Forming an Analysis About Form

Elements of Form:

1.       Music. In the movie, mood is controlled by sharp changes in the music. It varies from being simple piano melodies to screaming violins when the scene changes. Sometimes the lack of music indicates that audiences should pay closer attention to a particular conversation or scene.

2.       Zooming. When audiences need to direct their attention to a certain character, the camera zooms way up on their face. In this film, there is little action. The story therefore moves based on reactions from the characters captured by the zoom.

3.       Contrast of E.M. Ashford. Written, acted, or filmed, Professor Ashford is juxtaposed against Vivian as an example of what her life could be like if she understood the difference between the comma and the exclamation mark back in college.

4.       Metaphysical Conceit. Vivian herself is metaphysical conceit in relation to the Holy Sonnet “Death, be not proud…” that’s quoted over and over in the play. She is the poem incarnate.

5.       Character of Dr. Jason Posner. Jason seems to sap the life out of Vivian. As she grows weaker, he becomes more animated.

6.       Character of Susie. This nurse is a dramatic foil for both Vivian and Jason. She offers kindness and is who Vivian turns to in the end.

7.       Color. At the beginning, Vivian’s room has more color and she does as well. By the end of the film, however, Vivian is stark white against white bedsheets. This symbolizes a loss of life.

8.       Flashbacks.  In the film, Vivian flashes back to her childhood or previous important experiences. She changes from adult to child and back again, and the location changes too. This helps audiences realize how her past is shaping present experiences.

9.       Theme – Clinical. Clinical, or lack thereof, is a recurring theme. At first it is bothersome and obtrusive to Vivian, but then she craves human kindness.

10.   Language. Vivian relies heavily on the poetry of John Donne and her experiences mirror situations in various sonnets by him.

I think that I could tie together the ideas from 10 and 4.  Vivian relates to the poem so well because she was once mighty but then was “slave” to the will of “desperate men” who are trying to get their results out of her. She also learns the meaning of the comma in the last sentence of the poem and tries to grasp the concept of hope after death.  When Jason is talking to Susie about Vivian’s class and John Donne, he talks about how no one ever figures out the point of Salvation, whether it’s real or not or even worth trying to figure out.  Vivian is also put under intense study, just as the poetry was, but dies before they can ever reach any conclusions. She also refers back to another sonnet by Donne that she taught.  This one discusses how most people want to be noticed by God, but the speaker wants to hide from Him and be forgotten.  When Professor Ashford comes to visit her, she reads Vivian a children’s book about a bunny that tries to run away and is always found by its mother.  I could definitely explain this one and relate it to the transformation Vivian experiences through her cancer.


Tuesday, Febuary 16th

In the play, W;t, Vivian Bearing is a physical representation of the poetry of John Donne through the way that she is examined and how she comes to terms the concepts of living and dying.