MacLeish, Archibald

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Hast Thou Considered My Servant Job?
The Book of Job in present times
Modern take
JB and Job
Ecouraging book

J.B.: A Play in Verse
Archibald MacLeish
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Archibald MacLeish's "J. B.": A Study Guide from Gale's "Drama for Students" (Volume 15, Chapter 4)
On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent
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ASIN: 0395083532

Book Description

The beloved poet-statesman's Pulitzer Prize-winning play which offers something for every reader.

Customer Reviews:

Hast Thou Considered My Servant Job? .......2007-06-18

J.B. is a modern day (1950s) retelling of the biblical story of Job. To summarize: Job, God's most loyal servant, is punished by God without reason. God only wishes to prove that no matter what obstacles God threw at him, Job would still "praise God." While the story of Job makes a deep point about human suffering and the strength of faith, J.B. delves deeper.

The play centers on a dialogue between two characters, Zuss and Nickles, who play God and Satan respectively. Each makes important points about the root of suffering and God's role in Job's pain. Zuss argues, in more words or less, that Job has no right to question God. Nickles, instead, sympathizes with Job's pain believing that God has been unfair to mankind and especially to this man. Please grant that these are simplifications of their arguments, one can write novels on the meaning of this play.
Its not hard to imagine how the play ends, but like many things it's the journey not the destination that matter. The banter between the two, and satirical overtones of throwing the whole setting in a circus tent, take the reader beyond the norm. This is a story that requires the reader to engage, be prepared to think! You can not help but question your spirituality and faith during the play. For while few of us suffer as Job does, fewer still believe in God. Would you be able to still love God, if he took everything away from you?

I'll be straightforward and admit that my review is biased. MacLeish's J.B. has been (since reading it in my High School AP English Class) my favorite. I'm an avid reader, but there's something so subtly beautiful about MacLeish's language, something so deep in his words that have resounded in my heart, that I am compelled to re-read this play over and over again. MacLeish has a profound message to teach us "modern, disillusioned men" that one would have to have a heart of stone not to appreciate.

The Book of Job in present times.......2006-02-24

I was familiar with J.B. when it first came out in the late 50's or early 60's. The story of the Book of Job was updated to a time when nuclear war was a possibility, and that was the backdrop for J.B.'s (Job's) losses. With the terrorist threat now prevalent in the world, the play is now more timely than ever.

Modern take.......2003-10-12

Macleish's modern rendition of the Book of Job does an adequate job of converting the serious tale to a modern almost circus like story. Although sardonic at times, he keeps the main focus intact: WHY DO THE RIGHTEOUS SUFFER?

JB and Job.......2002-12-10

This play in verse is a modern take on one of the timeless questions of suffering during our lives.In this instance,JB loses his wealth, health and family and during the ensuing discussions with his "friends", it beomes evident that the story is not about suffering, but about faith.Very powerful,but short, descriptive scenes and dialogue.

Ecouraging book.......2000-09-12

This is a play based on the book of Job. It takes you through his struggle and faithfulness to God. After having a lot of land, good cattle and sheep, and a happy family, he is tested. Satan says he will curse God to his face if he doesn't have wealth, a family, or health. Satan is proved wrong. Job stays faithful to the Lord and in the end is rewarded with more than he ever started off with.

Book Description

This expanded volume of the distinguished poet's work contains 29 previously uncollected poems, some that had been published, and some found in manuscript after MacLeish's death in 1982. This is the definitive volume produced by a life that filled several careers as writer, teacher, and public servant, but was devoted above all to poetry.

Customer Reviews:

