Wit

Vivian disconnects herself from her IV lines as the set changes into a classroom. She is now in her element as she lectures about Donne and his poetry to the audience. She begins by defining wit, which is the use of language and wordplay to investigate the “larger aspects of the human experience: life, death, and God” (48). She also explains that Donne—often considered one of the best wits in English literature—is known for writing “metaphysical poetry” that wrestles with life’s unsolvable problems

Vivian then recites Donne’s “Holy Sonnet Five,” a poem that deals with the nature of God and man’s original sin. The speaker of the poem struggles to understand how evil things are not damned in the eyes of God, but he is because of man’s original sin. Thus, instead of asking God to remember him in His mercy, the speaker asks God to forget him—which Vivian explains is counter to most religious convention. Vivian explains that “the speaker does not need to hide from God’s judgment, only to accept God’s forgiveness,” but the poem ends before the speaker can do so (50). Like most of Donne’s poems, the goal is not to resolve the issue (in this case, damnation) but to explore a complex question that has no definitive answer.