Summary

Scene 3 (p. 16-31)

Vivian is rolled into the scene in a wheelchair for her x-ray and upper GI series. She is asked her name but when she tries to provide additional information about who she is and what she does, there is no response. At one point she gives the name Lucy, Countess of Bedford, which again inspires no reaction from the technicians. Vivian continues to talk to the audience as the technicians run the tests. After her undergraduate degree, Vivian continued to study for three years with E.M. Ashford, “during which time,” she says, “I learned by example what it means to be a scholar of distinction.” She names off her publications. Vivian identifies the salient characteristic of Donne’s poems as wit. Wit sharpens the mind, and uncovering the wit in Donne’s poems is the final test of ability...