Professor Vivian Bearing vs John Donne in the Play Wit by Margaret Edso

Is it viable to misunderstand something, yet still be guided toward its claims? Is it possible for something that ultimately has the greatest impact on your life to be ignored until the last possible moment? In most cases, a consecutive revelation does not present itself until later in a persons life. In the play Wit, by Margaret Edson, the character of Professor Vivian guardianship reaches a profound realization concerning one of the great impacts in her give birth life. Vivian, self-proclaimed intellectual and widely-feared professor, essentially devotes her life to the works of John Donne, a noteworthy metaphysical poet. She tirelessly prides herself on her exceptional skills and experience with analyzing Donnes works, regular in the midst of being diagnosed and treated for ovarian cancer. During her stay in the hospital, Vivian unwillingly impinge ons that her lifetime analysis in Donnes writings has nevertheless scratched the surface in comparison to the truth that she discovers in the last hours of her life. For the runner time, she is able to personally relate to the speaker in the sonnets that she was supposedly so familiar with.In poetic terms, wit means the development of a metaphysical conceit. It is an insightful use of analogy, metaphor or inventive connective of dissimilar images to make a point in a poem. In these regards, this play has been appropriately titled. John Donne, whose blessed Sonnets make numerous appearances in the play, uses his metaphysical poetry to spark unrest, debate, and controversy. He himself wrestles with questions about faith, Gods mercy and judgment, human mortality, sin, damnation, absolution, and salvation. The Holy Sonnets are the product of doubter, one who has not yet found inner peace. This realization i... ...s a moment when she starts to see the true meaning but doesnt want to coincide it at first, which is evident from the groaning and hiding. However, at the end of the play and the end of her life, Vivian is ready to accept this truth that she herself is living out the same life as the speakers in Donnes poems and begins reaching for the light (Edson 66).Works CitedDonne, John. Holy Sonnet 5, Holy Sonnet 6, Holy Sonnet 10. John Donnes Poetry A Norton Critical Edition.Ed. Donald R. Dickson. W.W. Norton & Company. New York, London. 2004. (Handout)Donne, John. Hymn to God, my God, in My Sickness. Poems of John Donne. vol I. E. K. Chambers, ed. London Lawrence & Bullen, 1896. 211-212.Edson, Margaret. Wit. MCC field of view New York City, NY, 1999Gardner, Helen, ed. The Metaphysical Poets. London Penguin, 1985.