no man is an island meaning in tagalog essay

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No Man is an Island

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Published: Sep 16, 2023

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‘No Man Is An Island’, Meaning & Context

People usually think that the phrase ‘No man is an island’ comes from Shakespeare, as it sounds like it is one of Shakespeare’s many famous lines . It also sounds as though it may have come from the Bible. There are hundreds of quotations similarly mistaken as Shakespeare’s , such as “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” that comes from a Restoration play, The Mourning Bride by William Congreve

‘No man is an island’ is an idiom taken from a 17th century sermon by the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral. The Dean happened to be John Donne , a clergyman who now, almost four hundred years later, is regarded as one of the greatest English poets.

It is often assumed that ‘no man is an island’ is from one of Donne’s poems: it’s ironic that though he is the author of some of the finest and most memorable verses in English poetry, this phrase, not from a poem, but a sermon, is the most famous quote from him.

Here is the full John Done quote from his sermon:

“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

No man is an island

Background to John Donne’s ‘No man is an island’ sermon

The words ‘No man is an island’ were embedded in a deeply Christian sermon about how human beings are connected to each other, and how important that connection is for the wellbeing and survival of any individual. When you hear the church bell tolling for someone who has died, don’t ask who it is, Donne says, just know that it’s tolling for you too because you are part of the same society and the death of anyone takes a part of your own life away.

The sermon is noted, not just for ‘no man is an island,’ but also the phrase ‘for whom the bell tolls,’ which was used by Ernest Hemingway as the title of his most famous novel.

John Donne and the development of English poetry

As Shakespeare was nearing the end of his playwriting career there was a new poetry taking hold in English. It was written by poets who were not professional writers but highly educated men who had careers in other areas like the Church, business, diplomacy, and the military.

Their poetry reflected their education and they used the latest developments in science, geography, astronomy, etc. to make their imagery: their poems had a strong intellectual component. Shakespeare himself, never for a moment one of the many poets who became old-fashioned in the face of the new poetry, became a part of this poetic development, which we now call ‘ metaphysical poetry ’ and the poets “the metaphysical poets,”. In fact, some of Shakespeare’s verse in his poems and plays were models for the metaphysical poets.

The metaphysical poets did not regard their poetry writing as meaning that they were “poets” in the sense that men like John Milton and Edmund Spencer were – they were busy men in their own fields who wrote poems more as a hobby, not publishing them but passing them around to friends who also wrote poems. In that way, they influenced each other. Looking at their poems now there are striking similarities, which amounts to their being a ‘school’ of poetry – ‘ the metaphysical poets .’

When we look back now at the metaphysical poets John Donne is, without doubt, the best of them. His poems are powerful and beautiful, mainly about love, but becoming some of the most powerful religious poems like his sonnets ‘Batter my heart three person’d God,’ ‘At the round earth’s imagined corners blow your trumpets angels’ and ‘Death be not proud, though some have called you mighty and dreadful’.

That development from love to religious poetry reflects Donne’s career and personal development. He trained as a lawyer then embarked on a life of adventure as a soldier and explorer, becoming well known as a man about town, popular with women. He settled down at the age of 25 as a high-level secretary, where he fell in love with his wealthy employer’s niece Anne More. He married her secretly, which enraged her uncle: the couple had to disappear. Donne wrote a small verse to describe their plight: “ John Donne, Anne Donne, Undone .”

The pair went to London where Donne eked out a meager living until he was elected to parliament in 1602. In the 16 years of their marriage, Anne gave birth to 12 children, dying during the birth of the twelfth.

After several years as a member of parliament, Donne converted from Catholicism to Anglicanism, took holy orders, and entered the church, eventually becoming the Dean of St Pauls, where he wrote and delivered a great number of wonderful sermons.

His sermons, as powerful as his poems, are full of lines and ideas that indicate an intense life, profound thoughts, and a strong sense of humour. Some other famous lines from his sermons are:

“When one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language”

“And who understands? Not me, because if I did I would forgive it all.”

“Death is an ascension to a better library”

“Reason is our soul’s left hand, faith her right. By these we reach divinity”

“He that hath all can have no more.”

Of all of John Donne’s quotes – from his sermons and poetry, “No man is an island” stands apart as the most perfect expression of an individual’s position in relation to society.

amazing job

Is the translation of “Manor” in Donne’s original to “manner” correct? He didn’t mean “Manor” as a piece of land with houses and farms?

“if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Manor of thy friends or of thine owne were”

A clod of earth is a small part of the fields that comprise an estate, or Manor… So I think you are altogether correct to think Donne is speaking of the importance of a seemingly insignificant part of the whole. Thanks and well done.

Your’s is a question answered by context…. which inarguably confirms “manor” relates to one’s homestead, estate, or property.

Who said or wrote:

“Man. man, one can not live entirely without pity”

although I have always been an outsider, even in childhood not belonging to the places I lived as I had moved around since age 9yr old, since may 2001 I have lived a very secluded life almost a recluse most of the time. I saw people for an hour and a half some days. but they didn’t talk to me often. I had very little contact with those I saw in the self-help place I went to for help around problems I had. That became a way of life for me and became the only place I went where humans were. most kept back from me there. And I was told they all hated me. I never knew them. And the family grew up left home got their own lives and got busy and had very little time to spare to see me. and some families lived far away. for personal reasons I didn’t want to get involved with the men who asked, in the past 22 years, I have had very little involvement with men, I was lonely at first for a few years, however, I became used to it, I broke through the loneliness barrier. learned to enjoy my own company. However I found that my mental health was getting worse and worse, though I had no feeling of loneliness, I was becoming crazy in my mind. somewhat like tom Hank in the movie where he is shipwrecked on a desert island and has only a football to talk to. isolation. recently I went back to the old church that I had been in when I was a young woman. and my mental health has improved, the love of the brothers and sisters there is like no other love I have ever known before, the acceptance. I have not known before. I am still having a bit of a problem with mixing in due to the prolonged isolation I have lived in. but I am improving slowly. i know what it feels like to be an island.

What a fascinating, sad, yet heart-warming journey you’ve had. Stay encouraged and keep pressing forward sister.. Life is difficult but also brings wonderful triumphs.

You speak very eloquently; as if you are a poet. I can relate to your anguish and I sincerely wish I could express myself as you do… I greatly admire your ability to express yourself. That being said… some food for thought: Life is a series of challenges… those challenges are more difficult for those of us who think differently. I truly believe there are few things we can change in life; however, the most life-changing innate power we possess is the ability to change our thoughts… and thereby change our lives. Wishing you nothing but peace and contentment… what true happiness is. ❤️

Thank you for your transparency and willingness to share for the enlightenment of others and yourself. May you continue to remove the barriers that isolate you from others and others from you. For out of fellowship we are designed and yes love truly does conquer all. Many blessings to you.

I’m glad for you, sister. I know what it’s like to be an outsider too. Thank God for true friends!

It’s noteworthy that John Donne speaks of ‘Europe’ not ‘England’.

