Others view it more mystically and argue that Donne is saying we are all one and that, when one dies, we all die a little. Some think that Donne was simply pointing out people's mortality and that when a funeral bell was heard it was a reminder that we are nearer death each day, that is, the bell is tolling for us. There's some debate about what precisely what was meant. It is a testament to Donne's insight that the work contains much that strikes deep chords with people living and dying today. They are somewhat mystical and difficult to interpret, especially without the benefit of experience of the nuances of the social and religious sensibilities of a 17th century Englishman. This is highlighted by the famous 'no man is an island' line at the beginning of the 'for whom the bells tolls' paragraph.ĭonne's Meditations concern man's spiritual and social functioning, especially with regard to illness and death. Donne seems to be agreeing and saying that whatever affects one affects us all. The contemporary Buddhist view of that was demonstrated by the reply given by the Dalai Lama, when asked during a visit to Northern Ireland how the warring Protestants and Catholics could co-exist: 'Remember we are all one - all the same'. Donne's view, which has, oddly for a 17th century Christian, much in common with 21st century eastern religions, was that all people are socially and spiritually interconnected. The tolling referred to in the quotation is, of course, that of funeral bells. 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 bells tolls it tolls for thee.'ĭonne lived in Tudor and Stewart England, and at that time the tolling of church bells to mark various events was an important feature of daily life. No man is an island, entire of itself every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.

'Perchance he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill, as that he knows not it tolls for him and perchance I may think myself so much better than I am, as that they who are about me, and see my state, may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that. John Donne (1572-1631), wrote the line 'for whom the bell tolls' in Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII: What's the origin of the phrase 'For whom the bell tolls'? 'For whom the bell tolls' is a quotation from a work by John Donne, in which he explores the interconnectedness of humanity. Religion What's the meaning of the phrase 'For whom the bell tolls'?.

Author of for whom the bell tolls