Wisława Szymborska

Banquet speech

Wislawa at the 1996 Nobel banquet
Wislawa Szymborska delivering her banquet speech, 10 December 1996. © Nobel Foundation. Photo: Hans Pettersson.

Wisława Szymborska’s speech at the Nobel Banquet, December 10, 1996 (in French)

Personne n’a de routine de recevoir le Prix Nobel. De même personne n’a de routine d’en exprimer sa reconnaissance. Dans ma langue maternelle, comme dans chaque langue d’ailleurs, il y a beaucoup de mots jolis au choix. Mais il me semble qu’à cette occasion le mot le plus simple a le plus de sérieux et de sens: Merci, dziêkujê, tack.

From Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Prizes 1996, Editor Tore Frängsmyr, [Nobel Foundation], Stockholm, 1997

Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 1996

To cite this section
MLA style: Wisława Szymborska – Banquet speech. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Sun. 30 Jun 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1996/szymborska/speech/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Nobel Prizes and laureates

Eleven laureates were awarded a Nobel Prize in 2023, for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. Their work and discoveries range from effective mRNA vaccines and attosecond physics to fighting against the oppression of women.

See them all presented here.
Illustration

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.