John Donne: “No Man Is an Island” Essay

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Introduction

Humans are used to live and communicate with others creating social organizations and social groups. A human being is asocial creature needed interaction and communication with people like “me”. The statement and position of John Donne is correct because it reflects principles of social organization and control. The human being must engage others, develop relationships, accrue goodwill, and establish a system of support network resources.

In time of need, the individual must actively engage these social resources, seeking help and managing supportive exchanges. This process may require considerable social skill, skill that develops and gains sophistication slowly and with experience. The transactional nature of support processes represents another thread of continuity in social support over the life course (Neimeyer & Neimeyer 2002).

The development, maintenance, and engagement of support resources is an active process from the first to the last year of life. This is not to say that the person can always manage support resources effectively and with ease, but rather that the behavior of the focal person matters. Indeed, the skills required in dealing with support resources very likely show developmental continuity.

“No man is an island” because throughout the individual’s life, a person engages in an active appraisal of the social world, of relationships with support network members and of the supportive behavior in which they have engaged. The young personalities may be less articulate about this than is the college-educated adult, but the process whereby special attention or its absence, treats or broken promises, come to be appraised in terms of one person’s feelings for another begins very early (Myers, 2002). The assessment of social standing becomes a veritable obsession during adolescence. Adolescents may be more tolerant, encompass a broader range of data, develop more elaborate appraisals, and be less volatile informing them, but the basic process shows considerable continuity.

In short, although the details change, throughout his or her life the individual is engaged in appraising support resources and supportive behavior and in forming beliefs regarding the degree to which he or she is loved and cared for, respected and esteemed, and involved in a network of mutual obligation. The major functions are to provide supplementary assistance to the focal person in dealing with demands and achieving goals, to sustain feelings of being cared for and valued, and to sustain a sense of social identity and social location. “Conversely, lack or loss of interpersonal relationships leads to negative emotional experiences such as anxiety, depression, distress, loneliness, and feelings of isolation? (Carvallo and Gabriel 2006, p. 698).

Many research studies suggest that gender is irrelevant both to levels of support and to its effects on well-being. But quite a few studies find women advantaged when we focus on particular modes and/or sources of support, specifically, emotional support and friends (Kelly, 2002). Likewise, differences in support effects, when they are observed, tend to be specific with respect to cause, mode, and outcome although no clear pattern is yet evident. Future research will benefit from valid, reliable, and focused support measures.

No doubt questions regarding gender differences will be specific rather than general and will be explored within the context of social-role and sex-role factors thought to underlie gender effects. Among middle-class people, social support showed a direct effect on distress, regardless of stress level (that is, the number of life events experienced). That is, the data for the middle class were consistent with a direct model whereas those for the lower class indicated a buffer model. Carvallo & Gabriel (2006) stated: “We expected that after receiving feedback of future interpersonal success, high-dismissing individuals would experience higher levels of positive affect relative to lowdismissing individual” (p. 704).

Isolation and loneliness are not natural for a man. However, support from family and friends was significantly more important for men than for women in the prediction of both life satisfaction and depression. Support from colleagues was significantly more important for women than for men in the prediction of anxiety. The relative importance of work and non-work support for men and women suggested by these findings is contrary to both common opinion and some previous findings (Dumm, 2008). Their focus was high-school change, specifically, grades and attendance, peer self-concept, and scholastic self-concept.

Academic adjustment was associated with informal support for both boys and girls, whereas peer self-concept was associated with both informal and formal support among boys, but neither among girls. Thus the higher informal support reported by girls (noted earlier) was less beneficial than that available to boys (Dumm, 2008).

Social loneliness results from the lack of a network of social relationships and is associated with boredom and depression. In contrast, emotional loneliness results from the absence of a close and intimate attachment to another person and is associated with a sense of isolation and anxiety. The evidence for these propositions is qualified. There is an example of how support might be linked to psychological distress in a more particular manner than is evident in current research.

First, regarding the view that people are especially independent and reluctant to seek help from others, a qualitative finding is relevant. In a small sample of families, Dumm (2008) found that half the women, but all the men, showed a negative network orientation: an unwillingness to utilize support resources because of mistrust, independence, or beliefs that others cannot provide help. This posture toward others, it is argued, impedes the growth, maintenance, and use of support resources with adverse effects on well-being.

The authors note that regularized patterns of social conflict as well as support are evident in the social networks and that these differed by gender. The gender differences are modest but consistent. Especially for women, the “classically integrative institutions” of family, work, and support networks also contain significant elements of friction.

Social support variables included the number of extended kin in the community and extended kin and nonkin support resources (those who would help with various problems) (Higdon, 2004). For instance, none of these support variables showed evidence of buffering the effects of either life events or chronic stressors, and only kin support resources showed an association with lower depression. Though, younger women reported particularly high levels of depression and of kin support resources. Further analyses showed no direct or buffer effects for either younger or older women and only one buffer effect for men. Those with more extended kin resources were affected relatively less by life events.

Investigation of gender differences in social network precursors of loneliness, Stokes and Levin (1986) found that social network factors, particularly density, were better predictors of loneliness in men than women. In a second study, they explored the density finding further, focusing on same-sex friends. Findings indicated that more interconnected, cohesive social networks are associated with lower loneliness for men but not for women. These studies suggest a greater importance for certain social network factors for men than women, at least with respect to loneliness (Howard, 2005).

Critics suggest that the forming of a bond of attachment is programmed into the baby for sound biological reasons. People who stay close to another person are likely to benefit from an umbrella of protection against an environment which can be very harsh both in climate and predators. Therefore, people who have a trait to attach themselves to society stand a good chance of reaching maturity, and passing on their genes into the next generation, genes for the attachment trait. In that case, failure to form a bond in infancy, or the disruption of a bond, would be counter to the baby’s natural tendency, and as a result might have dire social, psychological and physical consequences (Cacioppo and Patrick, 2008).

“No man is an island” as there is an approach in which it makes sense that the person should attach himself to a parent is that the reward of love to the caring adult is likely to encourage her to return love and take the baby under her wing. I use the feathered metaphor here for good reason. The sociobiologists have demonstrated a primitive form of attachment in geese. He observed that shortly after hatching, the chicks would follow the parent wherever she went. This has implications for the survival of the chicks, so he wondered whether this tendency was innate.

The chicks could not have a perfect image of their parent programmed into their brains from birth, so Lorenz wondered instead if they are programmed to attach themselves to the first conspicuous moving thing they see. This would almost certainly be the parent. Such experiences in themselves could be disturbing to the people, over and above the separation. Consequently, perhaps the particular circumstance of separation is the factor which gives rise to permanent emotional damage, and not so much the mere fact of separation. Clearly separation is traumatic for a person, but there is scope for emotional repair when normal family life resumes in many cases (Carvallo and Gabriel 2006).

