Wit and Donne

William Shakespeare is the world’s pre-eminent dramatist whose plays range from tragedies to tragic comedies, etc. His general style of writing is often comparable to several of his contemporaries, like Romeo and Juliet is based on Arthur Brooke’s narrative poem, “The tragical history of Romeo and Juliet”. But Shakespeare’s works express a different range of human experience where his characters command the sympathy of audiences and also are complex as well as human in nature. Shakespeare makes the protagonist’s character development central to the plot.

One’s identity may be questioned when suffering; ultimately suffering is what creates one’s sense of self or what destroys it. The poetry of John Donne and the play W;t, 1993, by Margaret Edson, both illustrate and explore a sense of suffering and identity. In John Donne’s poetry, suffering, both emotionally and physically allows the speaker to understand their identity in more depth, in comparison to Margaret Edson’s play, W;t, Vivian’s suffering leads her identity to be stripped away. In Donne’s sonnet, ‘If poysonous mineralls’ we are shown suffering religiously and emotionally, through one’s sin’s, questioning god’s justice, which leads to a realisation of one’s identity. In Margaret Edson’s play, W;t, Vivian’s emotional suffering

Despite the differences in context, a comparative study of the poetry of John Donne and Margaret Edson’s play, ‘W;t’, is essential for a more complete understanding of the values and ideas presented in ‘W;t’. Discuss this with close reference to both texts.

Shakespeare examines love in two different ways in Sonnets 116 and 130. In the first, love is treated in its most ideal form as an uncompromising force (indeed, as the greatest force in the universe); in the latter sonnet, Shakespeare treats love from a more practical aspect: it is viewed simply and realistically without ornament. Yet both sonnets are justifiable in and of themselves, for neither misrepresents love or speaks of it slightingly. Indeed, Shakespeare illustrates two qualities of love in the two sonnets: its potential and its objectivity. This paper will compare and contrast the two sonnets by Shakespeare and show how they represent two different attitudes to love.

A major focus point of Wit has to do with pride, and the conversion that Vivian undergoes at the end. Likewise, pride is also prominent in Donne’s writings. He emphatically views it as evil and the root of human sin. He believes it to be so deeply rooted that only God’s intervention can dig it out, so to speak. Donne would presume that Vivian’s suffering during her ovarian cancer is a means to a correction, and ultimately, salvation. In “Batter My Heart,” one of Donne’s sonnets that can be

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.

At the beginning when the readers are first introduced to Vivian, she explains herself as a high scholar, and she is so sure of her talent that she states, “after twenty years, I can say with confidence, no one is quite as good as I” (Edson 533). Vivian is a very proud person and sees herself as this untouchable force. For her to state that no one is quite as good as she is, it brings forward an aura of prestige she holds herself in. This thinking alludes to how she is in all her teachings, a step above the rest because in her opinion there is no one better. This is also shown when she speaks of if she were to not return to teaching that, “first my colleagues, most of whom are my former students, would scramble madly for my position” (Edson 539). She thinks that since she would not return, it would cause a panic amongst the other members in her department, because no one would be able to fill her

At the opening of the play, we learn that Vivian Bearing has been diagnosed with a terminal cancer. As she was chatting with a nurse about her illness, she realized that death could be here sooner rather than later. Vivian starts looking back on her life, and what she wishes she could have changed. As a college professor she took up studying and analyzing plays, particularly John Donne, and doesn’t seem to care all that much about her students. As the play goes on, kindness starts to become an attribute that Vivian craves more and more.

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

“I have cancer. Insidious cancer, with pernicious side effects…[And] it appears to be a matter, as the saying goes…of life and death” (00:05:45-00:06:17). This was said by Dr. Vivian Bearing, the main character of Wit, a 2001 movie directed by Mike Nichols. In this movie, Vivian is a professor in seventeenth century poetry, specializing in the Holy Sonnets of John Donne and is slowly dying of advanced ovarian cancer. The film itself serves as an epic, in which the director uses the poetry of John Donne to elucidate the meaning behind her irrevocably inevitable death. Within the movie, Vivian recites several of Donne’s poems, which further lends explanation behind the occurrences within the film.

In the movie Wit, English literary scholar Vivian Bearing has spent years translating and interpreting the poetry of John Donne. Unfortunately, she is a person who has cultivated her intellect at the expense of her heart. Both colleagues and students view Bearing as a chilly and unfriendly person lost in her private world of words and mysterious thoughts.

In the play “Wit,” by Margaret Edson, the reader is challenged with the complex ideas of character development following the imminent shadow of death. Edson focuses this concept amongst the character Vivian bearing; the disciplined, witty, and quite frankly cold hearted protagonist. The play starts with us seeing Vivian receiving her diagnosis; stage IV ovarian cancer, with her being in the final stage. The persistent and impending idea of death encourages Vivian to reconsider what is truly critical in obtaining happiness, while influencing her to reconsider her past unfavorable actions. As human beings we are attuned to resolve conflicts, so when an inevitable circumstances arise an individual will often consider their past actions and attempt to find what is of true importance in the quest to find happiness in their present life, allowing them to be content.

Over the course of the play, Vivian reflects on her life through the intricacies of the English language, especially the use of wit in the metaphysical poetry of John Donne. Throughout the play, she recites Donne's Holy Sonnet X, "Death Be Not Proud," while reflecting upon her condition. As a professor, she has a reputation for rigorous teaching methods. She has lived her life alone, is unmarried and without children, her parents are deceased, and she has no emergency contact.

In this scene Vivian had just realized that the love of her life had passed away. It was very hard for her to get through this, but eventually she moved on and remarried. My grandma went through the exact same thing. “I walked into the room, and there he was, lying lifeless and cold,” (Newman and Lawler). These were the tragic words my grandma said to me as she explained her husbands death.

Making connections is an odd yet fascinating element that our brain automatically does when something reminds you of another thing. Connections may happen when you see a picture, have a conversation, or even while you are watching television. For example, let’s say you see a commercial about a chance to win travel tickets to go to Mexico. Then you might think, “Hmm….I remember when I went to Mexico….”That’s one example of a connection. Most connections will often happen while reading. Reading is a large factor of making connections, since there are many events that may occur in the story, and could relate to some events that happened in your life or the world, or even another book/movie. I know one book that I have recently read and made a