ipl-logo

Similarities Between Margaret Edson And John Donne

1296 Words6 Pages

It is inherently human to cultivate distractions to avoid the inevitable death. The works of Both John Donne and Margaret Edson present colliding perspectives on the human tendency to avoid diversions as a means of evading the inescapable reality of mortality. John Donne’s 17th century, theocentric poetry embraces death as one of life's greatest mysteries that cannot be solved, but through reaffirmation of spirituality, provokes solace in recognising the finality of death. The prevalence of mortality forms a significant conversational link between Donne’s poetry and Margaret Edson’s 1991 drama, ‘Wit’. However, the texts collide to a significant extent through their respective representations of death, which are framed by the social and spiritual …show more content…

During the theocentric Jacobean era, Donne's work was significantly framed by his intellectualist approach to mortality as opposed to relying solely on his Christian beliefs to reach spiritual fulfilment. Donne's fulfilment in life is derived from his explorations of death as a ‘puzzle’, however his trivialisation of death affords him no conclusions as he eventually has to face the inevitable existence of death. Donnes experience with “salvation anxiety” is concealed by his hubristic tone employed in “death be not proud”, personifying the matter to suggest that death has some kind of agency. The euphemistic trivialisation of death guards Donnes anxieties, yet he disputes his original claims that death has agency through the Christian paradox “Die not poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me”, reaffirming his faith in redemption and asserting that death is not final, to encapsulate the simplicity of Christianity in answering existential questions and finding spiritual liberation and clarity. Thus, Donne’s work echoes how the strong Christian values of the Jacobean era contributed to diminishing salvation anxieties. Contrastingly, through dramatic form, Edson demonstrates the limitations of the pursuit of knowledge and dependence on intellectual complexity in our capacity to live a spiritually enriched experience. Through Edson’s protagonist, Professor Vivian Bearing, we see the human tendency to distract the mind from the intangible aspects of mortality. Vivian reflects on the uncertainty of death in a secular context as she becomes increasingly unsettled by “discussing” vague ideas of “life and death”. Similar to Donne, Vivian exhibits hubris, being “a scholar of Donne's Holy Sonnets”, knowing “all about life and death”. Her certainty gradually declines towards her death as she realises that language has

Show More
Related

Enlightenment In The Film Wit, Vivian Bearing

390 Words | 2 Pages

Meaning, if someone were to watch a lot of violence, they start to become violent. The consequence of a human living out the Enlightenment worldview of reason is that, that human doesn’t experience love, emotions or meaning towards things. In Wit, Vivian reflects back to one of Evelyn’s teachings from the John Donne’s poem, Death be not Proud. Evelyn, Vivian’s mentor and teacher, shows her the point that she’s missing from this poem and talks about what death truly is. Evelyn tells her, “And death shall be no more, comma, Death thou shalt die.”

Read More

A Rhetorical Analysis Of Dudley Clendinen's The Good Short Life

1169 Words | 5 Pages

Embracing Death: A Rhetorical Look at Clendinen’s “The Good Short Life” How does one want to die? That might be a question too harsh for some to think about. So, maybe the correct question would be, how can one embrace death?

Read More

Analyzing Edna St. Vincent Millay's 'Day Month 2023'

851 Words | 4 Pages

The idea of death can be a hard pill to swallow but, despite this, one must, “not be resigned,” to the idea of it, for life without death is like a dirge without

Read More

Margaret Edson And John Donne Analysis

758 Words | 4 Pages

John Donne and W;t To dwell upon ones’ notion of death, and morality, is to comprehend ones’ values and thoughts through the context of society… Though different eras both John Donne and Margaret Edson explore similar thematic concepts: The Holy Sonnets and W;t. The presence of death, morality and conspicuous human nature, explores the ethical and moral structure of present society, and broadens our understanding of the ever changing beliefs, values, and contexts of the current audience. Edson had written her play during the mid 1990’s in a time where the secularised society viewed death as less prominent, and the consequential effect on society’s attitude towards death in Donne’s era. Edson’s play essentially transfigures the poems into a

Read More

Honor Courage And Guile In The Odyssey

110 Words | 1 Pages

The decisions and actions Odysseus makes throughout his Odyssey, not only call upon the person he is but shape the person he becomes, with many of the challenges honing his character. Homer uncovers the traits that most befittingly define Odysseus as honor, courage and guile. The traits that are glorified in The Odyssey, connect to recent times because they are comparable to those we think of when defining a hero or an impeccable human being. Odysseus’ use of his honor, courage and guile showcase how these traits allowed him to excel in his time and also are key traits all should have for the challenges we must face in

Read More

Phillis Wheatley's Interpretation Of Death

1204 Words | 5 Pages

Because of uncertainty, many people have tried to explain to the living what lies after death, yet the sad reality is that no one truly knows what’s beyond mortality. Phillis Wheatley try to explain her interpretation of death and her poem title, “a funeral poem on the death of C. E. An infant of 12 months”. Wheatley’s metaphoric description of Heaven transforms the literary meaning of the word from a place into an abstract concept of the mental faculties of her mind. Wheatley also reveals to The Reader through her poem that she is experiencing the five stages of grief.