People dot suffer from anxiety for obvious reasons. Instead, they suffer from ostracism. Critics claimed that girls believe that they have already been castrated in order to account for the difference between their own physiology and their brothers’ (Hawkley et al 2009). This causes a similar kind of anxiety and makes the girl hate the parent, but eventually identifies with her in order to get attention and favor from her father. The moral ideals of the parents, as perceived by the person, are assimilated into the personality as the appropriate moral code. The superego may place strain on the personality, since its values are usually unrealistic.

However, it has the benefit of making the person considerate of others, and thus enables her to enter society as a conscientious and caring individual. Because of this, the personalities can move beyond the bounds of the family, and enter school and other institutions as a socialized person. In their study, Hawkley et al (2008) explain that: “Social control differences may explain lower activity levels in lonely individuals. Social control theory holds that internalized obligations to, and the overt influence of, network members tend to discourage poor health behaviors and encourage good health behaviors” (p. 354).

Attachment bonds, developed in early age, take various forms, and researchers have found it useful to place these forms into three broad categories. ‘Secure attachment’ is evident in approximately 50 to 67 % of parents’ relationships in industrialized countries. Researchers give the following example: when the parent returns to the room, following a short absence, the baby will often provide an overt display of delight at her return. The small person will smile, laugh, wave, and crawl towards her. If the parent picks him up, he will smile, kiss, hug and sink into her body. He will never act aggressively, pushing away, biting, hitting or squirming (Over and Carpenter 2009).

The unsocially attached person seems susceptible to temper tantrums, throwing toys and hitting the parent. In the strange situation, when left alone with a stranger, these people are less likely to display overt anxiety, yet clearly are anxious since measures of heart rate show increase consistent with an anxiety experience. When the parent returns, the small child might avoid her, or move towards her but move away again without making any physical contact.

The study made by Over and Carpenter (2009) suggests that: “Results showed that children primed with ostracism imitated the actions of a model significantly more closely than children not primed with ostracism. Interestingly, however, children in the two conditions did not differ in their tendency to turn on the light – every child did, or attempted to do this” (p. F5). Sex-role identity is the part of our personality which is responsible for our sex-appropriate behavior.

Some behaviors stereotypically defined as male might be drinking beer, playing football, swearing, wearing trousers, smoking cigars or a pipe, flattering women, being decisive, being aggressive. Some stereotypical female sex-appropriate behaviors might be wearing lipstick, sewing, being unassertive, being emotional, wearing dresses, drinking cocktails, flirting with men, being defenseless, being submissive. Social learning approach makes a good deal of common sense. If people witness aggressive behavior, then that behavior will become legitimized to the person by the very fact that there is now a precedent for it (Over and Carpenter 2009).

In sum, the statement by John Donne is true as a man cannot live in isolation from society. As noted above, throughout a person’s life, other people help with services, information, money, or advice when there are needed to deal with a stressor or to achieve a goal. To a greater or lesser degree, they express caring, affection, and respect for the person; they help him maintain a sense of who he is and where he belongs.

Cacioppo, J. T., Patrick, W. 2008, Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection. W.W. Norton & Co.

Carvallo, M., Gabriel, Sh. 2006, No man Is an Island: The Need to Belong and Dismissing Avoidant Attachment Style. Personal Social Psychological Bulletin ; 32 (1), p. 697.

Dumm, Th. 2008. Loneliness as a Way of Life . Harvard University Press

Hawkley, L. C. Thisted, R. A., Cacioppo, J. T. 2009. Loneliness Predicts Reduced Physical Activity: Cross-Sectional & Longitudinal Analyses. Health Psychology American Psychological Association 28 (3), pp. 354–363

Higdon, Juliet. 2004. From Counselling Skills to Counsellor: A Psychodynamic Approach (Paperback). Palgrave Macmillan.

Howard, Susan. 2005. Psychodynamic Counselling in a Nutshell . Sage Publications Ltd, November.

Kelly, G. A. 2002. The psychology of personal constructs . New York: Norton.

Myers, David G. 2002. Psychology . Hope College. Worth Publishers, Holland, Michigan. Fourth edition.

Neimeyer, R. A. & Neimeyer, G. J. (Eds.) 2002. Advances in Personal Construct Psychology . New York: Praeger.

Over, H., Carpenter, M. 2009. Priming third-party ostracism increases affiliative imitation in children. Developmental Science 12 (3), pp F1–F8

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No Man Is an Island Summary & Analysis by John Donne

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no man is an island meaning in tagalog essay

John Donne's "No Man is an Island" is about the connection between all of humankind. Donne essentially argues that people need each other and are better together than they are in isolation, because every individual is one piece of the greater whole that is humanity itself. The paragraph isn't actually a poem but a famous excerpt from Donne's Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions . Written in 1623 when Donne was in the grips of a serious illness, the Devotions examine what it means to be a human being and the relationship between humanity and God. Each of this book's 23 sections features a "Meditation," "Expostulation," and "Prayer." This particular segment comes from the 17th "Meditation."

Read the full text of “No Man Is an Island”

LitCharts

The Full Text of “No Man Is an Island”

1 No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a

2 piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod

3 be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well

4 as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy

5 friend's or of thine own were; any man's death

6 diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and

7 therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

8 it tolls for thee.

“No Man Is an Island” Summary

“no man is an island” themes.

Human Connection

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “No Man Is an Island”

No man is an island, entire of itself;

every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;

if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were;

any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind,

and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

“No Man Is an Island” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

Alliteration.

See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

“No Man Is an Island” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

Entire of itself
Send to know
See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “No Man Is an Island”

Rhyme scheme, “no man is an island” speaker, “no man is an island” setting, literary and historical context of “no man is an island”, more “no man is an island” resources, external resources.

The Poem Out Loud — Listen to a live reading by musician P.J. Harvey.

Donne's Life and Work — Learn more about Donne's life story via the Poetry Foundation.

Donne and Death — A podcast discussing the poet's attitude towards mortality.

The 17th Meditation — Check out the longer Meditation in which this famous excerpt appears.

Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions — Explore the full text of the book in which this famous paragraph appears, written by Donne during a period of sickness (and recovery).

LitCharts on Other Poems by John Donne

A Hymn to God the Father

Air and Angels

A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning

A Valediction: Of Weeping

Elegy V: His Picture

Holy Sonnet 10: Death, be not proud

Holy Sonnet 14: Batter my heart, three-person'd God

Holy Sonnet 1: Thou hast made me, and shall thy work decay?

Holy Sonnet 6: This is my play's last scene

Holy Sonnet 7: At the round earth's imagined corners

Hymn to God My God, in My Sickness

Song: Go and catch a falling star

The Apparition

The Canonization

The Good-Morrow

The Sun Rising

The Triple Fool

To His Mistress Going to Bed

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The Meaning and Origin of ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls; It Tolls for Thee’

In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library , Dr Oliver Tearle analyses the origins of a famous phrase about human sympathy and mortality

‘Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.’ This phrase has become world-famous but its origins, and even its meaning, are often misconstrued or at least only partially grasped. Many people would be able to identify the origins of ‘never send to know for whom the bell tolls’ in the work of John Donne (which would be correct), with quite a few of them thinking that the line originated in a poem of Donne’s (which would not be correct).

