1925 Nobel Prize in Literature

The 1925 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) "for his work which is marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty." The prize was awarded in 1926. Shaw was the second Irish Nobel laureate in literature after W. B. Yeats won in 1923.

Nominations
George Bernard Shaw was nominated seven times before he, in 1926, was awarded the 1925 prize. Other nominated authors in 1925 and 1926 included Guglielmo Ferrero, Willem Kloos, Rudolf Maria Holzapfel, Georg Brandes, Thomas Hardy, Roberto Bracco, Johan Bojer, Olav Duun, Paul Ernst, Paul Sabatier, Arnold Bennett, Paul Claudel, Kostis Palamas, Vicente Huidobro, Grazia Deledda (awarded in 1926), Sigrid Undset (awarded in 1928) and Johannes V. Jensen (awarded in 1944).

Reactions
At first, Shaw declined the prize stating "I can forgive Nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel prize". He later changed his mind and accepted the honour, but refused to receive the prize money.

Shaw recommended that the prize money instead used to fund the translation of works by Swedish playwright, August Strindberg, to English.