SOURCE: Christensen, Parley A. “J. B., the Critics, and Me.” Western Humanities Review 15, no. 2 (spring 1961): 111-26.

In the following essay, Christensen considers critical reaction to MacLeish's verse play J. B. and defends the work from its detractors.

The publication a few years ago of J. B., a play in verse by Archibald MacLeish, was generally regarded as a literary event of exceptional importance. The critical reception of the play was warm, even laudatory. A critic of recognized stature called it “the play of the century.” Another said, “It may well become one of the lasting achievements of the art and mind of our time.” It drew a Tony citation and a Pulitzer award. Revised and adapted to production in the theater, it was successfully staged at home and abroad. Though pronounced too big for Broadway, it played there for many months to capacity houses. Posing as it does...