Read More

Analysis Of John Donne's 'Holy Sonnet IX'

760 Words | 4 Pages

John Donne was an English poet, cleric in the Church of England and a lawyer, who was known as the representative of metaphysical poets. He has a great range of literary works that he wrote but his most recognized are sonnets. One of the most important themes in his poems is the concept of the true religion about which he wrote many worldly poems in which he showed his substantial attention in religious beliefs. The best example for this are his 19 Holy Sonnets, which were published 2 years after Donne’s death. The purpose of this paper is to explain Donne 's rather questioning tone of God and his mercy prevalent in his 'Holy Sonnet IX '.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Thanatopsis And The Masque Of The Red Death

637 Words | 3 Pages

The inevitable truth that death is inescapably waiting for us is a universal theme of life, and different perceptions of it can be viewed throughout literature. Two authors exploring this concept are Edgar Allen Poe and William Cullen Bryant, whose works delve into the existentially ominous anticipation people experience leading up to their death. Whereas Poe illustrates a fearful and disturbing build-up, Bryant provides a more comforting view. Bryant’s “Thanatopsis” shares a consoling view of death through the symbolism of the sun, representing that despite the sadness and grief that comes with death, your soul will continue to live on, just as the sun continues to shine on even through the clouds.

Read More

Similarities Between Edson And John Donne

368 Words | 2 Pages

An exploration of the intertextual connections between John Donne’s 17th Century metaphysical poetry and Margaret Edson’s metatextual drama, W;t (1995) accentuates their distinctive contexts. Influenced by the social, political and religious upheavals of the 17th Century, Donne’s poetry is a passionate celebration of the transcendental nature of spirituality, through which personal redemption can be achieved in the confrontation with one’s mortality. In her application of Donne’s contextual ideals, Edson subverts the postmodernist dynamic by asserting the impossibility for academic elitism in attaining personal salvation, as represented by the play’s titular semicolon alluding to the witty style of metaphysical poetry and Donne’s contextual preoccupation with the afterlife. Transcending

Read More

Life In John Donne's Divine Meditation X

1364 Words | 6 Pages

The concepts of Death and Life in John Donne’s Divine Meditation X John Donne “is considered the pre-eminent representative of the metaphysical poets. […] Donne's style is characterized by abrupt openings and various paradoxes, ironies and dislocations” (poemhunter). In his “Divine Meditation X” (also known as “Holy Sonnet X”), Donne addresses Death and presents an argument against its power. According to the speaker, such power is nothing but an illusion; so the end Death brings to men is just a temporary cessation from tediousness. Death’s power is subjected to other forces; it is a “slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men / And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell…”

Read More

Analysis Of Holy Sonnet 19 By John Donne

1979 Words | 8 Pages

‘Intellectually, Donne had always been a Christian, but his progress toward religious assurance was hindered by his sense of Roman Catholic outlawry, his shift to the Church of England, his moral lapses, the worldly disaster of his marriage, and his restless mind.’ (Douglas Bush) Consider the detailed treatment of ‘religious assurance’ in any three or four poems by Donne from the course. John Donne was an extremely complex character who lived a life that was full of religious contradictions and uncertainties. These problems that Donne battled in his personal life are reflected in many of his poems, particularly the Holy Sonnets. Donne was born into a Catholic family at a time when Catholicism was forbidden in England and as a result, suffered

Read More

George Shaw Death

429 Words | 2 Pages

Dying, for most humans, is the opposite of living, the end of the road. It is usually a sorrowful, difficult experience for those who remain. However, George Shaw, in dealing with the death of his mother, shows hope and even joy in his experiences. In his essay, his vivid imagery, symbolism, and diction show his attitude that death is not final, but instead is simply a passing from one’s life to a better life. Since he believes this, Shaw does not grieve in his mother’s death.

Read More

Explication Of John Donne

315 Words | 2 Pages

The poet John Donne, lived through from the late 16th to the early 17th century. It was thought that the poem was about the passing of his wife, then once she had died he always viewed death to be like a bully and tried to take its power away. Poem 2 was about the narrator unfolding how his family and other members responded to the death of his younger brother. Contrasting this, poem 1 spoke of himself responding to his perspective.

Read More

Analysis Of John Donne's Holy Sonnets

1003 Words | 5 Pages

“Holy Sonnets” make a widespread show of religious life, in which each minute may go up against us with the last annulment of time. The poems address the issue of confidence in a tormented world with its death and misery. Donne 's verse is vigorously educated by his Anglican confidence and frequently gives proof of his own inner battles as he considers seeking after the priesthood. The poems investigate the wages of sin and death, the principle of reclamation, opening the sinner to God, beseeching God 's commanding intercession by the sinner 's eager affirmation of the requirement for an extreme invasion upon his present solidified state and that self-acknowledgment is an essential intends to effortlessness. The individual idea of the poems

Read More

What Is Emily Dickinson's View Of Death

932 Words | 4 Pages

Death is the inevitable conclusion to life. However, death lays on two different spectrums; a weak antagonist and a charming suitor. These two ideas are presented in the poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson and “Death Be Not Proud” by John Donne. They both personify death to explain the idea of death and the wonder of eternal life. Even though both personify death, they have different perspectives of death.

Read More

More about Similarities Between Margaret Edson And John Donne

Open Document