‘Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee’ is a phrase from one of John Donne’s most famous pieces of writing, but it’s not a work of poetry. Instead, this line appears in one of Donne’s prose writings:

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

But Donne left behind his heady and headstrong youth and eventually rose high in the ranks of the Church of England (despite being part of a recusant Catholic family), and became a devoted Anglican. In time, he was appointed Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral. He would write a series of Holy Sonnets which are as passionate as his youthful love poems, but this time God, rather than a mortal woman, is the subject and addressee.

Donne was writing at a time when the English language was, in many ways, at its most supple and inventive. This was the great age not just of the Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, of Shakespeare and Marlowe, but also the King James Bible (published in 1611) and the sermons of Lancelot Andrewes. Donne himself was also a powerful writer and deliverer of sermons, and a talented prose writer.

The famous lines he wrote that contain the ‘never send for whom the bell tolls’ statement were written in the last decade of his life. In 1623, he fell ill with a fever and, while he recovered, he wrote the Devotions upon Emergent Occasions , a series of prose writings split into three parts: ‘Meditations’, ‘Expostulations to God’, and ‘Prayers’.

The oft-quoted ‘no man is an island’ line, as well as the ‘for whom the bell tolls’ one, come the seventeenth Meditation in Donne’s Devotions . Donne was gravely ill and his own death, and the mortality of all human life, must have been continually on his mind; the Devotions come back to sin and salvation time and again, as in the Holy Sonnets.

The meaning of ‘never send to know for whom the bell tolls’ is fairly straightforward. We should feel a sense of belonging to the whole of the human race, and should feel a sense of loss at every death, because it has taken something away from mankind. The other famous phrase from this Meditation that has entered common usage is ‘no man is an island’, because no individual can subsist alone.

We need not only social company and companionship, but also an awareness of how we all have a share in the world: we are all part of the human race and the suffering and passing of another human being should affect us, not least because it is a regular reminder that one day, it will be us for whom the funeral bell is tolling.

The funeral bell that tolls for another person’s death, then, also tolls for us, in a sense, because it marks the death of a part of us, but also because it is a memento mori , a reminder that we ourselves will die one day. Ernest Hemingway’s great novel about the Spanish Civil War was named For Whom the Bell Tolls after Donne’s line, not just because death pervades the protagonist Robert Jordan’s thoughts but because Spain’s fate will affect everyone. George Orwell, whose political writing was changed forever as a result of fighting in the Spanish Civil War, would doubtless agree.

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3 thoughts on “The Meaning and Origin of ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls; It Tolls for Thee’”

THANK YOU FOR THIS POSST. DONNE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES.

Not only the dispatch throws ample light on the origins of the post and sunset days of Donne, it puts in perspective the title of the famous Hemingway novel.

The line of “For Whom The Bell Tolls” is also borrowed for the theme of a song by the Metal Rock band, “Metallica”

No Man is an Island Meaning, Summary and Analysis by John Donne

The phrase “No man is an island (unto himself)” has percolated into popular parlance, and the suggestive thought of man’s interconnectedness overruling the dictum of his individuality (or even insularity) is hardly a new thought for us. But in the Elizabethan age when John Donne had composed the meditation “No Man Is An Island”, the poem is structured in a peculiar fashion such that the resultant effect on reading it is not merely a realization of the universal humanity Donne is hinting at. Instead, it is the lifecycle of each mortal being, being propelled towards his inevitable death, and even God’s schemes which undermine that imagined community of men. Rather than being dismissed as a utopia, the meditation stresses the urgency of how man thrives in the company of his fellow human beings, and how he is but an insignificant component of the entire scheme, equipped with his own intrinsic set of functionalities and dispensations in the world-order.

Any individual human being, contrary to any antagonistic opinion he might be entitled to, cannot extricate himself from the rest of the living, breathing cosmic continuum and pretend to be complete of its own positionality, of the integrity of its stance. It is implausible for one man to grow and thrive in society without the love and affection of his fellow-citizens. Likening the isolated and insular man to an island, Donne insists how the individual is but a component of the larger mass of humanity, the “continent”, and can only exist in conjunction with the world outside.

The use of the island conceit here is effective in tracing the loci of human lives as bound with empty, endless seas (symbolic of trials, tribulations, perils, frustrations and such) as well as in proximity to other islands. The man is born to live out his life in the companion of other men, exposing his perceptions and insights to the adversities of an unfamiliar world, which he is an integral part of, and which also appears within the microcosm of the individual. The myth of self-sufficiency which has long been propagated for the “western man” as a master of nature as well as of the self is demolished at the very onset of the meditation.

Land, when eroded by the sea, simultaneously diminishes the size of the landmass in itself. The European continent, which has been alluded to here, also incidentally is nothing more than a vast island adrift in the breast of tremendous oceanic bodies and tectonic plates, yet which is also constituted by its variegated and innumerable populace. The loss of the individual eventually amounts to a diminution of the collective; the macrocosm is never entirely insulated from the ongoings of the microcosmic. The promontory jutting out of the sea is as exposed to the vagaries and scruples of destruction by the forces of the sea and the wind, as much as man is susceptible to the bereavement of what he holds near and dear. The poet might be condemning the superfluousness of the materialistic life in stating that the loss of a friend’s manor (or the

The promontory jutting out of the sea is as exposed to the vagaries and scruples of destruction by the forces of the sea and the wind, as much as man is susceptible to the bereavement of what he holds near and dear. The poet might be condemning the superfluousness of the materialistic life in stating that the loss of a friend’s manor (or the subjects own) might be a devastating loss of personal property for the owner concerned, but that equivalent importance must be attached by each one of us onto every singular person who forms a part of the world we too construct and inhabit.

Under these circumstances, any death of any one man cannot, for the narrator, be held as being circumscribed within the immediate family. The death of any one man sends out a ripple onto the world, which is diminished by his “deletion”, and the poet sees that as a tragedy for the human race. The “involvement” with mankind that Donne projects onto the narratorial voice is his and it is a politically charged commitment to humanity that is being propounded here. The personal is political and vice versa and boundaries can only sustain differences so far.

The death of a man does not signal the arrestation of that chapter in the book if life at all is to be perceived as a book penned down by the authoriality of the Divine Providence, but rather prepares the ground for the conversional transcendence of that chapter in his life. The bell which tolls in silent remembrance of the deceased is there to remind all of us that it is our loss. The collective “thee” refers to the unified race of humanity across all divisions and prescriptions of race, gender and so on, and resonates with the chiming of the bells.

The wholly isolated individual derides or is forgetful of the fact of his socially encoded existence, and of the many principles and ideas flowing in him, which are but regurgitated reproductions of ideas which have originated in the community of his brethren. There are a conspicuous exchange and transaction amongst all men, an organic connectedness which vibrates with life and vitality.

