The play and motion picture Wit by Margaret Edson fixates on a poem by John Donne, Death be not Proud.
The fixation is on the last line of the poem:
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
The assertion is that Donne did not intend the use of a semicolon, and converting it to a comma significantly alters the meaning, profoundly uplifting the aura of spirituality.
"Nothing but a breath—a comma—separates life from life everlasting. It is very simple really. With the original punctuation restored, death is no longer something to act out on a stage, with exclamation points. It’s a comma, a pause."
chasil · · focus · HN ↗
The fixation is on the last line of the poem:
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
The assertion is that Donne did not intend the use of a semicolon, and converting it to a comma significantly alters the meaning, profoundly uplifting the aura of spirituality.
The play:
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wit_(play)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wit_(play)
The poem:
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Be_Not_Proud" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Be_Not_Proud
Discussion:
<a href="https://lavelleporter.com/2015/02/13/readingwit/" rel="nofollow">https://lavelleporter.com/2015/02/13/readingwit/
"Nothing but a breath—a comma—separates life from life everlasting. It is very simple really. With the original punctuation restored, death is no longer something to act out on a stage, with exclamation points. It’s a comma, a pause."