No Man Is an Island

John Donne wrote “No Man Is an Island” as a part of his “Meditation 17” devotional writing, published in Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions in 1624. Donne is usually associated with a group 17th century poets called the metaphysical poets, who combined complex, unconventional metaphors with scientific allusions and a focus on religion, death, or love. While “No Man Is an Island” originated in prose form, the comprising lines are often extracted as stand-alone verse. The poem’s speaker addresses a general, unidentified audience—one assumed to include all of humanity. In addition to being metaphysical poetry, the text is lyrical, as it delineates the personal thoughts and emotions of the speaker. Donne’s religious clerical occupation, devoted to guiding humankind away from material existence and toward an understanding of mortality, informs this particular excerpt of his work. His clerical duties, as well as the trauma suffered in his personal life, provide an interpretive framework. The text speaks to the interconnectedness of humankind and a recognition of humanity’s shared mortality.

Poet Biography

Like many of his contemporaries, John Donne fell out of popularity regarding his writing not long after his death. It wouldn’t be until the early 1900s that interest in Donne’s poetry and sermons resurrected.