The poem "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is by John Donne, an English poet and cleric from the early 17th century. The poem is actually an excerpt from Meditation XVII in Donne's prose work Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624), rather than a standalone poem. It is famous for its meditation on human interconnectedness and mortality.

Text of the Poem

No man is an island,
Entire of itself;
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
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 thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

Meaning and Analysis

• The poem emphasizes that no person exists in isolation ("No man is an island"). Everyone is part of a larger whole—humanity—like pieces of a continent.
• The loss of any individual affects the whole, diminishing it, just as losing a piece of land diminishes the continent.
• The "bell" refers to the funeral bell tolling for someone's death. Donne urges the reader not to ask for whom the bell tolls because it tolls for all of us, symbolizing the shared human fate of mortality and the interconnectedness of all lives.
• The poem is a profound reflection on empathy, community, and the universal impact of death.

Context

John Donne wrote this during a serious illness, reflecting on life and death. He was a metaphysical poet known for his eloquence and depth, and later became Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. The poem has influenced many, including Ernest Hemingway, who used the phrase "for whom the bell tolls" as the title of his novel. This excerpt remains one of the most quoted and powerful meditations on human solidarity and mortality in English literature