Suffering and Identity in Donne and Wit

Vivian’s condescending nature is a characteristic that becomes amplified in her own flashbacks. This is shown through the quote, “So far so good, but they can only think for themselves only so long before the being to self-destruct… Lost it” this shows how Vivian hides behind her wit which is a parallel drawn from herself and Donne. It shows the audience how they both try to hide from death by using wit.

John Donne’s poems are similar in their content. They usually point out at same topics like love, lust, sex and religion; only they are dissimilar in the feelings they express. These subjects reflect the different stages of his life: the lust of his youth, the love of his married middle age, and the piety of the latter part of his life. His poem,’ The Flea’ represents the restless feeling of lust during his youthful days but it comes together with a true respect for women through the metaphysical conceit of the flea as a church in the rhythm of the sexual act.

Although Vivian would be described as insensitive more often than not, there is a moment where hero would describe her better. Within the first ten minutes of the play, Dr. Harvey tells Vivian of her terminal cancer. Although her cancer had progressed too far to save her life, Dr. Harvey suggest that she try an experimental treatment that will help with research into the cancer. She agrees to this and takes on large doses of

A text is essentially a product of its context, as its prevailing values are inherently derived by the author from society. However, the emergence of post-modern theories allows for audience interpretation, thus it must be recognised that meaning in texts can be shaped and reshaped. Significantly, this may occur as connections between texts are explored. These notions are reflected in the compostion of Edson’s W;t and Donne’s poetry as their relationship is established through intertextual references, corresponding values and ideas and the use of language features. Edson particularly portrays key values surrounding the notions of the importance of loved based relationships, and death and resurrection: central themes of Donne’s Holy Sonnets

She goes through rigorous treatments that most patients couldn’t possibly survive. However, Dr. Kelekian and Dr. Posner believe she will be the first to fully accept the treatments because she is so “strong.” She agrees with this in the beginning, feeling she is not like other patients and she will be able to handle it. Vivian refuses to quit. She is a tough, stubborn woman who upholds herself to a level of strength and perfection that others cannot possibly accomplish. As the story continues, it becomes evident that she cannot uphold this ideal. The treatments severely affect her, leaving her miserable. It is when she shows a more vulnerable side to Susie, choosing to not be resuscitated if her heart stops, and then asking her, “You’re still going to take care of me, aren’t you?” that she suddenly becomes a more relatable character; bringing the audience to feel sorry for her

Although Vivian has used her intellect and her dry wit as a shield to carry her through life, these are of little value in the face of death. She sees her reliance to concepts and her apathy to others mirrored in the actions of Jason Posher an ambitious clinical fellow working under Dr. Kelekian. He comes in and out of the movie and seems to treat Vivian as “un-human.” Throughout the whole movie he asks her “how are you feeling today Vivian,” but the way he says it is so unfeeling and cold. At the end of the movie when she is actually dead he asks, it just shows how much doctors really do not have any attachment what so ever to patients in today’s medical model.

Initially, the audience see Vivian as a person who is very uncompromising. The students she taught knew her as harsh, making her an unfavorable teacher. She appeared to not care about the students she taught, and her coldheartedness was reflected in her actions, an example being when one of her students tried to receive an extension on a paper because of the recent death of her grandmother, at this request Vivian concluded “ Do what you will, but the paper is due when it is due.” This impenetrable exterior that Vivian places upon herself discourages the formation of beneficial relationships from being formed in her

The theme of suffering can come in numerous varieties; under categories both physical and emotional. Suffering is presented as a key concept in ‘Othello’, ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. All three texts explore many aspects of suffering in parts, however the most obvious and concentrated facet leans towards the psychological aspect rather then the physical side. In the three chosen texts many of the characters suffer from some sort of emotional trauma. Psychological suffering and distress is a major topic in all three chosen texts as the authors use this ailment in order to drive the storyline forward,

Vivian recalls undergoing tests by various medical technicians and being the subject of grand rounds. She remembers sharing a love of language and books with her father. She flashes back to her experiences as a student of Dr E. M. Ashford, an expert on John Donne. Bearing later finds herself under the care of Dr Jason Posner, an oncology research fellow who has taken her class on John Donne. At the hospital, she recognizes that doctors are interested in her for her research value and, like her, tend to ignore humanity in favor of knowledge. Gradually, she realizes that she would prefer kindness to

In “Valediction Forbidding Mourning,” the third stanza (lines 9-12) compares the married lovers separation to an earthquake. The idea brings panic and fear to mind and is thought to be catastrophic. Donne then says “Though greater far, is innocent.” (line 12), meaning that while the thought seemed so devastating, in reality it is just an innocent small rumble, or “bump in the road,” that doesn’t have damaging lasting effects. In “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” the sunset is an important metaphor.

People live with inherent problems; the choices they make define their identity. William Wordsworth’s “The World Is Too Much With Us” and John Milton’s “Sonnet 19: When I consider how my light is spent” both deal with speakers displeased by their conditions. While “The World…” follows a speaker troubled by his contemporaries’ indifference of nature, “Sonnet 19…” chronicles a speaker’s struggles with his blindness and servitude to God. Through these poems’ similar point of view and structure, the speakers of Wordsworth’s and Milton’s poems create characters with control over their choices. However, they stem from fundamentally different complaints about God in contrast to nature (or the lack thereof), and result in distinctive metaphors.

In his first quatrain, Donne approaches “Death” as if it was standing in front of him. In a defiant tone, he tells him “Death be not be proud…” (1). He builds his defiance by telling “Death” that, in spite of what others may have told him, he isn’t “mighty” (2) or “dreadful” (2). The sarcasm climaxes as Donne tells “Death” the reality that those whom he thinks he has slain really aren’t dead, nor can “Death” slay this

In order to describe the form which Donne gives to true love he chooses to create a scene of separation. He insists that when in love, absence is not a cause for despair. Stanza two describes the usual reaction lovers have to separation but explains that such reactions of tears and sighs do not prove one’s love but rather the

Donne transformed the love poetry he wrote in his early days, beginning in 1617 with the death of his wife Anne More, to religious poetry with a strong sense of awareness of death and its import. This poetic development from classical poetry to more personal poetry reflects the events that marked his own life, and can be traced throughout his poetry. This kind of personal and thereby

By making many references to the Bible, John Donne's Holy Sonnets reveal his want to be accepted and forgiven by God. A fear of death without God's forgiveness of sins is conveyed in these sonnets. Donne expresses extreme anxiety and fright that Satan has taken over his soul and God won't forgive him for it or his sins. A central theme of healing and forgiveness imply that John Donne, however much he wrote about God and being holy, wasn't such a holy man all of the time and tried to make up for it in his writing.