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."
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The Full Text of “No Man Is an Island”
1No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a
2piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod
3be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well
4as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy
5friend's or of thine own were; any man's death
6diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and
7therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
8it tolls for thee.
The Full Text of “No Man Is an Island”
1No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a
2piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod
3be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well
4as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy
5friend's or of thine own were; any man's death
6diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and
7therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
8it tolls for thee.
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“No Man Is an Island” Summary
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“No Man Is an Island” Themes
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Human Connection
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “No Man Is an Island”
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Line 1
No man is an island, entire of itself;
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Lines 1-2
every man is a
piece of the continent, a part of the main; -
Lines 2-5
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; -
Lines 5-6
any man's death
diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, -
Lines 6-8
and
therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
it tolls for thee.
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“No Man Is an Island” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Conceit
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Pun
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Repetition
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Antithesis
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“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
- Main
- Clod
- The less
- Promontory
- Manor
- Thy
- Thine
- Diminishes
- Send to know
- Tolls
- Thee
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “No Man Is an Island”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“No Man Is an Island” Speaker
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“No Man Is an Island” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “No Man Is an Island”
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More “No Man Is an Island” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poem Out Loud — Listen to a live reading by musician P.J. Harvey.
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Donne's Life and Work — Learn more about Donne's life story via the Poetry Foundation.
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Donne and Death — A podcast discussing the poet's attitude towards mortality.
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The 17th Meditation — Check out the longer Meditation in which this famous excerpt appears.
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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).
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LitCharts on Other Poems by John Donne
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