramatic art."The Nobel Prize in Literature 1912 nobelprize.org He is the fourth German author to become a recipient of the prize after Paul Heyse in 1910.Gerhart Hauptmann britannica.com
Laureate
Gerhart Hauptmann achieved prominence as one of the pioneers of German Naturalism. Naturalism emphasizes observation and determinism as key concepts. Vor Sonnenaufgang ("Before Sunrise"), a drama he wrote in 1889, launched his career and received critical acclaim at the same time and was followed by other successful plays such as Die Weber ("The Weaver", 1892), Hanneles Himmelfahrt ("The Assumption of Hannele", 1893), and Die versunkene Glocke ("The Sunken Bell", 1896). Hauptmann was inspired by the discussion and quickly produced a series of works with realistic themes. He released Der Narr in Christo Emanuel Quint ("The Fool in Christ, Emanuel Quint)", his debut book, in 1910.Gerhart Hauptmann – Facts nobelprize.org
Deliberations Nominations Gerhart Huaptmann was nominated in 5 occasions (three in 1902 and one nomination in 1906). His nomination in 1912 was made Erich Schmidt (1853–1913), historian of literature and member of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences, which eventually led him to being awarded the prize.Nomination archive – Gerhart Hauptmann nobelprize.org
In total, the Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy received 40 nominations for 30 writers. The highest nominations was for Spanish novelist Benito Pérez Galdós with five nominations. Among the repeated nominees include Henry James, Thomas Hardy, George Bernard Shaw (awarded in 1925), William Chapman, Verner von Heidenstam (awarded in 1916), and Juhani Aho. Ten of the nominees were nominated first-time, among them Henri Bergson (awarded in 1927), Pencho Slaveykov, Sven Hedin, Carl Spitteler (awarded in 1919), Jean-Henri Fabre, Salvatore Farina, Benito Pérez Galdós, Adolf Frey, and James George Frazer. No female authors were nominated that year.Nomination archive – 1912 nobelprize.org
The authors Herman Bang, Robert Barr, Berta Behrens, Alexandre Bisson, Edward Wilmot Blyden, Felix Dahn, Louis de Gramont, Léon Dierx, Horace Howard Furness, Joseph Furphy, Jacques Futrelle, Girish Chandra Ghosh, Theodor Gomperz, George Grossmith, Bertha Jane Grundy, Mir Mosharraf Hossain, Alphonse Lemerre, Lie Kim Hok, Karl May, Gabriel Monod, Giovanni Pascoli, Rafael Pombo, Bolesław Prus, Addison Peale Russell, Bram Stoker, Aleksey Suvorin, Ion Luca Caragiale and Lady Welby died in 1912 without having been nominated for the prize. The Bulgarian poet Pencho Slaveykov 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 storyJohan Wilhelm Ruuth (1854–1928)2Rafael Altamira Crevea (1866–1951) history, pedagogy, law, essaysFermín Canella Secades (1849–1924)3Henri Bergson (1859–1941) philosophyAndrew Lang (1844–1912)4William Chapman (1850–1917) poetry, translationAdrien-Bruno Roy (–)5Francesco D'Ovidio (1849–1925) philology, literary criticismErnesto Monaci (1844–1918)6Jean-Henri Fabre (1823–1915) short story, essays, poetry7Salvatore Farina (1846–1918) novel, short story3 members of the Istituto Lombardo Accademia di Scienze e Lettere8Anatole France (1844–1924) poetry, essays, drama, novel, literary criticismPaul Hervieu (1857–1915)9James George Frazer (1854–1941)history, essays, translationGeorge Augustin Macmillan (1855–1936)10Adolf Frey (1855–1920) biography, history, essaysWilhelm Oechsli (1851–1919)11Karl Adolph Gjellerup (1857–1919) poetry, drama, novel5 members of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters12Ángel Guimerá Jorge (1845–1924) drama, poetry13Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) novel, short story, poetry70 members of the Royal Society of Literature14Gerhart Hauptmann (1862–1946) drama, novelErich Schmidt (1853–1913)15Sven Hedin (1865–1952)essays, autobiography, historyFredrik Wulff (1845–1930)16Harald Høffding (1843–1931) philosophy, theology12 members of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters17Henry James (1843–1916)novel, short story, drama, essays18Hans Ernst Kinck (1865–1926)philology, novel, short story, drama, essaysGerhard Gran (1856–1925)19Ernest Lavisse (1842–1922) historyHans Hildebrand (1842–1913)20Pierre Loti (1850–1923) novel, short story, autobiography, essays21Benito Pérez Galdós (1843–1920) novel, short story, drama, essays22Salvador Rueda Santos (1857–1933) poetry, essays10 professors of the Cardenal Cisneros Institute23Karl Schönherr (1867–1943) drama, short story, poetryKarl Johan Warburg (1852–1918)24George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)drama, essays, novelKristian Birch-Reichenwald Aars (1868–1917)25Pencho Slaveykov (1866–1912)poetry, essaysAlfred Jensen (1859–1921)26Georgios Souris (1853–1919) poetry, songwritingGeorgios Hatzidakis (1848–1941)27Carl Spitteler (1845–1924) poetry, essays28Émile Verhaeren (1855–1916) poetry, essays2 professors of the Free University of Brussels29Ernst von der Recke (1848–1933) poetry, drama30Verner von Heidenstam (1859–1940) novel, short story, poetryFredrik Wulff (1845–1930)
Prize decision Of the 30 nominated candidates, the Nobel committee shortlisted five authors as the final candidates considered for the prize. These were French entomologist Jean Henri Fabre, Gerhard Hauptmann, Austrian writer Karl Schönherr, Swisss author Carl Spitteler and French historian Ernest Lavisse. Fabre was considered to be awarded for his ten part series Souvenirs Entomologiques, but his candadicy was dismissed as the committee thought that just one work was not enough for being awarded the Nobel prize. Of the three German-language candidates Hauptmann, Schönherr and Spitteler, three members of the committee supported a prize to Hauptmann while one member proposed Schönherr, or, alternatively a shared prize to Schönherr and Spitteler. Historian Ernest Lavisse was recommended by the Nobel committee as worthy of the award.
On 14 November 1912 the members of the Swedish Academy decided that the Nobel Prize in Literature should be awarded to Gerhard Hauptmann "primarily in recognition of his fruitful, varied and outstanding production in the realm of dramatic art."
Carl Spitteler was subsequently awarded the 1919 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Notes
References
External links Award ceremony speech by Hans Hildebrand nobelprize.org 1912 Banquet speech nobelprize.org