Comparison Between Donne and Wit

The exploration of connections instigates a process of reflection whereby the inspiration of the known reflects upon the new, while the new resonates with the known. Thus, it can be seen that texts may be interesting on their own, but through connected exploration, become illuminating.   The connections shared between Donne’s metaphysical poetry and Edson’s play Wit involves more than the adaptation of ideas and form, portraying the relationship between text and context. The modern drama Wit re-embodies Donne’s experiences of agency and self evaluation, thereby revitalising the humanistic paradigms of the Jacobean period within her secular context. Thus the reciprocal values of these texts’ transcend contextual limitations, their meaning immortalised, remains ever relevant.
The revival of metaphysical ideology within the Jacobean Renaissance, transformed the Catholic conventions of blind faith into the Protestant teachings of religious re-examination, the theological transition inducing uncertainty amongst society. Authored during Donne’s religious incertitude, “If Poisonous Minerals” demonstrates the re-evaluation of faith and its inherent need for spiritual growth within an ideologically conflicted environment. The subversion of traditional sonnet structure, juxtaposes personal doubt within the octet to religious revelation within the sestet, the transitory process of the rejuvenation of faith, reflecting both the persona’s spiritual growth and Donne’s personal, theistic metamorphosis. Alluding to original sin, the metaphysical conceit of fruit to death within the octet, “If that tree, whose fruit threw death on me” symbolises the persona’s incertainty within God’s actions, reflective of the context’s perturbed religious convictions. In contrast, the exclamatory cries within the sestet, achieved through the use of enjambment and caesura, “Oh God, Oh!”, presents the rejuvenation of the persona’s faith, the re-evaluation, reflecting its spiritual growth,...