Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Wit

I enjoyed the way this play was structured, and Edson's unique use of time and perception made this play intriguing. In the present, the clock for Vivian's life is ticking, in a forward motion- a drawing toward death, while she also takes the audience back in time...connecting specific memories 'flashbacks' to the intense concluding days of her life. Vivian's 'speaking to' the audience is also very moving, as it shows her personality connecting with an audience, connecting with humanity- something she easily avoided with her highly intellectual ambition and focus for most of the years of her life. Vivian's intellectual and cynical persona is a flavorful theme, seeing as death is such a vulnerable encounter. Vivian learned more in the time she was dying than she had in her entire life. in this time she grasped the meaning of the poetry she had studied for so long, seeing the work with a deeper meaning; beyond the boundaries of academia- unto spirutality and transcendence.

3 comments:

  1. The manipulation of time is a great way to smoothly deliver the event that must be told. When arriving to a point in the story where history is need to understand the present, a simple flashback can be inserted, making the flow continue. Yes, the play does a beautiful job of using time as a character, an organizational tool for coherent thought

    Jason

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  2. I also enjoyed when Vivian spoke to the crown. It was as if she was entertaining them, yet hoping for someone to come in and saver her.

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  3. I agree with this reading or the work. Edison definitely has a handle on manipulating time, taking a long period of pain and treatment and condensing it for us. Although it was supposed to take place over a period of many months, the play does not feel tiresome or dragged out. You really connect to the character more so in this sense.

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