"THIS IS MY PLAY'S LAST SCENE": JOHN DONNE'S POETRY IN WIT BY MARGARET EDSON.

Margaret Edson's play on the last days of a university professor dying of cancer is an intriguing example of modern reception of John Donne. The play depicts a grippingly intense introspective quest towards enhanced self-awareness that the protagonist undertakes when faced with a terminal illness. This central development of the play revolves around a number of themes, the principal one being the questionable value of knowledge in relation to ultimately important issues like one's attitude to death. While Wit displays a variety of levels on which Donne's early modern poetry may function in today's cultural awareness, the article analyses the play's juxtaposition of knowledge and wisdom, tracing the links of power, authority, dependence and conflict in teacher-student and doctor-patient relationships. The dramatic techniques employed are presented as successful tools that enable the author to highlight the illuminating power of memory and remembrance. Finally, the play's ending is discussed in connection with the ambiguity of using Donne's poems in a text that is open to both religious and secular interpretations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]