Module A Assessment Task

Mark: 15/15
In studying Donnes poetry and Edsons play, W;t, one observes a curious
self-enforcing loop; each text shapes and reshapes the other. W;t, with its
continual intertexual references to Donnes Holy Sonnets, is clearly
influenced by the metaphysical poet, but what is perhaps less obvious is
that the play itself reshapes Donnes work. By applying his ideas in a
radically different context, Edson offers an alternative interpretation of his
classic poems so that when studied together, the two texts highlight the
universal values of acceptance and simplicity.
Both the play and the poems explore with the larger aspects of the
human experience: life,
we experience god in spite of ourselves.
Donnes poetry mirrors Vivians change from fighting to acceptance.
Where in Death Be Not Proud, Donne seeks to disempower death, in
Hymne to God he welcomes and accepts it; I joy that in these straits I
see my west. Hymne has a much gentler and humbler tone, asking the
Lord to receive him rather than denying his mortality. He finds solace in
God, extending the conceit of the map to reassure the reader of eternal
life; as west and eastare one, so death doth touch the resurrection.
This geographical conceit is also apparent in W;t; while Donnes
physicians turned cosmographers read him like a map, Vivian
becomes nothing more the specimen jar housing her disease, to be read
like a book. Despite this,1Donne positions us to see death as a natural
and necessary part of life that leads to salvation; Therefore that he may
raise, the lord throws down, urging straightforward acceptance of death.
This is essentially the same message as in W;t, as evidenced in the final
scene where although her body is destroyed, she reaches for the light,
indicated by stage directions. This common theme is emphasised when
viewing the texts in unison, although the difference in context (secular as
opposed to religious) allows the meaning to be shaped and reshaped in
the respective texts.
Another common trend between play and poetry is the emphasis on the
need for simplicity. Donne himself revels in complexity and his poetry is
brilliantly convoluted. For example, in Death Be Not Proud, Donne
engages in a witty attack on Death itself, emphasising the complex logical
1

argument presented more than the simple truth. By contrast, Hymne To

God seeks to reassure rather than complicate, using inter-textual Biblical
references of Christs Cross and Adams tree to link the beginning to the
end, conveying a sense of simplicity and completion. Similarly, Vivian
initially treats issues of life, death and God as intellectual games. The
complex post-modern structure of the play reinforces this idea of wit with
Vivian aware of the plays fictionality a play about me, and breaking the
fourth wall I would lie here and you would sit there. However, where
initially she thought that being smart would take care of it, she ultimately
realises that wit is not the total answer; there is a time for simplicity...and
kindness as well.
Both texts explore attitudes to death by moving from over-intellectualising
it to accepting the simplicity of death as a natural part of life. Although
these ideas are remarkably similar, the difference in context has allowed
Edson to reinterpret and reshape Donnes classics in a modern, secular
world. Consequently, the studying of these texts in unison leads to a
deeper understanding of the issues that they explore.

Teacher: Mrs. Stevens

Word Count: 1012