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When Vivian rises from the bed and makes the transition from life to death, links to the concept of resurrection in the poem characterised by the line “one shot sleepe past, wee wake eternally”. Vivian is at peace and is ready to accept her new, eternal life in death.
Vivian also resembles death in Death Be Not Proud, as like death she always had so much pride because of her academic status, however in the end she realised it meant nothing, and instead she gains real pride as a human being.
Death Be Not Proud states that death “art slave to Fate” suggesting death is not what kills people but more powerful forces. The poem also states that “with poyson, warre and sicknesse dwell”, suggesting that death is not what is causing Vivian to die, her cancer is. All death can do is “dwell”.
Jason resembles death in Death Be Not Proud, he thinks he has power and control but really has none, as he can’t revive Vivian. He realises this in the end and yells “I MADE A MISTAKE!”
Vivian accepts that she will die and accepts death without fearing it, leaving death powerless over her, as death can only “overthrow” those who think it is “Mighty and dreadful”.
The characterisation of this scene as well as the rest fo the play presents death as a conceptual character. Death is also presented as a conceptual character in Death Be Not Proud.
The fact that at the end of the play Vivian learns that the lessons about life she failed to learn before meant she could die a better person and left death utterly powerless over her, failing to scare her or destroy her as it also failed to destroy the speaker of Death Be Not Proud.
STUDENT 1’s conversation with Vivian links to the concept that death is weak and a “slave” in Death Be Not Proud. STUDENT 1’s excuse based on the death of his grandmother suggests that death has become so weak that it has become a puppet to ordinary people, who use it for their own personal gain.
STUDENT 3 and STUDENT 4 resemble the poems persona which mocks death. They laugh at Vivian’s “expense”, mocking her teaching and leaving her powerless, as Donne does to Death in stating “nor yet canst thou kill me."
Vivian also resembles death in Death Be Not Proud in this scene. She is depicted like death as “Mighty and dreadful” in the way she teaches her students.
The play presents the conceit that Vivian teaches lessons about poems that concern life and death while she herself never learns any lessons about life and death until its too late.
Vivian's statement “Herein lies the Paradox. John Donne would revel in it.” Refers to the conceits and paradoxes that Donne’s poems, including Death Be Not Proud, are littered with.
In her direct address to the audience Vivian states that if she were lecturing she could “perplex” her students and she could be “so powerful”. This links to the personification of death in Death Be Not Proud. In the poem, death is powerful when it is able to scare and manipulate people. When death cannot do this however, it is powerless. This is similar to Vivian in the way that if she can perplex her students with complex language she has power over them, however if she cannot perplex them she is powerless
When Susie interupts her imaginary lecture, Vivian screams “I do not want to go now!”.At this stage she doesn’t want to die and is holding on to her life, and to Donne. This gives death power over her, as death has power over those who fear it in Death Be Not Proud.
The “paradox” Vivian refers to implicitly links to a specific paradox presented in Death Be Not Proud. Vivian's statement “My treatment imperils my health” links to the conceit in Death Be Not Proud that those who fight death and see it as “Mighty and dreadful” are often the ones who succumb to it and are defeated by it. In fighting her cancer to prevent her death, Vivian has become closer to death than she ever was, in isolation.the conceit in Death Be Not Proud that those who fight death and see it as “Mighty and dreadful” are often the ones who succumb to it and are defeated by it. In fighting her cancer to prevent her death, Vivian has become closer to death than she ever was, in isolation.
The tone of this scene reflects the role reversal of Jason and Vivian in relation to If Poisonous Minerals. Vivian dies and in a tense rush to save her Jason cries “She’s research!” highlighting the fact that while Vivian has peacefully passed on into death Jason has now taken on the role of the persona from If Poisonous Minerals. Jason is pleading for Vivian’s life, similarly to the speaker of If Poisonous Minerals who pleads with God.
The "allegory of the soul" that is revealed from Ashford's reading of the childrens story to Vivian causes Vivian's sudden realisation that she longer needs God in her life, and that Donne, who she thought was her God, means nothing to her anymore. Vivians sudden realsiation links to the sudden realisation of the speaker of If Poisonous Minerals, who realises that he has to embrace God in order to receive his salvation.
The truncated sentences in the dialogue with STUDENT 1 highlight the fact that Vivian has no interest in the student’s excuses. The conversation is similar to the speaker of If Poisonous Minerals who has no interest in Gods excuses, he asks so many questions that he doesn’t give God time to answer and in the end answers his own question.
Through Vivian's direct address to the audience, the play highlights the difference in Vivians personality from before she had cancer to when the play takes place. The play suggests that she has changed as a person and realised many of her past mistakes, such as her reluctance to show any human kindness. This concept of realisation links to If Poisonous Minerals, in which the speaker realises that although salvation comes from God, one doesn't have to fear God's punishment for sins, but accept hs forgiveness.
