Wit : A Play Summary and Reviews

Wit : A Play
by Margaret Edson

Wit : A Play
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Book Summary Information

Author: Margaret Edson
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 1999-03-29
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 96
Publisher: Faber & Faber

Book Reviews of Wit : A Play

Book Review: No wonder it won a Pulitzer
Summary: 5 Stars

Wit was recommended as a staff pick at my local library. Thank goodness! I doubt I would have found it otherwise, since I don't generally read play scripts.

Even though I'm an old English major from way back, I never studied John Donne's poetry in depth. The way Edson weaves the poetry with Vivian Bearing's growing realization that Donne spoke to her on an intimate level - what after all could be more intimate than the process of dying? - led me to examine some of my own preconceived notions of mortality and its relationship to the immortal.

That last paragraph of mine makes it sound as if this is heavy reading. Not at all! It is a multi-layered work, both grim and light, both stark and richly peopled. I loved the humor, the most notable of which is the line near the end, when Vivian is receiving a dose of morphine for her excruciating pain. She says that she wonders if the morphine will have a soporific effect. "I don't know about that," says her nurse, "but it sure does make you sleepy."

I took a chance and rented the Emma Thompson DVD. I don't trust movies ever to live up to the books they're based on - but I truly wondered how they'd handle a film version. I recommend the movie thoroughly, for it remains true to Edson's quirky way of blending past and present, ignoring the stuffy fourth wall that so many playwrights insist on.

WIT is witty. WIT is sad. WIT is a must-read.

And just wait till you find out why the I in WIT is (on the cover of the book) a semi-colon.
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