Reader Response to "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
Expository Writing
6 November 2013
Reader Response to “For Whom the Bell Tolls” John Donne’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is a very deep poem, and it’s difficult to understand if you only read it once. It focuses on how all humans have a connection to one another; if one person dies, the entire population is affected. In 1623, Donne was extremely ill with malarial fever, and he wrote the meditation during recovery. He observed that every death diminishes the fabric of humanity. He wrote about the tolling of a church bell, representing a funeral, and connected it to his present illness.
Most of John Donne’s writing is similar to the religious sonnets of Anne Vaughan Lock, because of the dark, gloomy and despairing tones (Evans par. 2) Donne frequently wrote and preached on themes of death and mortality, but in “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, there is no “gloomy obsession with death but rather confirmation that even in seeming isolation, the isolation of a sick man’s closet, God has us speak to and serve one another” (Helm par. 10). The third paragraph of the poem stands out to me because it’s the easiest part to understand, yet at the same time has the most meaning. The first phrase, “no man is an island,” means that humans depend on each other, and cannot thrive when isolated from everyone else. To me, “no man is an island” is a simple, yet genius way of stating this. An island thrives on its own; it doesn’t need the assistance of man. Humans need others to thrive and repopulate. We need other people to interact with, and not just empty interactions. People need to feel a connection (Olien par. 2-5). Loneliness shows up in measurements of stress hormones, immune function, and cardiovascular function, and by itself can kill a person; it’s twice as dangerous as obesity, smoking, and high blood pressure (Shute par. 3). When Donne says, “every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main,” he makes us think about the various social groups and communities we
6 November 2013
Reader Response to “For Whom the Bell Tolls” John Donne’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is a very deep poem, and it’s difficult to understand if you only read it once. It focuses on how all humans have a connection to one another; if one person dies, the entire population is affected. In 1623, Donne was extremely ill with malarial fever, and he wrote the meditation during recovery. He observed that every death diminishes the fabric of humanity. He wrote about the tolling of a church bell, representing a funeral, and connected it to his present illness.
Most of John Donne’s writing is similar to the religious sonnets of Anne Vaughan Lock, because of the dark, gloomy and despairing tones (Evans par. 2) Donne frequently wrote and preached on themes of death and mortality, but in “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, there is no “gloomy obsession with death but rather confirmation that even in seeming isolation, the isolation of a sick man’s closet, God has us speak to and serve one another” (Helm par. 10). The third paragraph of the poem stands out to me because it’s the easiest part to understand, yet at the same time has the most meaning. The first phrase, “no man is an island,” means that humans depend on each other, and cannot thrive when isolated from everyone else. To me, “no man is an island” is a simple, yet genius way of stating this. An island thrives on its own; it doesn’t need the assistance of man. Humans need others to thrive and repopulate. We need other people to interact with, and not just empty interactions. People need to feel a connection (Olien par. 2-5). Loneliness shows up in measurements of stress hormones, immune function, and cardiovascular function, and by itself can kill a person; it’s twice as dangerous as obesity, smoking, and high blood pressure (Shute par. 3). When Donne says, “every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main,” he makes us think about the various social groups and communities we
Cited: Evans, Robert C. "“Despaire Behind, And Death Before”." Ben Jonson Journal 16.1/2 (2009): 99-116. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 28 Oct. 2013 Helm, Thomas E. "Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions." Masterplots II: Christian Literature (2007): 1-4. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. Olien, Jessica. “Loneliness Is Deadly.” Slate. The Slate Group. 23 August 2013. Web. 31 October 2013. Robinson, Marilynne. "Imagination & Community." Commonweal 139.5 (2012): 9-15. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 2 Nov. 2013. Shute, Nancy. “Why Loneliness is Bad for Your Health.” Health. U.S. News & World Report. 12 November 2008. Web. 4 Nov. 2013.