The tone in this scene is similar to the tone of the poem. Vivian adopts an accusatory tone while teaching her students and asking them difficult, similarly to how the speaker of the poem makes accusations to God and also asks difficult questions.
Vivian states that in the poem God chooses to do what is “hard” instead of what is “easy”, that is, condemning the speaker instead of showing him mercy. This is similar to Vivian’s battle with cancer. Vivian has had to do what is “hard” by dealing with her treatment and the realisation of her past mistakes when she could have instead done what is “easy” and given up.
In her analysis of the speaker of the poem Vivian asks the rhetorical question “If arsenic and serpents are not damned, then why is he?” The same question could be asked about Vivian herself. Vivian has never done anything inherently wrong, so why is she dying?
The sudden realisation of the speaker of If Poisonous Minerals that salvation comes through accepting God links to Vivian’s sudden realisation and rejection of Donne. Vivian states that her illness “is not a game” that she would teach to her students, suggesting that she was looking for salvation through Donne, but has realised that Donne is not her God and will not save her.
The personification of the "poisonous minerals" of knowledge highlights the pain Vivian experiences. The line “that tree Whose fruit threw death” refers to the fact that knowledge brings about pain. Because Vivian has so much knowledge she knows she is going to die and she knows that she should have led her life differently and shown some of the human kindness that she now seeks.
In asking what he has done to deserve to die, the speaker of If Poisonous Minerals asks God "Make sins, else equal, in me more heinous?". This presents a paradox as Vivian becomes the subject of the very poem she was just teaching. Vivian resembles the persona of the poem as she cries “I do not want to go now!”
The play presents a conceit in which Vivian’s salvation from the “poisonous minerals” of knowledge comes not from God but from medication, another form of poisonous mineral.
Vivian asks the rhetorical question “Have we outwitted Donne? Or have we been outwitted?” to highlight the paradox of her own relationship with John Donne's Poetry. Vivian believes she has outwitted Donne, she believes she figured him out after many years of studying his work. In reality though it is Vivian who has been outwitted, as she became obsessed with Donne and after so many years analysing his works she has run out of time to live her own life. She had been living for Donne, not for herself.
The scene in which Vivian relives her childhood memory resembles a time in which Vivian was happy and innocent. She is “immortal” and not yet burdened by the metaphoric "poisonous minerals" of knowledge.
The play provides an explicit intertextual link to the poem as Vivian recites the poem and analyses its religious context as she imagines herself teaching it to a class.
Metaphor of the apparition. Donne has become an “apparition” of Vivian’s past and is haunting her, restraining her form achieving freedom and peace. In death she is free of the “ghost” and can die in peace.
Stage direction page 54 “frenzy takes over”. Highlights the point in time at which events are completely out of Jason and Susie’s control. This presents a paradox as Jason and Susie were never really in control, they, mostly Jason, just thought they were. It is now that the play changes tone and Jason is able to reflect on his past actions, just as the speaker of Donne’s the apparition, who stops lamenting the loss of his lover and decides he is better off without her.
The tone change in the last four lines of the poem reflects how Vivian changes towards the end of her life. Vivian, like the speaker of the poem is at first aggressive and very critical. The last four lines of the poem adopt a reflective tone, as does Vivian at the end of the play.
Vivian resembles the speaker of the poem as she scorns her students because they will not accept the love she has to give them. She wants them to learn what she has to teach them like the speaker wants his lover to accept his love. Vivian like the speaker feels rejected and in turn rejects her students.
In this scene Vivian shares the same accusatory tone as the speaker of The Apparition. In scolding the students, Vivian believes they are inferior to her, just as the speaker of the Apparition views his ex lover as inferior to him.
In this scene Vivian resembles the female ex lover of the speaker. Vivian knows that her metaphoric “taper” has begun to “winkle” as she is nearing the end of her life.Unlike the lover from the poem however, she is not given the chance to “repent”.
The reflective tone of this scene matches the reflective nature of the poem. Can be seen in the poem's line "Lest that preserve thee; and since my love is spent" compared to the plays line "I can recall the time".
The flashback in this scene of Vivians past illustrates what she was like as a child. The scene is viewed liek an appartion, a "ghost" of Vivian's past. Vivian's younger self has become an apparition of a time when she was happier, similarly to the speaker of The Apparition whose memories of his ex lover have become an "apparition" of a time when he was happier.
In her explicit reference to If Poisonous minerals Vivian refers to the use of “pious melodrama” throughout the poem. The apparition is also very melodramatic.