The eternal flux of human emotions can be imagined as a drama unfolding amidst the colossal sea underlying the scattered islands of human achievements. The individual, when attempting to discern his unique place in the world, cannot set up more lines of division than there already prevails. Cognizance of this oneness, of the commonality of what we all share in our identities and behaviors, can help combat the woes inflicted by the reality of mortality. Only death is capable of truly extricating one person from another, but even then, the deceased are never forgotten, and the saga continues to grow.

With no man existing unto himself, the suffering caused by singular deaths is shared by many, and by empathizing with the other’s grievance, the individual can also be awakened into the greater truth of his oneness. There is also a responsibility that accompanies the act of claiming emotional ties to other persons, and human beings can learn from the sufferings and experiences of their fellow brethren to better prepare themselves for their own deaths, which as was surely the belief in contemporary circulation, a transliteral migration to another world.

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For Whom the Bell Tolls/No Man is an Island

By John Donne

In ‘For Whom the Bell tolls,’ John Donne explores themes of life, death, and the human condition. He suggests that no man is an “island.”

He was the best of the metaphysical poets and is remembered for his skill with conceits.

Poem Analyzed by Emma Baldwin

B.A. English (Minor: Creative Writing), B.F.A. Fine Art, B.A. Art Histories

Donne addresses humanity, asking everyone to reconsider how they perceive themselves and their relationship to everyone else. Donne creates a mood and tone that are contemplative and thoughtful, while direct enough to clearly convey the major themes of ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls.’

Explore For Whom the Bell Tolls/No Man is an Island

2 Structure
3 Poetic Techniques
4 Detailed Analysis

‘For Whom the Bell Tolls/No Man is an Island’ by John Donne is a short, simple poem that addresses the nature of death and the connection between all human beings.

Donne begins by addressing the impossibility of solitude. “No man,” he says, is an island. All people are connected to one another. So much so that any loss is important. He extends the metaphor to compare the loss of a human being to the loss of a segment of a continent. This emphasis on interconnectivity is continued in the next lines. The poem turns, the poet addresses himself, and he asks that when the bell tolls one should not worry who it is tolling for. It is tolling for everyone. A single person’s death is like the death of everyone.

‘ For Whom the Bell Tolls/No Man is an Island ’ by John Donne is a fourteen-line sonnet that does not follow either of the standard sonnet forms, Petrarchan or Shakespearean. The rhyme scheme is scattered with a few distinct end rhymes like “sea,” “me,” and “thee”. Donne also chose not to use a specific metrical pattern. The lines vary in length, a feature that is unusual for a sonnet.

There is a distinctive turn, or volta , towards the end of the poem. Donne changes narrative perspectives and addresses his own position in the world. He also addresses the listener, asking that they change their understanding of what it means to be human.

Poetic Techniques

Donne makes use of several poetic techniques in ‘ For Whom the Bell Tolls/No Man is an Island ’. These include but are not limited to enjambment , metaphor, and anaphora . The latter, anaphora, is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines, usually in succession. This technique is often used to create emphasis. A list of phrases, items, or actions may be created through its implementation. For example, “As well as if a” which begins lines seven and eight. As well as “For” which starts two lines in the sestet .

Another important technique commonly used in poetry is enjambment. It occurs when a line is cut off before its natural stopping point. Enjambment forces a reader down to the next line, and the next, quickly. One has to move forward in order to comfortably resolve a phrase or sentence. For example, the transitions between lines eight and nine as well as twelve and thirteen.

A metaphor is a comparison between two, unlike things that do not use “like” or “as” is also present in the text. When using this technique a poet is saying that one thing is another thing, they aren’t just similar. In this poem, Donne uses a metaphor to depict human relationships to landmasses and the bell tolling to death.

Detailed Analysis

No man is an island, Entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main.

In the first lines of ‘ For Whom the Bell Tolls/No Man is an Island ’ the speaker begins with a clear and memorable opening line. He states that “No man is an island”. No single person is entirely separate from the rest of the world. Every human being is part of a whole. Donne transitions into one of the metaphorical conceits for which he is well-known. He compares human beings, their connection to one another and the rest of the world, to landmasses that are part of a continent. They are all “part of the main”.

If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manor of thine own

In the next quatrain , the conceit is continued. In these lines he adds onto it, saying that if the continent lost anything, from a “promontory” to a “clod,” or a “manor” that it would be less. This is relating back to human beings and how every loss, or death, is an injury to the whole. Humans are interconnected with one another and can therefore not afford to be flippant with one another’s lives.

Lines 9-14

Or of thine friend’s were. Each man’s death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee.

In the sestet, of the final six lines of the sonnet, Donne adds onto the statements he made previously by noting that not only “your” loss is meaningful but also “thine friends”. Everyone is injured when one person is.

The poem then transitions into first-person where the poet addresses himself and his connection to “mankind”. He speaks of “Each man’s death” as diminishing him. He is “involved” in the workings of humankind.

The last three lines directly address death and what it means when a new death comes to pass. He uses the image of a church bell tolling to symbolize death. When it rings, he says to the listener, do not ask “For whom” it tolls because it “tolls for” you. Whenever anyone dies, it is like everyone has died.

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Hafez the renowned Iranian poet has these beautiful poems to say: Human beings are members of a whole In creation of one essence and soul

If one member is afflicted with pain Other members uneasy will remain

If you’ve no sympathy for human pain The name of human you cannot retain

That is pretty!

Thank you, Emma! This helped me get a little more clarity on this poem for my test. I had no idea how to write an analysis so with this example I can now write my own.

Emma will be delighted she was able to help.

Dear Emma – This is not a poem! ‘Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions’ (1624) is a long prose work consisting of 23 tripartite sections (meditation-expostulation-prayer) chronologically recounting the course of a serious illness that nearly killed Donne. ‘No man is an Iland’ is the first phrase of Meditation 17. For Donne’s actual sonnets, see for example ‘Batter My Heart, Three-Person’d God’ or ‘Death Be Not Proud’.

Thank you. This is really interesting – although could open a much wider debate about what a poem is! For instance, I have seen a shopping list that was a poem.

What was the shopping list?

I can’t remember but I’m fairly confident it included avacodos!

I can’t remember but I’m fairly confident it included avocados!

This is not a sonnet. It is not a poem. This is an extract from “XVII Meditation,” with the words arbitrarily arranged as if it were a poem. Donne did write sonnets, but this is part of a magnificent prose composition, Nunc lento sonitu dicunt, morieris, from Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, 1624.

Wow, that is impressive knowledge there. Thank you for sharing with us.

Oh yeah, tell my teacher that. If its not a poem y are we learning it?!

There are many facets to the English language, my friend.

It’s really not a poem, though—there’s no debate to be had. It’s disingenuous to present it as such, with line breaks etc.

At the risk of sounding contentious – define a poem! Because many great poets have tried and their definitions are nebulous at best! However, I am playing devil’s advocate.

Emma and Lee are just trying to help those of us without Bachelors in English to understand something better. Your comments telling them it’s not a “poem” really doesn’t help or impress anyone.

