No Man Is an Island

Donne uses the symbol of the island primarily as a means of negation. When readers are presented with the word “island,” they will see a solitary piece of land sitting in the middle of a body of water. All sides of an island are disconnected from any mainland, completely surrounded by an ocean or sea. The island could be hundreds or thousands of miles from any other shoreline. It is separate, remote, resolute. However, this is exactly what the individual human is not. As the speaker states, “No man is an island” (Line 1). Considering oneself as completely disconnected and separate from others is a detrimental way of thinking that the speaker encourages their readers to avoid. Rather than viewing each life as an island “entire of itself” (Line 2), the speaker spends the rest of the poem describing how each life is interdependent.

The symbol of the bell only appears in the last two lines, yet it is one of the most prominent and powerful symbols of the entire poem. Perhaps because it is the poem’s final image, the bell leaves a lasting, haunting impression upon readers. The bell represents each person’s imminent mortality. The tolling of the bell in Donne’s time was not only a means of calling individuals to church service or daily prayer, but also of announcing the passing of a member of the community.