Wit__What_It_Really_Mean

Wit: What It Really Mean According to The Random House College Dictionary, the word wit is defined as “to know” (1512). However, does wit cover all aspects of our lives or just the academic portion of our life' In the play Wit, Dr. Vivian Bearing is faced with a life altering disease, ovarian cancer. Dr. Bearing is a seventeenth-century English professor, specializing in all of John Donne’s work. Towards the end of Dr. Bearing’s cancer treatment, she realizes that her wit did not mean as much as what she perceived it has. In the first scene of the play, where Vivian delivers her soliloquy, the audience views Vivian and acknowledges her intelligence. Yet, it is not until the second scene with Vivian and Dr. Kelekian where you see Vivian’s full intelligence. Through the whole conversation Vivian understands everything Dr. Kelekian explains to her in doctor’s terms. It seems like this conversation between the two is more like two teachers talking than a doctor/patient conversation. The play continues telling Vivian’s story and how she sees her life. Throughout her treatment, Vivian looks back at her life. Her first flashback is with her favorite professor, Dr. Ashford. vivian, life, dr, vivian’s, susie, flashback, wit, smart, intelligence, end, conversation, back, treatment, paper, others, herself, very, students, really, professor, play, doesn’t, because, ashford, work, wishes, whole, upon, two, throughout, talking, takes, student, story, sees