I mean, I never would have said that. But I’m deeply amused that you did. Thanks!

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Baldwin, Emma. "For Whom the Bell Tolls/No Man is an Island by John Donne". Poem Analysis , https://poemanalysis.com/john-donne/for-whom-the-bell-tolls/ . Accessed 7 September 2024.

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When and why did "No man is an island" start being regarded as a poem?

John Donne's " Meditation XVII " from Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624) includes the following well-known passage:

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Devotions was, and is, a prose work. It was published as prose during Donne's lifetime, and continues to be printed as prose in modern scholarly editions . Currently, however, this passage circulates as poetry. The top results of an online search for "No man is an island" do not include any that have the entire text of Meditation XVII. Instead, they surface several sites that present this one passage as a poem, with the lines broken up as follows:

No man is an island, Entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, As well as if a promontory were: As well as if a manor of thy friend's Or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.

Poem Hunter
Mensa for Kids .

Such a presentation is ahistorical, unmooring the passage from its context as a devotional work. It also misrepresents Donne's own poetry, which was always closed-form, never free verse using arbitrary line breaks that eschew rhyme and meter. Additionally, the passage lacks the metaphysical wit that is a conspicuous, even defining, feature of Donne's poetry.

So, when and why did this passage start being considered, presented, and read as poetry? I suspect that this is a relatively recent development attributable to the proliferation of websites. I'm hoping someone adept at trawling the Internet Archive will, with some research, be able to answer.

textual-history
devotions-upon-emergent-occasions

1 Something similar happened to the story of Mel as it bounced around the internet. – TRiG Commented Mar 22, 2021 at 12:50

Independent versifications

The versification of this passage from Donne predates the widespread use of the Internet, as you’ll see from the earliest examples below. Moreover, it looks as though multiple editors have independently decided to format the passage as verse. The evidence for this is that different editors have chosen different ways to break up the passage into lines. We would not expect this to happen if they were copying from some shared source. Here are two different eight-line versifications:

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. Myrna Grant, ed. (1997) Poems for a Good and Happy Life , p. 104 . Garden City: CrossAmerica.

No man is an island, entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, As well as if a promontory were, As well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were; Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee. Mehmet Basci, ed. (2008). World Leaders’ Favourite Poems: a Book of Peace , p. 7 . Cardigan: Parthian.

Two different nine-line versions:

No man is an island, entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, As well as if a promontory were; As well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were; Any man’s death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee. Jackie Morris, ed. (2006). Barefoot Book of Classic Poems , p.104 . Cambridge: Barefoot Books.

No man is an island, entire of itself; Everyman is a piece of the Continent, part of the main; If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less; As well as if a promontary were; As well as if a manor of thy friends, or of thine own were; Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee. Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu (1989). Because I am Involved , p. 111. Spectrum Books.

A seven-line version with an excision, identified by Peter Shor in comments:

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; … any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. Sarah Anne Stuart (1996). A Treasury of Poems , p. 221 . New York: Galahad Books (1999). Ellipsis in original.

Manner of thine own

It is hard to trace the origin of these versifications because available search tools tend not to have any way of searching for line breaks, so that the rare versified versions of Donne’s text are buried among the common prose versions. However, if an editor happens to introduce a corruption at the same time as the versification, then the search tools become much more helpful. Here’s an example of such a corrupted text in the form of a fourteen-line versification:

No man is an island, Entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manner of thine own Or of thine friend’s were. Any man’s death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee. Deborah Gaye, ed. (2010). Of Love and Hope , p. 152 . London: Avalanche. Corruptions in bold.

Some of these changes might be defensible, but “manner” for “manor” and “thine friend” for “thy friend” are just embarrassing mistakes. But this version is rare and so more easily traceable. For example, here it appears in a novel:

The Sussex shore had been a haunt for smugglers. Towered over by the humps of the Seven Sisters and the knob of Beachy Head, pirates of old had hauled their contraband in through gaps in the cliff. The tales of these buccaneers provided J. M. Barrie with the inspiration for Captain Hook […] Lore like that cluttered Wyatt’s mind as he closed on the lonely cottage ahead. […] His epiphany was to recall John Donne, whose poem took on deeper meaning here at the rim: No man is an island, Entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manner of thine own Or of thine friend’s were. Any man’s death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee. Michael Slade (2008), Crucified , pp. 230–231 . Sutton: Severn House.

In the context of a novel, the errors are excusable, since we are told that the protagonist is recalling this “poem” from memory. In particular, the substitution of “manner of thine own” for Donne’s “manor … of thine own” is just the kind of trick that memory can play, because the protagonist’s recollections of stories of smugglers and pirates could have brought to mind a speech from Charles Kingsley’s Westward Ho! :

If it is ordained that thou shouldst advance the ends of the brotherhood by being shark-bitten, or flea-bitten, or bitten by sharpers, to the detriment of thy carnal wealth, or, shortly, to suffer any shame or torment whatsoever, even to strappado and scarpines, thou art bound to obey thy destiny, and not, after that vain Roman conceit, to choose the manner of thine own death, which is indeed only another sort of self-murder. Charles Kingsley (1855). Westward Ho! , volume 2, p. 268 . Cambridge: Macmillan.

On the Internet, this corruption can be traced using the Wayback Machine to this capture in July 2005 , and on Google Books to A Purpose for Life: Service (2005) by Alexander Zax . Whether one of these is the original of the corrupted text, or whether both are copying from some yet older shared source, is impossible for me to say.

1 Thanks! This addresses the when part pretty comprehensively. Any speculations as to why ? The passage gains nothing by being relineated as verse; one might argue both that it’s better as prose, and that it misrepresents Donne’s actual poetry. – verbose Commented Mar 15, 2021 at 11:39
1 And from 1989, in Google snippet view ( New Breed , Vol. 1, Issues 20-24). To see it, at least on my browser, search for "no man is an island" in the page this takes you to ... the link replaces the quotation marks with html code that Google books doesn't recognize. – Peter Shor Commented Mar 15, 2021 at 13:14
2 @PeterShor James Thurber does the same thing, disguising poetry as prose, although his writing is quite stylised anyway. – Rand al'Thor ♦ Commented Mar 15, 2021 at 13:41
1 @PeterShor I actually think both the Donne passage and the Neimöller one read better as prose. My understanding is that the latter is not even a quotation or translation, it’s just a rendition of sentiments Neimöller often expressed. – verbose Commented Mar 15, 2021 at 14:22
2 @gidds: Just for you, I added an example from 1989. – Gareth Rees Commented Mar 15, 2021 at 21:09

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No man is an island

What's the meaning of the phrase 'no man is an island'.

The phrase ‘no man is an island’ expresses the idea that human beings do badly when isolated from others and need to be part of a community in order to thrive.

John Donne, who wrote the work that the phrase comes from, was a Christian but this concept is shared by other religions, principally Buddhism.

What's the origin of the phrase 'No man is an island'?

