Interpretaition of John Donne's poem?

Question

"No man is an island, entire of itself
every man 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 thy friends 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 bell tolls
it tolls for thee."

- John Donne

What is Donne's message here? Can somebody help me?

Answer 1

I would like to point out that this is not a poem, but part of a sermon written by John Donne the Anglican priest.

Answer 2

This is reallly quite obvious. "No man is an Island unto himself" Is that we are all part of a society and interact with others and this is a necessary part of our lives. The clod washed away would be any man's death which would diminish society. Donne explains this that any death is a loss to you as if it were your friends or your own family. He explains the whole key in the next to last line "Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind." The bell that tolls is the bell they used to ring announcing a death or a funeral, and eventually we all will die.

Answer 3

The Sestet in an Italian sonnet, especially the ones written in English, are variable. It's true that c d c d e e is not an usual for Italian sonnet, but that doesn't mean one can't use it. The "e e" is English sonnets is usually used to sum up the whole meaning of the poem. Maybe that's what John Donne was going for.