Bring him back!.......2004-02-07

I say, Bring him back! because MacLeish has pretty well dropped from sight, except for 'Ars Poetica' and 'You, Andrew Marvell.' And it's true that one has to mine this hefty volume pretty carefully for the real treasure. Except for Conquistador (MacLeish's 1932 Pulitzer Prize-winning epic--really, it's a sort of epic lyric--of the Spanish conquest of Mexico), MacLeish's long poems hold very little aesthetic interest, and even Conquistador is marred by its indebtedness to the Ezra Pound of the early Cantos. But at his lyric best, MacLeish is incomparable: 'Eleven,' 'Memorial Rain,' ''Not Marble Nor the Gilded Monuments,'' 'Immortal Autumn,' 'Epistle To Be Left in the Earth,' 'Cook County,' 'Winter Is Another Country,' 'Calypso's Island,' 'What Riddle Asked the Sphinx,' 'The Reef Fisher,' 'The Infinite Reason,' 'Dr. Sigmund Freud Discovers the Sea Shell,' 'Captivity of the Fly,' 'Companions,' 'Mark's Sheep,' 'Rainbow at Evening,' and a generous handful of others drawn from every stage of a very long career. What is more, I cannot understand, in this age of the socially conscious anthology, why the editors of the Heath Anthology of American Literature haven't rediscovered the MacLeish of Frescoes for Mr. Rockefeller's City (especially 'Empire Builders'), 'Lines for Interment,' the often misunderstood 'Invocation to the Social Muse' (a satire whose irony turns back on its speaker), 'Speech to Those Who Say Comrade,' and 'Brave New World' (which is especially relevant today, thanks to the so-called Patriot Act). MacLeish was THE poet of the Lost Generation and later the very first 'Fellow Traveler'--literally! His public and private voices merit hearing.

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JB A PLAY IN VERSE.
Archibald. Macleish
Manufacturer: Secker & Warburg
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HH0XMG

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J.B.: A Play in Verse
Archibald. Macleish
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HQBUME

Product Description

Multi colored cloth cover.

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Jb
Archibald MacLeish
Manufacturer: Houghton, Mifflin Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Mr. Thoreau's Work: Walden
A beautiful guide to life and nature.
Discover what is truly important
An essay on life
An experiment, some observations , and a powerful message

Walden
Henry David Thoreau
Manufacturer: Caedmon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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ASIN: 0694520071

Book Description

In 1845 Thoreau leased some land owned by his friend and mentor, Ralph Waldo Emerson on Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts, and lived in a cabin on it for two years, two months, and two days. The experience gave Thoreau the chance to make keen observations on the world around him. The result became an American classic: Walden explores not only the soul of the searching Thoreau, but defines what it means to be a truly free person, and distills the essence of our relationship of Nature.

Customer Reviews:

Mr. Thoreau's Work: Walden.......2007-04-22

It looks like I rated it 4 stars. I can't seem to change that. I really meant to rate it a 3.

Fortunately, I read The Annotated Walden, annotated by Phillip Van Doren Stern. Thank goodness I chose it. Without Mr. Van Doren Stern's introduction, side bars, pictures and comments, I think I would have been thoroughly lost.

I have to agree with a few of the reviewers who stated how pompous Thoreau sounds; he does. He tries to act superior,only to have the side bar notations state something different; something that a friend mentioned. For example, he says he "could easily do without the post-office," yet a contemporary, Sanborne, is quoted off to the side of the annotated version as having said about this quote: "Few residents of Concord frequented the Post Office more punctually or read the newspapers more eagerly than Thoreau."

He contradicts himself constantly. He mocks people who don't read, and then says he barely read a few pages of one book in the two years he was at Walden pond. He could be vindictive; lashing out at Flint's Pond (and Mr. Flint) because Flint would not let him build a cabin on his pond. He comes off as a snob, saying most men learn to read only as a necessity; for work, to add up their profits. But *true* readers are hard to come by. "I aspire to be acquainted with wiser men than this Concord soil has produced.."

Yet, he also has some really great words of wisdom. He questions the wisdom in working so hard during the best part of your life (youth) only to spend the fruits of your labor "during the least valuable part of it." Enjoy life while you are young. Why work so hard when the endgame is death? He comments on things that are still true to this day; fashion and our obsession with appearance. Work to provide for yourself, not to overburden yourself and keep yourself in debt.

Someone reviewing this book on Amazon wrote that it was a failed experiment; that he meant to live in the woods as a hermit of sorts and failed miserably to do so. That was never the extent of his experiment. He never says he's going to lead a solitary life. He states he visited the village every day or two. "As I walked in the woods to see birds and squirrels, so I walked in the village to see men and boys."