It appears in Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions and Seuerall Steps in my Sicknes – Meditation XVII , 1624:

No man is an island entire of itself, Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, As well as if a promontory were, As well as any manor of thy friend’s, Or of thine own were. Any man’s death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls It tolls for thee.

The text above is a modern-day transcription of Donne’s original , which was written in Early Modern English. like this:

No man is an Iland, intire of itselfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Manor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.

Even if had Donne written nothing else, his creation of ‘no man is an island’ and ‘ask not for whom the bells tolls’ in one brief poem, would have lifted him into the premier league of English writers. As it was he wrote numerous poems on the themes of love, sensuality and religion.

Of course, the second of the two proverbial phrases above was the inspiration for Ernest Hemingway’s 1940 novel For Whom The Bell Tolls . This likewise is regarded as one of Hemingway’s best works.

‘No man is an island’ sounds like, and is, an old proverbial expression . Oddly, although it was coined in the 17th century, it only began to be used widely in the second half of the 20th century. This usage started around 1940 but was probably accelerated by the release of a film of the same name in 1962.

The film is a fictionalised version of a true story set on the island of Guam. The American seaman George Tweed was the only member of the U.S. military who evaded capture after the surrender of the island to the Japanese in 1941.

The history of “No man is an island” in printed materials

Related phrases and meanings, browse more phrases, about the author, gary martin.

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John Donne wrote “No Man Is an Island” as a part of his “Meditation 17” devotional writing, published in Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions in 1624. Donne is usually associated with a group 17th century poets called the metaphysical poets, who combined complex, unconventional metaphors with scientific allusions and a focus on religion, death, or love. While “No Man Is an Island” originated in prose form, the comprising lines are often extracted as stand-alone verse. The poem’s speaker addresses a general, unidentified audience—one assumed to include all of humanity. In addition to being metaphysical poetry, the text is lyrical, as it delineates the personal thoughts and emotions of the speaker. Donne’s religious clerical occupation, devoted to guiding humankind away from material existence and toward an understanding of mortality, informs this particular excerpt of his work. His clerical duties, as well as the trauma suffered in his personal life, provide an interpretive framework. The text speaks to the interconnectedness of humankind and a recognition of humanity’s shared mortality.

Poet Biography

Like many of his contemporaries, John Donne fell out of popularity regarding his writing not long after his death. It wouldn’t be until the early 1900s that interest in Donne’s poetry and sermons resurrected. Donne was born in 1572 to Elizabeth Heywood and his father, also named John Donne. The family were recusant Catholics and endured prejudicial social and political hostility; at the time, the nationally prescribed faith was Anglicanism, that of the Church of England.

When Donne was approximately four years old, his father passed away and his mother remarried John Syminges, a wealthy physician practicing in London. When he was 11, Donne entered Oxford University and later studied at Cambridge. His Catholicism, however, precluded a degree from either school, as graduation required an oath to Anglican doctrine. After his studies, Donne entered the legal field at Lincoln’s Inn when he was 20 years old. In 1593, Donne’s brother Henry was imprisoned for his Catholicism and died of the plague while incarcerated. Shortly after witnessing his brother’s fatal persecution, Donne capitulated to political pressure and converted to Anglicanism.

During the 1590s, Donne published two volumes of poetry: Satires and Songs and Sonnets, poems of love and religious meditation. Most of Donne’s poems began as manuscripts that would circulate among his social circles. From 1596 through 1597, after the death of his brother and at least two years of legal studies, Donne joined the English naval expeditions to Cadiz and the Azores against Spain as a “gentleman adventurer.” After his return from these travels, he became a private secretary for judge and Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas Egerton.

Through his employment with Sir Thomas Egerton, Donne met his future wife, Anne More, who was Egerton’s niece and the daughter of a member of Parliament. Donne, having learned about politics and foreign affairs during his time with Egerton, entered Parliament himself in 1601, and married More secretly. When Egerton and More’s father eventually learned of the marriage, they censured the union, and Donne was removed from Egerton’s employment in 1602. The dowry was withheld, and Donne was imprisoned for a period. Donne and More received the dowry eight years later, though for the first years of their marriage the couple struggled financially to support their growing family.

It is during this middle period of his life that Donne’s writing began to take on a more religious tendency, sometimes embodying deep personal anxiety and doubt. In 1607 he published his collection of Divine Poems , followed three years later by Pseudo-Martyr, a prose tract arguing that an Oath of Allegiance to James I would not contradict the Catholic faith, thus implying Catholics ought to take the Oath. The publication garnered Anglican attention and acceptance, and Donne, despite his profound misgivings, was pressured by James I into ministerial ordination in the Anglican Church (James I even threatened that Donne would not find any alternate occupation). In 1615, Donne was ordained and soon after was named Royal Chaplain. In 1617, Anne Donne died while in labor with their 12th child (who did not survive childbirth). Most critics believe that Donne’s Holy Sonnets, published after his death, are tied to this time of his life that was so marked with hardship and turmoil.

Donne was named dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London in 1621. About three years later, while ill, Donne wrote and published Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions— works reflecting a preoccupation with death and sickness. He died in London on March 31, 1631.

No man is an island ,

Entire of itself,

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less.

As well as if a promontory were.

As well as if a manor of thy friend's

Or of thine own were:

Any man's death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind,

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

It tolls for thee.

Donne, John. “ No Man is an Island .” 1624. DiscoverPoetry.com.

The speaker begins with a blatant negation of the notion that humankind can ever be separate or isolated from one another. Rather than being an “island” (Line 1), every human is connected, forming one big “continent” (Line 3). The speaker elaborates on this sense of unity by painting a picture of how the sea washes away the earth . Just as a landmass is affected by the vanishing of a single piece of earth, an outcropping of land, or a larger manor, humanity is reduced and affected by the death of each human being. A single person’s death “diminishes” (Line 10) the whole population both physically and spiritually. The speaker’s message ends with an admonishment: Rather than taking interest in the names of those around them who have recently died, a person ought to see their fellow humans’ death as a reminder of their shared mortality.

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Short Poems

no man is an island

no one is self-sufficient; everyone relies on others somehow
a person needs the support of others and society altogether to survive
nobody is actually self-contained; everyone must depend on others in order to thrive
to require help from others every now and then because of one’s limitations

Example Sentences

Having children has taught me that no man is an island .
No man is an island , you know, you will need to call me back to work for you!
I have fired my maidservant today but know that I will have to hire her back since no man is an island !
You need to relook at the proposal that you have sent to me. Almost all the actionable items are in the name of one person only, and I know that no man is an island .
She tried doing it all by herself but broke down in six months because no man is an island .
Prince Charles has made an emotional appeal to the European neighbours to continue working together after Brexit, saying: “ no man is an island .”

The saying was coined by the English metaphysical poet John Donne (1572-1631) in the sermon Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions and Seuerall Steps in my Sicknes – Meditation XVII – one of a series of essays he wrote when he was seriously ill in the winter of 1623.

