Abisha Ali

Professor Richard Raspa

Hon 4200

9 October 2017

The Necessity of Art in Medicine

C. Jeff Miller said Body and soul cannot be separated for purposes of treatment,

for they are one and indivisible. Sick minds must be healed as well as sick bodies. The

idea presented here is that healing occurs when the whole human being is treated. A

doctor cannot solely focus on the disease and expect the patient to truly be healed. It

can be considered an art to genuinely heal people, body and soul. This idea is

presented in a poem by W. H. Auden, The Art of Healing and emphasized in the film

WIT by showing a lack of this ideal. The poem was written by Auden in memory of his

physician David Protetch, a caring and passionate doctor who died of a disease. In

contrast, the film WIT presents the story of a patient dying of disease and her

interactions on this journey. In this paper, I will argue that The Art of Healing by W. H.

Auden and the film WIT both demonstrate that art plays an essential role in practicing

medicine and healing a patient. I will present how art is established in both works, and

how harmony between health and nature and constructing relationships are a part of

this art.

Both the poem and the film establish that the practice of medicine not only

includes science, but also contains a necessary factor of art. The first part of the poem

that the reader sees is the title, The Art of Healing. Before one can even proceed to

reading any further, the idea that healing includes some form of art is recognized; the
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idea is a seed planted in the brain. Near the beginning of the poem, in the second

stanza, Auden says that Healing, / Papa would tell me, / is not a science, / but the

intuitive art / of wooing Nature. This statement furthers the idea that healing and the

practice of medicine are not only based on science, but that art is also involved. It

additionally suggests that art is more of a necessary part of healing than science by

stating that healing is not science at all. Furthermore, Auden uses a quote from Novalis

that articulates that illnesses are a musical problem with a musical solution. Here,

Auden does not clearly state that medicine is an art. However, the idea is implied

through its association with music which is something popularly considered as an art

form. In contrast, the film WIT shows the viewer a lack of art in practicing medicine.

Throughout the movie, viewers see Vivian Bearing being isolated by her physicians.

The physicians are focused primarily on how her data fits into their research; they are

focused only on the science behind her disease. There is a lack of compassion and

sympathy from the doctors and in this, a lack of art. Only towards the end of the movie

do the viewers see Vivian receive sympathy and kindness from the nurse and her old

professor. In this film, art is emphasized as a necessary part of medicine by showing a

lack of it which adds to the patients suffering. This art can exist in many ways in the

practice of medicine.

Both works express the idea that art is present in medicine when the whole

human being is treated rather than just the disease. In the poem, Auden claims healing

is an intuitive art of wooing Nature. Intuition refers to something that is quickly

understood. The word wooing can mean to win over with love. It holds connotations of

something gentle, impressive, and enchanting. The word is synonymous with courting
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which means to attain a marriage. Given these definitions, Auden appears to be saying

here that in order to heal, one must quickly understand that health and nature are in

unison or harmony. A doctor can not heal a patient fully without treating the nature of

the whole being with kindness and love. This act in itself is an art. In addition, the letter

N in nature is capitalized. This suggests that nature may be some form of a higher

power, possibly God. This would mean that not only should the health of the body be in

harmony with its surroundings, but also in harmony with faith and spirit. Auden furthers

this idea of harmony by using the quote from Novalis, Every sickness / is a musical

problem, / so said Novalis, / and every cure / a musical solution. When music flows

together, there is harmony. Similarly, when health and nature flow together, there is

harmony and there is music. When a person is ill, it is a musical problem which implies

that something is out of harmony, the music has been disrupted. Therefore, the cure is

a musical solution which means that healing is possible when harmony is restored and

maintained. Overall, Auden is suggesting here that the human experience of life should

be in harmony with the health of the body and mind in order to completely heal.

This idea of harmony between health and nature is reflected in the film as well.

The physicians in WIT did not understand this concept of wooing nature. By focusing

only on the scientific aspects of Vivians illness, they failed to treat her whole being. At

one point in the movie, Jason states that he is fascinated and intrigued by cancer. This

appears to be true so much so that solving the puzzles of cancer through research are

more important to him than the sick patient he sees every day. The doctors in the film

were unable to offer her healing in any way by rejecting the aspect of art in medicine.

Arguably, this neglect of affection could have in part contributed to Vivians death.
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Without much affection from anyone around her and the immense suffering she was

going through, she did not have a reason to keep fighting. Likewise, to treating the

whole being, it is also important to treat the patient as a human. In the poem, Auden

refers to his doctor by his first name, David, which humanizes the physician. However,

in the film, the physicians always refer to Vivian as Dr. Bearing or Bearing. By only

using her last name, they dehumanize her and further show neglect of affection. She

appears to be just another name on their list of patients. The only time the viewers see

her being called Vivian is by her old professor who comes to visit near the end. In this

scene, Vivian clings to her professors shirt like a child. It appears as though she wishes

for that relationship to last after spending a whole lifetime without any. This shows the

amount of suffering she is put through by the lack of affection and relationships in her

life.

Another form of art represented in both the poem and the film is relationships. In

the poem, the advice about wooing nature is given to Auden by his father. This simple

quote implies that he did have some form a relationship with his father. Also, the poem

he is writing is in memory of his deceased doctor. The dedication of the poem shows

that he also maintained a strong relationship with his physician and mourns the loss of a

good doctor. Conversely, in the film the viewers see a lack of relationships. When Vivian

is a child, her father, who is reading a newspaper, brushes her away when she asks him

a question by answering quickly. Possibly due to this lack of love and affection in her

early childhood, Vivian develops the thought that being smart enough would make up

for her lack of relationships and affection. We see this idea shape her life as she never

develops any relationships with friends, students, colleagues, or her doctors. Another
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apparent difference between the poem and film is the social status of the doctors. In the

poem, Auden humanizes his doctor. He talks about the doctor being just as human as

him, the patient. He mourns for his loss as a friend, someone equal to him. Auden

presents the doctor as a person capable of relationships with those around him

regardless of status. In the film however, the physicians appear to be at a higher social

status than the patients and other workers in the hospital. They act as though they are

too busy helping too many patients and conducting their research to sincerely care for a

sick patient. Neither Jason nor Dr. Kelekian are shown developing relationships with

patients or other employees, such as the nurse. This disconnect is seen every time Dr.

Kelekian claims full dose while overlooking the pain Vivian is in and she goes along

with it as not to appear weak. The relationships in the film are strained due to this

separation of status. Relationships are an art form that aids in healing, but the lack of

relationships can signify a lack of affection and art altogether.

Art is a crucial factor in medicine and healing as seen in The Art of Healing and

WIT. Both works help to move the understanding of healing away from only science.

Healing and medicine are an art form that works in harmony with the nature of human

beings and their experiences. Healing is an art in the context of relationships as well,

which are a major part of human nature. As humans, we need more than medicine to

survive. We need empathy, affection, intimacy, and a sense of belonging. Analyzing

these two ways that a patient can be treated brings to light the necessity of art in

medicine. It is clear that a doctor can not follow the same check-list procedure with each

person who walks into the office and always expect good outcomes. To truly cure and

heal the patient, a doctor must heal both body and soul.
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Works Cited

Reynolds, Richard C., et al. W. H. Auden. On Doctoring: Stories, Poems,

Essays, 3rd ed., Simon & Schuster, 2001, pp. 126128.

Nichols, Mike, director. WIT. HBO Films, 2001.