Wit

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Consider the importance of empathy in academics and research. How can balance be achieved between pursuing knowledge and showing empathy? Are there fields in academia that are void of this connection? If so, how is a lack of empathy demonstrated?

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Answer question invites students to consider a central theme of the play: The Pursuit of Knowledge. Edson’s play follows an English professor, Vivian Bearing, as she struggles to adapt to life during her chemotherapy treatments. Throughout the scenes, Edson alludes to the problem of seeking knowledge at the expense of the individual. This contrast is represented through medical fellow Jason, who focuses on Vivian’s ability to produce results for his research but seems comparatively unconcerned about her physical, emotional, and mental anguish. Vivian understands and respects the medical team’s drive for knowledge and allows her treatment to be used as a case study for their research; in revealing this process, Edson makes references to the potential for a lack of empathy during medical treatment. Once readers reflect on and note their thoughts, they might engage in small group discussion regarding the prompt or conduct a Socratic seminar.

• Dr. Helen Riess’s 2017 “The Science of Empathy” explores the relationship between empathy and medical training in the healthcare field.
• The Washington Post explores Edson’s past, including her time working in a hospital, as background to her play.

2. Theater can play a profound role in discussing complex social issues. Why might one present a difficult topic in a play as opposed to another form of literature? List 3-5 examples throughout history of dramas important for their social issue content.

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Answer question orients students with the mode of Edson’s text: a play that comments on the themes of The Pursuit of Knowledge, Death and the Process of Dying, Autonomy and Humanity, and Wit. Since the advent of various forms of theater performances, playwrights have used their productions to discuss a multitude of difficult and sensitive topics, including love, death, war, race, gender, and religion. As the art of theater progressed from ancient to medieval to modern times, playwrights began to use this form of artistic expression to critique governments, explore social systems, and raise important philosophical questions for public discussion. Readers might work together in pairs to list examples and provide brief summaries for 1-2 of their examples when sharing with peers.

• Theater Seat Store provides “An Online Guide to the History of Theater.”
• This brief summary on “The Transformative Power of Theatre” from the Forestburgh Playhouse in New York discusses theater’s potential as a tool for social change.

Short Activity

Edson’s play references the work of John Donne, a 17th-century English poet. Working in small groups, research Donne and select one of his poems to read aloud. Analyze and annotate the poem; share with the class 3-5 points of analysis regarding symbolism, imagery, line structure, rhyme scheme, speaker characteristics, and/or poetic sound devices such as alliteration and onomatopoeia.

As each group presents their analysis, determine a central theme of the poem. How does each theme relate to Wit’s themes of The Pursuit of Knowledge, Death and the Process of Dying, Autonomy and Humanity, and Wit?

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Activity orients students with Donne’s works in preparation for allusions in the play. Wit’s protagonist Vivian is a specialist in 17th-century poetry, with most of her focus on Donne’s Holy Sonnets. As a result, she frequently references Donne’s discussion of the soul, references to death, and his use of “wit” throughout his works.

• The Poetry Foundation provides an overview of John Donne and his poetry.  
• Readers can learn about Donne’s contribution to metaphysical poetry in “The Enigma of John Donne.”

Differentiation Suggestion: For learners who would benefit from a creative writing component, the following question may be addressed: Rewrite your chosen poem using contemporary language. How does the updated language affect the primary meaning and tone of Donne’s poem? Why choose these specific words in your contemporary rendition?

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

What does it mean to be witty? Provide an example of a witty line or character from a piece of literature and or script. How does this scenario, author, or character convey wit? What makes the example a strong choice?

Teaching Suggestion: This Personal Connection Prompt offers the opportunity to introduce Wit as one of the play’s inherent themes. Edson’s play uses this theme not only literally in its discussions of Donne’s use of wit in his poems, but also linguistically by incorporating intelligent humor throughout the script. As a result, Wit takes a multi-faceted approach to this particular theme. Readers might consider the denotation of wit before searching for examples and briefly discuss the ways in which wit differs from other types of literary humor.

• Cambridge Dictionary, “Wit”