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were. as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were. Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

John Donne was a Christian, but the concept of the idiom is likely to be coming from Buddhism. The phrase originates from the understanding of islands being self-sufficient and independent. It is compared with men because no matter how able, no person can do everything by themselves. Human beings are social animals and cannot function independently, the way islands do. The metaphor takes the literal meaning of how an island would never mingle with other parts of the land, but humans cannot do that because an island cannot move by itself and is bound where it is, but that is not the same for human beings.

Share your opinions 4 Opinions

No man is an island. No one is self-sufficient; everyone relies on others. This saying comes from a sermon by the seventeenth-century English author John Donne.

‒ Joshua R Jones July 3, 2018

Which country or nation this idiom is comimg from?

‒ Xezer April 24, 2018

The literary origin of this phrase is highly speculated to be John Donne’s “Devotion upon emergent occasions and seuerall steps in my sickness – Meditaion 17” from the year 1624 but the thought is speculated to be older than that.

Thank you, The Idioms Team.

‒ Fatima October 30, 2017

Does the origin of this having nothing to do with John Donne’s ‘Devotion 17’?

‒ Jane October 24, 2017

What's on your mind?

Life , Need , Social

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The idiom "no man is an island" means that no one is truly self-sufficient and everyone needs some form of support or interaction from others. This phrase emphasizes the interconnectedness of people and the importance of community.

"No man is an island" means that every individual is part of a larger community and is reliant on others in some way.

What Does "No Man Is An Island" Mean?

The phrase "no man is an island" is often used to remind individuals of the inherent interconnectedness and interdependence of human beings. It underscores the fact that humans are social creatures who thrive on relationships and interactions with others.

The idiom is commonly used to express:

The importance of community and relationships
Human interdependence
The value of mutual support and cooperation

Where Does "No Man Is An Island" Come From?

The idiom "no man is an island" originates in the poem "Meditation XVII" by John Donne. In the poem, the 17th-century English poet explores the idea that every person is interconnected and that what happens to one person affects others somehow. The proverb suggests that people need each other for emotional support, intellectual stimulation, and physical assistance. The phrase is an extended metaphor, comparing humans to islands that cannot live in isolation.

Historical Example

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." - John Donne, Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, 1624

10 Examples of "No Man Is An Island" in Sentences

Here are some examples of the idiom "no man is an island" used in various contexts:

Even though he tried to cross the gnarly road, he quickly learned that no man is an island .
She tried to handle all her problems by herself, but she soon realized that no man is an island .
Remember that no man is an island , so please keep in touch .
When you're feeling overwhelmed, remember that no man is an island ; it's okay to ask for help.
They showed us that no man is an island by supporting each other through tough times.
Our team's success proves the old adage that no man is an island .
No man is an island , and we all need support and guidance from time to time.
As a leader, he understood that no man is an island and valued the input of his team.
When you're in a challenging situation, it's important to remember that no man is an island .
As he tries to get the gist of the story, he realizes one important lesson: no man is an island .

Examples of "No Man Is An Island" in Pop Culture

The phrase has appeared in various forms of media and pop culture.

Some notable examples include:

In his 1940 novel "For Whom The Bell Tolls," Ernest Hemingway quotes John Donne's "No man is an Island" from “Devotions upon Emergent Occasions."
"No Man Is an Island: A Memoir of Family and Haitian Cuisine" is an international cookbook by TiGeorges Laguerre.
The 1962 war film written and directed by Richard Goldstone is titled "No Man is an Island."

Other/Different Ways to Say "No Man Is An Island"

There are several other ways to express the meaning of the phrase in English.

Some of these alternatives include:

We're all in this together
Everyone needs support
Unity is strength
Interdependence is essential
No one can stand alone

10 Frequently Asked Questions About "No Man Is An Island":

What does "no man is an island" mean?
Where does the phrase come from?

The phrase "no man is an island" originates from a meditation by the English poet and cleric John Donne, written in 1624. In his work, Donne emphasizes the interconnectedness of humanity.

How can I use "no man is an island" in a sentence?

You can use "no man is an island" in a sentence to express the importance of community and human interdependence, such as, "When you feel isolated, always remember that no man is an island, and you can always reach out to others for help."

Is "no man is an island" a formal or informal phrase?

"No man is an island" is a versatile phrase that can be used in both formal and informal settings, as it conveys a universal truth about human interdependence and the value of community.

Are there any regional differences in the use of "no man is an island"?

There are no significant regional differences in the use of "no man is an island ."

Is it possible to use the phrase in a negative context?

"No man is an island" can be used in a negative context if it is meant to point out someone's excessive self-reliance or unwillingness to accept help from others. For example, "She was prim and proper and prefers to live alone, but no man is an island."

What are some synonyms for "no man is an island"?

Some synonyms for "no man is an island" include we're all in this together, everyone needs support, unity is strength, interdependence is essential, and no one can stand alone.

Can "no man is an island" imply a need for cooperation?

Yes, "no man is an island" can imply a need for cooperation and collaboration, as it emphasizes the importance of working together and relying on others for support and assistance.

What is the best way to use "no man is an island" in a professional context?

In a professional context, you can use "no man is an island" to highlight the value of teamwork and collaboration, such as, "To be successful in our future endeavors , we must remember that no man is an island, and we should work together as a cohesive team."

Can one use the phrase in written communication, like emails and text messages?

Yes, "no man is an island" can be used in written communication, such as emails and text messages, to emphasize the importance of cooperation, collaboration, and human interdependence.

Final Thoughts About "No Man Is An Island"

In essence, the idiom conveys the message that every individual is part of a larger community and relies on others in some way. It suggests that isolation, whether physical or emotional, is not a desirable state and that people are better off when they share experiences, ideas, and resources with others.

Key takeaways about the idiom:

Emphasizes the interconnectedness of humanity and the importance of community
Originates from a meditation by English poet John Donne in 1624
Appropriate in both formal and informal settings

Since its inception, the idiom has become a popular saying, reminding people that they are not alone and that seeking help and support is essential.

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"No Man is an Island": A Thoughtful Deconstruction of the Proverb

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No Man is an Island

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‘No Man Is An Island’, Meaning & Context

Background to John Donne’s ‘No man is an island’ sermon

John Donne and the development of English poetry

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John Donne: “No Man Is an Island” Essay

Introduction

No Man Is an Island Summary & Analysis by John Donne

The Full Text of “No Man Is an Island”

“No Man Is an Island” Summary

Human Connection

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “No Man Is an Island”

“No Man Is an Island” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

“No Man Is an Island” Vocabulary

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “No Man Is an Island”

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U.S. Dictionary.com Newsletter

What Does "No Man Is An Island" Mean?

Where Does "No Man Is An Island" Come From?

Historical Example

10 Examples of "No Man Is An Island" in Sentences

Examples of "No Man Is An Island" in Pop Culture

Other/Different Ways to Say "No Man Is An Island"

10 Frequently Asked Questions About "No Man Is An Island":

Final Thoughts About "No Man Is An Island"

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"No Man is an Island": A Thoughtful Deconstruction of the Proverb

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