Original poem reprinted online here: "No Man is an Island" by John Donne Originally read: February 21, 2013 More information about the Poet: John Donne I only remember parts of this poem -- the beginning and the end -- "No man is an island," (which was told to me when I wanted to go "solo" in group projects, or outings, or like) and "For whom the bell tolls, / It tolls for thee." (which was told to me as a reference for Ernest Hemingway's, Whom the Bell Tolls) . So I thought, how simple. The poem is about no one is alone in life, and...we are close to death? What? Going in to decipher this poem, I tried to apply both aspects to each other. For example, "No one is an individual, but part of a whole. By choice of by force?). As you can see here, I try to add a sinister undertone to the poem so I can justify the death line. Or let's go in reverse. I note this for the last lines, "The crux of the poem is the last line. ...
Formerly the RetailMFA, This is the Poetry Blog of Darrell Dela Cruz