No Man Is an Island by John Donne

Technically, this is prose — a part of a longer work titled Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624), specifically Meditation XVII. However, its rhythmic control and vivid imagery make it feel poetic, and it frequently appears in anthologies alongside poems. The distinction between prose and poetry is truly blurred in this case.

In 17th-century London, a church bell rang to signal when someone in the parish was dying or had just passed away. People would send a servant to learn who it was, thinking it only mattered if they knew the person. Donne argues that this perspective overlooks a deeper truth: the bell tolls for each of us, as every death affects all of humanity.

He was seriously ill himself. While recovering from what was likely relapsing fever—a life-threatening illness at the time—he wrote Devotions upon Emergent Occasions in 1624. The book chronicles his journey through sickness, with Meditation XVII arriving at a pivotal moment when he hears a bell tolling for another dying man, prompting him to reflect on what that signifies for him and for all.

That human beings are deeply interconnected, and no one can truly live — or die — in isolation. Each person’s suffering and death impact all of humanity. Donne is challenging the notion that we can remain indifferent to the pain of others simply because it doesn’t directly affect us.

Donne constructs this idea himself to illustrate human separateness — and then promptly tears it down. An island serves as a fitting symbol of something isolated and complete. By stating that no man is an island, he suggests that this notion of complete self-reliance is a myth. We are all pieces of a greater landmass — the continent of shared humanity.

"Borrow" feels like the more fitting term here—Hemingway openly recognized where he got the inspiration. He included Donne's closing lines as the epigraph for his 1940 novel centered on the Spanish Civil War. This borrowing is especially effective because Hemingway's story also explores how one man's fight and death resonate with a broader human struggle.

It has religious roots; Donne was a Christian priest, and the belief that all believers are one body in Christ underpins his argument. However, the meditation doesn't depend on religious faith to resonate. The idea that we're all interconnected and that each death affects us all stands strong as a humanist argument, which likely explains why it has remained relevant for 400 years.

In Donne's time, "involved" meant enfolded or wrapped up in something — not merely casually linked, but fundamentally part of it. Therefore, "I am involved in mankind" conveys a meaning closer to "I am woven into humanity" rather than the contemporary idea of being engaged or participating. This is a much bolder assertion: our identities are not distinct from others but are shaped by them.