Who Knew a Semicolon Meant So Much? First Impressions: W;t

Tone: Considering Vivian's diagnosis, her frank tone, almost like she's just teaching another class, feels very out of place (which, I suppose, is the point). She almost never lets her emotions get the better of her until the very end, where everything becomes wistful and sad. What I think this might do for the play is that it shows how even the most academic of us need love and emotion, even if it doesn't seem that way.

Language/Grammar: One very specific discussion I feel is significant to all parts of the play is Vivian's discussion with her professor about the editions of Donne's poetry, and how there are mistakes in punctuation in Vivian's edition. The title of the play is not "Wit", it is "W;t", symbolizing how the play should not have happened, that Vivian's life should just be like everyone else's. It could also connect to the ending of the play, where the Jason mistakenly calling a code-blue creates a lot of stress and grief as Vivian's life, and the play, both end abruptly, much like a period in a sentence where there should only have been a semicolon.

Setting: While the entire play technically takes place in the hospital, the numerous flashbacks Vivian experiences reveal how much she feels that she needs the classroom where she taught, the office where she worked, and how the hospital almost feels no different, like she could just keep on teaching Donne poetry to all of the other patients and doctors. It gives a sense of disconnect to the play while, almost paradoxically, giving a sense of continuity to Vivian's last few days.

Other impressions: The ending of the play was abrupt, as I've already said, but I feel like there's a lot of things you could analyze with it. It's ambiguity is a lot like the ending of The Giver, where the reader is left wondering just what happened. Did Vivian die and make it to the light, or did the Code team successfully resuscitate her despite Susie and Jason's effort to stop them? I was thinking it was the latter one, because the lights went out and the play ended just before Vivian could fully make it to the light. But, I suppose, each person can draw their own conclusion.