William Faulkner nobel prize speech

Biography Born in New Albany, Mississippi, in 1897. Attended at the University of Mississippi in 1919, but dropped out and worked as a book teller's assistant for a short period of time. In 1926, his first book was published, Soldier’s Pay. Faulkner wrote several works of literature after this, his personal favorite being The Sound and the Fury. He participated in screenwriting from 1932-1945. In 1949 he won the Nobel prize in Literature which greatly increased his public recognition. On July 6, 1962, he passed away due to a heart attack.

The speech’s legacy The speech speaks of the power given to mankind, and his ability to stay resilient no matter the circumstance. “I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.” William Faulkner was correct in stating this, seeing as neither Russia or the United States made any aggressive actions against each other.

Historical context William Faulkner delivered his speech at Stockholm’s city hall on December 10, 1950. A major conflict that is addressed frequently throughout the speech is the cold war, which had just begun. “There is only one question: When will I be blown up?” Faulkner uses the literary device allusion when he makes references about the cold war, however, he does not directly mention it.

Purpose In the first paragraph, Faulkner states that he feels the prize is dedicated to his work rather than himself, and tells the audience that he did not become interested in writing literature because of glory or money. Faulkner expresses thanks to the people for being interested in his literature. Unlike the first paragraph, the second paragraph introduces the purpose of the speech, “Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it.”

audience William Faulkner focuses the speech towards the people who are attending the banquet as well as future winners of the Nobel Prize for literature. “But I would like to do the same with the acclaim too, by using this moment as a pinnacle from which I might be listened to by the young men and women already dedicated to the same anguish and travail, among whom is already that one who will some day stand here where I am standing.” The secondary audience that the speech pertains to is people in general. This can be confirmed as he mentions in the speech “Until he relearns these things, he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man. I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure.”

Tone and voice William Faulkner provides an easy-going yet concerned tone while delivering his speech.

Language The use of first person pronouns indicates that the type of language is informal. Symbolism: An example of symbolism in Faulkner’s speech is when he states, “when the last dingdong of doom has clanged and faded”. The “last dingdong of doom” refers to the terrible things that would happen, should a nuclear war break out between the U.S and Russia. Alliteration: A use of alliteration in the speech is “value of victories”. Anaphora: An anaphora can be identified in the following part of the speech “he stood among and watched the end of man. I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal“.

Structure The speech is organized in problem to solution order. The problem is stated in the second paragraph, “Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit.” In the final paragraph, the solution is stated, “I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.”

Response William Faulkner wanted the people hearing the speech to be left with a hopeful feeling because he states that man is “immortal” because he has “a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.”

Works cited Faulkner, William, n.p, “Banquet speech”, Sweden, Stockholm's city hall, December 10, 1950 Maria Popova, n.p, brainpickings.org, Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, 2014/01/10, 2016/04/16 mwestwood, n.p, enotes.com, 2012/07/03, 2016/04/16 Biography.com Editors, The Biography.com website, A&E Television Networks, n.d, 2016/04/16