John_Donne_and_W;_T_Comparative_Essay

Through the comparative study of Donne's poetry and Edson's play W;t each composer's distinctive context is accentuated. Donne represents his assurance of life after death in his Holy Sonnets and in doing so he reflects his Protestant Christian faith. Further to this in his earlier poetry, his valuing of deep relationship as critical to the human experience, reflects his renaissance ideology. Edson's distinctive post-modern context is apparent in the appropriation and reshaping of Donne's ideas to reflect her own context. Her use of character to construct explicitly connects to his poetry highlights that she does not hold the same certainty of a higher power as Donne, and that in her world of academia, relationships must compete with intellectual legacy. This is further emphasized in the choices made by each composer to represent their ideas in contrasting textual forms. Thus, a comparative study is effective in accentuating distinctive contexts, allowing the reader to examine their own religious understanding through their contextual lens. Before Donne converted to his Protestant Christian faith he believed that the meaning of life was through love; a strong, deep relationship between a man and a women. Donne ignores the reality of love and instead writes about what is beyond reality, the metaphysical. In 1601 Donne secretly married a young seventeen-year-old girl by the name of Anne More. It is of the love he felt for his wife that is mentioned within many of Donne’s poetry. Donne wrote about how the love of his wife and himself would go beyond this life and travel with them into the afterlife. It was upon her death that Donne wrote “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” which describes his everlasting love for her. Donne positioned his audience to understand the significance of relationships, through the geometric conceits of "twin compasses"," thy soul, the fix'd foot", "making my circle perfect" The 17th century context is reflected in the symbolism of spherical perfection which elevates the status of relationships to a higher plan above "dull sublunary lovers love". The purity of this love is furthermore emphasised by the use of biblical allusion within “The Relique” with the mention of “the last busy day” and “Mary Magdelen”. Through this technique the reader is able to further understand the divine nature of relationships. Therefore it is through Donne’s contextual connections within “The Relique” and “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” that ones understanding of his poems can be enriched along with the recurring theme of love. Donne's values according to life's meaning and relationships are reworked by Margaret Edson within W;t. Vivian Bearing is constructed to reflect the secular view point, "preferring research to humanity", the motif Edson creates in Bearing as she misses the point Donne makes about relationships, seeking instead to be making a "significant contribution to...knowledge." At first Bearing does not mind the lack of relationship she has, correcting Susie she has "none, to be precise," distinctively juxtaposing Donne's views on relationships and their importance. Bearing has to "distinguish [herself] in illness" mirroring the secular world's notion of individuality, and facing the world alone. However Bearing reflects how after many years with being uncomfortable with kindness she wishes her doctor "would take more interest in personal contact." The implicit connections Edison portrays between "an orange two stick Popsicle" shared between Bearing and Susie, and Donne's twin compass displays Bearings recognition of the importance relationships should play in life. Edison challenges secular humanists through her textual construction of dialogue and motifs to question the importance relationships play in order for a meaningful life to be attained. The existential question of what lies after death is one a common notion in academia. Donne explicitly demonstrates his battle with this concept and his beliefs about theology, death and afterlife after he is converted to his Judeo Christian faith. Death was not easy to ignore within Elizabethan culture as executions and daily mortuary carts attributed to the fear and awareness of death. However, Donne utilises the personification of death, which then is unpacked throughout the sonnet, extending to “[taking] the sting out of its (death’s) tail”. Donne seeks to portray this cultural issue as feeble and insignificant in light of his Judeo Christian faith, further enforcing that death is merely “sleep” and “rest”, and also how it is a “slave to fate and desperate men”. Through his Judeo Christian faith, Donne has shattered the initially feared concept of death and revealed that the once “Mighty and dreadful” death “art not so”. The power Judeo Christians believe they have over death (through Christ’s salvation) grants Donne a confidence towards such a sensitive issue (in both his time and Edson’s), which challenges the responder’s initial thoughts of life, death and afterlife. Donne's values according to life's meaning and relationships are reworked by Margaret Edson within W;t in order to explore theology and death through a post-modern context. Edson, through her protagonist, Vivian Bearing, references the holy sonnet Death Be Not Proud in the earlier stages of the play, as a confidence boost and assurance that she can overcome her cancer. However, she does not share the same faith as John Donne, instead she relies on science and knowledge, "preferring research to humanity", which is emphasised symbolically as she is constantly attached and “gripping” to her IV pole. Also, Bearing is fully inclined to “take the full dosage” and pain of her chemotherapy as she faces death. This highlights the irony of the situation. Donne’s sonnet demolishes the sadness and pain of death, however, dramatic irony occurs when Bearing, a ‘John Donne expert’ undergoes suffering in the face of it. This change in culture from religion towards science and knowledge is made clear in the juxtaposition of both texts. However, when comparing Vivian Bearing to John Donne, responders begin to think and contemplate, whether humans are better off with or without religion. The meaning we can derive from W;t is enriched by the text's connection with Donne's poetry, and vice versa. In particular, an examination of the way Edison has reshaped the central values in Donne's work allows for a deeper understanding of his context and a more thoughtful consideration of the multiple values which exist in our context.