I find myself having mixed feelings regarding this book. He is so contradictory, but then, so am I. He can be judgemental and then he can be spot-on. It was a difficult book to get through, Again, had I not had the annotated version, I would have been truly lost. He frustrated me at times. I was not reading literature. I was reading someone's diary that often went off-tangent (like this review). Is it Top 100 book worthy? My opinion: no. It was good at times, painful at others. I took 2 months to trudge through it, all the while reading 5 other books just to keep me going. I am glad I read it. I won't do it again though. Sorry, Mr. Thoroeau

A beautiful guide to life and nature........2007-03-24

Walden is so beautifully written, and the issues are still relevant today. To me it is a guide for how to live in harmony with nature. I think if you are a naturalist or an aspiring naturalist this book is a must have. This book touches more on spiritual aspects than any religeous scripture I have ever read. Even 150 years ago Thoreau looked at the trends and knew what was coming. Today I don't think that anyone with any sense would argue that in an era of 200 different shampoos that all do the same thing,we cannot sustain this pace and will deplete all of the resources and pollute all our lands,if we continue. Live small and ecologically sound was the message and a great one it was.

Discover what is truly important.......2007-03-12

Thoreau moved into the woods at Walden pond in Concord. However the book isnt about living in the woods. Its about stepping outside of "civilization" so that he could look at it objectively. From his perspective you see how much of the worlds misery is just stuff we bring on ourselves. like the following:
" I see young men, my townsmen, whose misfortune it is to have inherited farms, houses, barns, cattle, and farming tools; for these are more easily acquired than got rid of."
He goes on to explain how once we have the items we need to maintain them, improve them, and in the end we end up slaves to the things we own. He looks at how we spend every waking day storing up treasures to mold or rust in a treasure room.
He then goes on to look into what work is actually needed to sustain our lives. Once he has discovered this, he is amazed at the mountains of free time he has left. He uses that time to get to know the wolrd that we live in. Sort of in a "Song of Myself" sort of way.
In the end this book was an inspiration to me personaly, to leave the fast paced chase of the dollar for a more relaxed and less stressfull life style. Now I chase waves and try to help out in my community. I find that I have tons of free time, and I don't even feel guilty if I waste it lying on the beach.
Its not the sort of book that you get in the first read through, you will find yourself at the office or in a meeting and suddenly a passage from the book will pop into your head and suddenly it will make sense.
I know this review is a little touchy feely, but if you read this book, and understand its message. It is a key to a secret club where you realize that "Hand Scraped solid Manchurian Walnut Floors" are in the end just flooring. And the truth is that Artisan Tibetan vase that you bought for such a fortune will one day be sold at a garage sale for a couple of bucks.
Its a book that looks at the silliness that we take so seriously. I highly recommend this book to anybody, but especialy if you are doing well but still not happy. Buy this book.

An essay on life.......2007-01-24

I agree with a previous poster that Thoreau comes across as arrogant throughout the book, but he makes some striking observations on humanity, civilization, the pursuit of wealth, and enjoying nature. This is a book that everyone should read at some point in their life, preferably sooner rather than later. It is thought-provoking and entertaining.

An experiment, some observations , and a powerful message.......2007-01-12

This book has some great quotes about life. In one sense it seems like a postive thinking book. It suggests we reawaken ourselves. It tells us to live deliberately. He points out that life is frittered away by detail. He tells us to be philosophers rather than professors of philosophy. He points out that most men lead lives of quite desperation.

Those are some of the things that I underlined and like to re read. The backdrop to all these great ideas is his time spent in the woods. He did retire from society for a while. He did make a lot of very detailed observations about nature. It felt like being in the woods. The experiences, in some ways, reminded me of my own time in the woods but in many ways they seemed like very different and new experiences.

In the end he says he that he left the woods for as good a reason as for which he went there. I was not conviced of that claim. To assume that he he just went to the woods to record the experience and use the time to to offer his complaints about society is just not enough to explain this book. Somehow both approaches complimented each other.

The book is well worth reading. After reading the book brings you back to find a quote your thinking about and to better understand the quote.

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J.B.
Archibald MacLeish
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GSLGXQ

The Dialogues of Archibald MacLeish and Mark Van Doren

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The Dialogues of Archibald MacLeish and Mark Van Doren
Archibald MacLeish & Mark Van Doren
Manufacturer: E. P. Dutton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IZBWDQ

Product Description

Discussions of the poetic art and allied topics, as filmed for broadcasting on the CBS television network in 1962. Edited, with a foreword, notes and acknowledgments, by Warren V. Bush.

A Time to Speak, the selected Prose of Archibald MacLeish

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A Time to Speak, the selected Prose of Archibald MacLeish
Archibald Macleish
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JYJ3MS

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