How does a study of Donne’s poetry enrich your understanding of human connections and mortality in W;t?
The role of humility in the human experience, primarily in relation to mortality and human connections, is clearly exhibited throughout John Donne’s poetry and the play W;t by Margaret Edson. The intertextual parallels further enrich one’s understanding of how suffering facilitates the development of demureness through the process of discarding intellect and embracing emotional response.
Humility is explored in relation to mortality and human connections through the notion of death, self-worth and relationships, uncovering universal values and appealing to perennial human experiences. Despite paradigmatic shifts between the ocentricism …show more content…
Donne’s ‘This is my playes last scene’, for example explores this notion in accordance with the Christian framework of the sixteenth century: humans, faced with the prospect of suffering in Hell so that we may atone for our sins, are thereafter able to recur to a state of purity. Donne expresses that it is only through humility that one can be “purged of evil” and redeemed, enabled to “leave the world, the flesh, the devil.” Donne’s triad of the world, the flesh, the devil is diametrically opposed to the goodness of the Holy Trinity and embodies the places where evil resides. The tone of the poem is expressly dramatic and sombre, reflecting the immediacy of Donne’s concerns as he contemplates his judgment in the afterlife. Thus, Donne cogitates the value of redemption through the acumination in “fall my sins…Impute me righteous…thus I leave the world,” conveying the value of faith in sin liberating one from earthy problems and enabling one’s salvation. Furthermore, this enriches one’s understanding of morality in the same way Bearing undergoes great personal transformation through her personal experience of hospitalisation, she is forced to ‘unlearn’ much of her self-designated purpose in life and develop humility. Bearing’s relationship with Susie is crucial in facilitating this: Susie, the embodiment of compassion and dignity, subtly …show more content…
‘Death not be proud,’ is ultimately about overcoming the insuperable barriers separating life, death, and eternal life. Donne powerfully uses literary terminology and syntax to portray his mocking tone “poore death,” condescendingly undermining Death’s powerful, stereotypical image, Donne remarks: “from rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee” - in suggesting that from Death “much more [pleasure] must flow”, furthering the notion of Death as merely a transitionary period of rest. Furthermore, Donne portrays Death as oblivious and inferior to such things as “Fate, Chance, kings and desperate men”, thereby remaining subject to other forces more powerful than itself. Additionally, Donne arrogantly decides to ask Death “Why swell’st thou then?” - referring to swelling in pride - expressing that Death doesn’t actually have any reasons to be proud, turning a rhetorical question into a witty insult. In contrast Donne enriches understanding of Vivian’s alternate approach of admitting the need for a comforting presence: “It was late at night…Susie was on…I wanted her to come and see me. So, I had to create a little emergency. Nothing dramatic.” Recognising the value of kindness and compassion in human relationships, Vivian is afforded a chance to approach the final moments of her life with more dignity than fear. This recognition becomes the most pronounced in the statement: “Now is not the time for verbal
The role of humility in the human experience, primarily in relation to mortality and human connections, is clearly exhibited throughout John Donne’s poetry and the play W;t by Margaret Edson. The intertextual parallels further enrich one’s understanding of how suffering facilitates the development of demureness through the process of discarding intellect and embracing emotional response.
Humility is explored in relation to mortality and human connections through the notion of death, self-worth and relationships, uncovering universal values and appealing to perennial human experiences. Despite paradigmatic shifts between the ocentricism …show more content…
Donne’s ‘This is my playes last scene’, for example explores this notion in accordance with the Christian framework of the sixteenth century: humans, faced with the prospect of suffering in Hell so that we may atone for our sins, are thereafter able to recur to a state of purity. Donne expresses that it is only through humility that one can be “purged of evil” and redeemed, enabled to “leave the world, the flesh, the devil.” Donne’s triad of the world, the flesh, the devil is diametrically opposed to the goodness of the Holy Trinity and embodies the places where evil resides. The tone of the poem is expressly dramatic and sombre, reflecting the immediacy of Donne’s concerns as he contemplates his judgment in the afterlife. Thus, Donne cogitates the value of redemption through the acumination in “fall my sins…Impute me righteous…thus I leave the world,” conveying the value of faith in sin liberating one from earthy problems and enabling one’s salvation. Furthermore, this enriches one’s understanding of morality in the same way Bearing undergoes great personal transformation through her personal experience of hospitalisation, she is forced to ‘unlearn’ much of her self-designated purpose in life and develop humility. Bearing’s relationship with Susie is crucial in facilitating this: Susie, the embodiment of compassion and dignity, subtly …show more content…
‘Death not be proud,’ is ultimately about overcoming the insuperable barriers separating life, death, and eternal life. Donne powerfully uses literary terminology and syntax to portray his mocking tone “poore death,” condescendingly undermining Death’s powerful, stereotypical image, Donne remarks: “from rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee” - in suggesting that from Death “much more [pleasure] must flow”, furthering the notion of Death as merely a transitionary period of rest. Furthermore, Donne portrays Death as oblivious and inferior to such things as “Fate, Chance, kings and desperate men”, thereby remaining subject to other forces more powerful than itself. Additionally, Donne arrogantly decides to ask Death “Why swell’st thou then?” - referring to swelling in pride - expressing that Death doesn’t actually have any reasons to be proud, turning a rhetorical question into a witty insult. In contrast Donne enriches understanding of Vivian’s alternate approach of admitting the need for a comforting presence: “It was late at night…Susie was on…I wanted her to come and see me. So, I had to create a little emergency. Nothing dramatic.” Recognising the value of kindness and compassion in human relationships, Vivian is afforded a chance to approach the final moments of her life with more dignity than fear. This recognition becomes the most pronounced in the statement: “Now is not the time for verbal