The Island: Isolation vs. Interconnectedness of Mankind

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...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind...

Thus, with the recurring imagery of the island and the mainland, John Donne affirms that no one man can exist on his own, cut off from all the rest of society; there are no human islands.

Renaissance Context

In the Renaissance, when Donne wrote these words, this theory of the interconnectedness of mankind must have come in sharp contrast to other thinkers who sought isolation, wishing to truly form islands out of the continent of humanity. The physical nature of Donne's homeland, England, would have contributed to the allure of isolationism: for the British Isles are definitely islands, even though they are so near the European mainland that Renaissance England really didn't have much of an option for isolationism. Nevertheless, the "if only..." wish must have often been felt, as seen, for example, in Sir Thomas More's Utopia, a description of an island nation that thrives in its isolation to develop the ideal society. Utopia would have looked very familiar, in some ways, to citizens of the island of Britain; readers of More's book might have hoped that in isolation Britain too could develop such a perfect society. Yet within Utopia itself, it is not by isolation but by reliance on one another that the citizens of that state thrive.

Literary Influence

The influence of Donne's writings has proved to be great, not only in his own time but ever since, down to our own days. Many literary works display this influence. Here we look at several literary works with themes of isolation versus interconnectedness, including one with a direct link to Donne's Meditation: For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway.

Donne Today: Modern Conceptions of Isolation and Interconnectedness

Having seen the importance of the Isolation theme in the Renaissance, and having looked at examples of it in other literary works, we conclude with the question: How does our modern society view this issue? We discuss one example of a modern-day would-be Utopia, seeking both isolation and interdependence, reminiscent of More's Utopia and Donne's Meditation.

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