Don Juan in Hell: From Man and Superman (Dover Thrift Editions) [Paperback]

George Bernard Shaw (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dover Thrift Editions | Publication Date: February 10, 2006

A dream sequence from the 3rd act of Man and Superman, "Don Juan in Hell" forms a play within the play, consisting of a dramatic reading by 3 characters from the main play in archetypal guises. The Devil himself joins their spirited debate regarding heaven and hell, of good and evil, and of human purpose.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (February 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486448452
• ISBN-13: 978-0486448459
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #895,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Social Darwinism made Available, June 13, 2008

By 

Scott Schwartz - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Don Juan in Hell: From Man and Superman (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

This is a fabulous book. It is part of the larger "Man & Superman" by Shaw, and I must admit that I am very glad it has been published as a separate work, because it is a discrete entity in itself. It lays open the whole panorama of Social Darwinism: Why are we here, where is humanity going eventually, what is our purpose, and what is the ethos of evolution. Like the previous reviewer, I saw it first in a dramatic presentation. Actually nothing HAPPENS in this play... It is a discussion between four characters about the purpose of existence. But what a discussion! It debunks religion, patriotism, war, love, marriage, morals, responsibility, and "progress." It is surprisingly universal, and while it does poke fun at Victorian rigidity, its contents are relevant today. The divergent points of view map out psychology, sociology, ethics, and politics for the ensuing century. It is wonderful that an inexpensive book can be this rich!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHERE NOW LIES ONE HUNDRED YEARS LATER SUCH EXCITING THEOLOGICAL THEATRE AS THIS? SHOW ME!, May 21, 2007

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C. Scanlon "least helpful reviewer" (among us humans) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Don Juan in Hell: From Man and Superman (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

I dimly remember from the early to mid Sixties this episode from near the end of the THIRD Act of George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman, broadcast on Public Television with a younger George C. Scott deliciously, wisely, wearily, darkly, grippingly playing Don Juan, subtly, powerfully filling the profound and philosophical dialogue with urgent life.

I would give anything to see it again. Never was Mr. Scott so good; never theatre so well written than by this sardonic Irishman. This fine reprinting by the Dover Thrift Editions (to which this review is directed) begins not only with an excellent introduction as published a half century ago by John Mason Brown, but also a moving forward by the great actor Charles Laughton who bears a lament similar to mine own. Where now lies theatre worthy of presentation such as this? What has our great culture and civilization and technology brought us which can ever surpass this segment of a larger work from one hundred years ago?

This Dover Thrift Edition generously bears full implicit theatrical presentation rights with no need for permissions nor licensing. Anyone who possesses this book may present it upon the stage. When you do, please let me know! Or let us read and discuss it together, now, on earth.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Topsy-turvy Shavian World, October 24, 2010

By 

Gerald P. Murphy - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Don Juan in Hell (from Shaw's Man and Superman) (Kindle Edition)

A very clever play-within-a-play, Shaw's Man and Superman. Wilborn Hampton, in a N.Y. Times theater review (August 23, 2000) suggests that Shaw, "a k a Don Juan, holds forth on how the world is topsy-turvy and nothing is as it should be. For example, he disdains the denizens of hell for admiring attributes that most humans deem worthy -- ''honor, duty, justice'' -- but that he labels ''the seven deadly virtues.'' He complains that his neighbors in hell spend all their time talking about love and art and beauty, while in heaven the residents spend eternity in blissful contemplation of how life might be improved. Don Juan wants to abandon the pleasures of hell for the rigors of heaven, if only ''to escape from the eternal pursuit of happiness'' in the netherworld."