Dr. Vivian Bearing is diagnosed with metastatic ovarian cancer Wit is the story of her journey to death. Though she has avoided intimacy, she ultimately finds redemption in her studies of John Donne’s poetry. An incorrectly placed semicolon in a line of a John Donne sonnet provides insight into the play. It reads, “And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.” The semicolon should actually be a comma, illustrating that the distance between life and death is no more than just a brief pause.

This unit is designed to assist students with understanding literary and dramatic terms, with investigating setting, characters, metaphor, central allegory, and motivations. Students analyze the work by making predictions and role-playing. They conduct research in order to sharpen their use of research tools and citation methods. Students are guided in the prewriting, outlining, and drafting of the following types of writing: essay, biography, play, poetry, speech, and essay-response.

 

The unit features culminating activities.