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Stephen Vincent Benét

スティーヴン・ヴィンセント・ベネット

Sutīven Vinseunto Benetto

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1898-07-22 （Fountain Hill, Pennsylvania, U.S.）
Died
1943-03-13 （New York City, U.S.） age 44
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Fountain Hill, Pennsylvania (birthplace) → New Haven (Yale University) → Paris (fellowship / residence) → New York City (later residence / death) → Stonington, Connecticut (owned the Amos Palmer House)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Poet, Novelist, Short story writer, Screenwriter, Playwright
Active Years
1915-1943
Affiliations
American Academy of Arts and Letters (member), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (fellow), Elizabethan Club (Yale, member)

Education

Hitchcock Military Academy
Period: 不明
Country: United States
Attended during childhood/early education
Summerville Academy (Augusta)
Period: 不明
Country: United States
Graduated at top of his class
Yale University
English
Degree: BA / MA (英文学)
Period: 1915–1919（学士）、修士は在学中の業績により授与
Year of Graduation: 1919
Country: United States
BA (1919). An MA in English was awarded on the basis of submitted work (exact year varies in sources).

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
1929
Work: John Brown's Body
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board / Columbia University
Result: 受賞
O. Henry Award
1932
Work: An End to Dreams
Organization: O. Henry Award organization
Result: 受賞
O. Henry Award
1937
Work: The Devil and Daniel Webster
Organization: O. Henry Award organization
Result: 受賞
O. Henry Award
1940
Work: Freedom's a Hard-Bought Thing
Organization: O. Henry Award organization
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (posthumous)
1944
Work: Western Star
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board / Columbia University
Result: 受賞（事後）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

John Brown's Body

1928 Narrative poem / Epic poetry

A book-length narrative poem about the American Civil War that weaves historical figures and events into an epic treatment of national and personal struggles.

American historyWarHeroism and sacrificeNational identity

The Devil and Daniel Webster

1936 Short story / Fantastic folklore

A short story blending folklore and American themes in which a man bargains with the devil and a dramatic trial ensues; adapted for stage, opera and film.

Deals and consequencesJustice and the lawFolklore and tradition
Adaptations
  • [Opera] The Devil and Daniel Webster (opera) / Douglas Moore（作曲）／台本：Stephen Vincent Benét（台本作者） (1939)
  • [Film (screenplay co-written)] All That Money Can Buy (film) (1941)

By the Waters of Babylon

1937 Short story / Early post-apocalyptic

A short story depicting a post-civilization world that serves as an allegory about faith, knowledge, and the rediscovery of the past.

Collapse of civilizationRediscovery of knowledgeAllegory

The Sobbin' Women (story — source for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)

Short story / Adaptation of classical myth

A short piece adapting the Roman myth of the rape of the Sabine Women; it served as the basis for the musical film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Myth adaptationGender relationsDepiction of social customs
Adaptations
  • [Film] Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

Bibliography

  • Five Men and Pompey (1915)
  • Young Adventure: A Book of Poems (1918)
  • John Brown's Body (1928)
  • The Devil and Daniel Webster (1936)
  • By the Waters of Babylon (1937)
  • Western Star (unfinished, 1943, posthumous)

Adaptations

  • All That Money Can Buy (film, 1941; based on The Devil and Daniel Webster)
  • Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (film, 1954; based on The Sobbin' Women)
  • The Devil and Daniel Webster (opera, 1939)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Epic/narrative poetic styleDirect and vigorous narrationUse of folklore and mythBlend of historical realism and the fantastic
Recurring Motifs
American history and loreMoral choices of good and evilFolkloric and supernatural elementsNation and individual

Health

  • Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
    1943
    Suffered a fatal heart attack in 1943, bringing his career to an abrupt end

Legacy

Benét made a significant contribution to early 20th-century American letters through his narrative poetry and folkloric short stories. He won the Pulitzer Prize for John Brown's Body, and his short story The Devil and Daniel Webster was adapted for stage, opera and film. He received a posthumous Pulitzer for Western Star.

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Letters
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Archives

  • Yale Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (Stephen Vincent Benét and Rosemary Benét Papers)

In Popular Culture

  • The Sobbin' Women inspired the film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and later stage/TV adaptations
  • A line from his poem 'American Names' provided the epigraph and title inspiration for Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and has been widely quoted

Quotes

  • "You may bury my body in Sussex grass, You may bury my tongue at Champmédy. I shall not be there. I shall rise and pass. Bury my heart at Wounded Knee."
    Source: Poem 'American Names'
  • "Out of John Brown's strong sinews the tall skyscrapers grow..."
    Source: John Brown's Body (1928)

Trivia

  • The Devil and Daniel Webster was adapted into an opera, stage plays and a film.
  • Won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1929 and posthumously in 1944 for the unfinished Western Star.
  • Received multiple O. Henry Awards (1932, 1937, 1940).
  • Active at Yale as a student contributor/editor and later helped support the Yale Series of Younger Poets as a judge.