Donne with Life
Meditation 17 Analysis
Meditation 17
PERCHANCE he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill as that he knows not it tolls for him. And perchance I may think myself so much better than I
am, as that they who are about me, and see my state, may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that. The church is catholic, universal, so are
all her actions; all that she does, belongs to all. When she baptizes a child, that action concerns me; for that child is thereby connected to that head
which is my head too, and ingraffed into that body, whereof I am a member. And when she buries a man, that action concerns me; all mankind is of
one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter
must be so translated; God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's
hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again, for that library where every book shall lie open to one another;
as therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come; so this bell calls us all: but how
much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness.
There was a contention as far as a suit (in which, piety and dignity, religion and estimation, were mingled) which of the religious orders should ring
to prayers first in the morning; and it was determined, that they should ring first that rose earliest. If we understand aright the dignity of this bell, that
tolls for our evening prayer, we would be glad to make it ours, by rising early, in that application, that it might be ours as well as his, whose indeed it
is. The bell doth toll for him, that thinks it doth; and though it intermit again, yet from that minute, that that occasion wrought upon him, he is united
to God. Who casts not up his eye to the sun when it rises? But who takes off his eye from a comet, when that breaks out? who bends not his ear to
any bell, which upon any occasion rings? But who can remove it from that bell, which is passing a piece of himself out of this world?
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 friend's 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.
Neither can we call this a begging of misery, or a borrowing of misery, as though we were not miserable enough of ourselves, but must fetch in more
from the next house, in taking upon us the misery of our neighbors. Truly it were an excusable covetousness if we did; for affliction is a treasure, and
scarce any man hath enough of it. No man hath afflicion enough, that is not matured and ripened by it, and made fit for God by that affliction. If a
man carry treasure in bullion or in a wedge of gold, and have none coined into current moneys, his treasure will not defray him as he
travels. Tribulation is treasure in the nature of it, but it is not current money in the use of it, except we get nearer and nearer our home, heaven, by
it. Another may be sick too, and sick to death, and this affliction may lie in his bowels, as gold in a mine, and be of no use to him; but this bell that
tells me of his affliction, digs out, and applies that gold to me: if by this consideration of another's danger, I take mine own into contemplation, and so
secure myself, by making my recourse to my God, who is our only security.
About : J.D.
• Meditation 17 along with many other poems was published in the year
1623 in a book called Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions .
• After becoming Dean of St.Paul's cathedral, Donne took on a more
somber tone in his writing, reflecting the melancholic tone he sometimes
felt (thus why it's called devotions upon emergent occasions.) Meditation
17 was especially one of Donne's more genuine and serious piece for at the
time he wrote this he was seriously ill (1623)
• In meditation 17, Donne relates to the metaphysical theory of
connectedness to the spiritual world through his decaying life.
"No man is an island, entire to itself."
Donne is explaining through this line that death is a universal connection
for all of humanity.
• Donne was so afraid of death that at that moment he wanted to feel that
as he was dying he was not alone, but rather connected to the rest of the
world which shouldered his burden.
Theme: Unity
Theme: Religion
• John Donne employs metaphysical concepts in several of his poems, this
being no exception. God is a part of his life as every other human is a part
of him.
“God employs several translators; some pieces are translated
by
age, some by sickness…”
God is the author of life and death, writing each chapter in a different language
with a translator that leads each man and woman to the next chapter of God’s
plan.
“Tribulation is treasure in the nature of it, but it is not current
memory in the use of it, except we get nearer and nearer our
home, heaven by it”
John Donne wishes to express the necessity of death as it allows man to
approach God in his kingdom in heaven.
• Donne does not wish to die but welcomes it once he reaches it for he is
aware that his death will not be his end but simply a beginning in a new
chapter.
Theme: Mortality
“So this bell call us all: but how much more me, who am
brought so near…”
In the poem John Donne has accepted his own mortality and
understands that he may die soon. For this reason he begins to consider the
worth of his own life as many do after realizing or believing that they may
die soon in an attempt to find solace in what he has done.
“The church is catholic, universal”
John Donne perceives of his religion as a grand interconnected
system which is what it’s supposed to represent even in name as catholic
translates to universal.
Through this, he accepts his death and welcomes it as it will lead
him to the next chapter of the one true author, God, as he understands that
alone he would not function for God, but in conjunction with others he
may follow him as
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the
continent, a part of the main….”
Extended Metaphor:
an unlikely comparison of two objects demonstrated through a narrative.
Death
In meditation 17 Donne explains to the reader that death is not the ending of an
era but rather a translation into a new world which is depicted by the transition of
ideas throughout the meditation and his statement:
"When one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but
translated into a better language; and every chapter must be
translated."
Donne knows that at the time of his imminent death he must not be scared of the
end, because the end does not exist. Rather after death he understands that there
is another world to look forward to.
•
•
Bell
The bell signifies the ticking of time, it connects the spiritual world to the
present and connects all of humanity together.
As the meditation progresses, so does the ticking of the bell, drawing near the
end of another and mankind. Done explains to us that as people we are all
interconnected as one;
"Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in making,
and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for
thee."
Donne is conveying to the reader that when the bell tolls for one person, it really
tolls for everyone- everyone is together feeling the pain and sadness of the bell.
Donne wants to explain to us that we should all care for one another.
Imagery:
Bell
The portrayal of the Bell tolling to mourn those that cannot hear its sound is used to represent
death, and Donne’s own curiosity on the state of those that have passed, and, like him, will soon
die
Man as whole
When Donne states “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,” he illustrates unity and the importance of all human beings
by portraying every living man a part of the land which, when combined make up Europe when
dead wash away as a strip of land.
Brotherhood
He uses imagery to exemplify the brotherhood of Christianity when he states that every human
being is part of a whole body, and every time one is born and baptized the church and all of its
members are affected as well.
Death
Donne also shows death as a passage into a better world not just the end of life where God is the
conductor of the ascendance when he describes men as volumes of a book that upon death are
translated into a better language by God in his statement “all mankind is of one author, and is one
volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better
language”
Tribulations
The treasure of tribulation that Donne describes as gold and fortunes are also meant to show the
humility brought on by his own suffering and the lessons that he believes should be passed on to
everyone.
Symbols:
•
The Church Bell
The church bell represents death and its imminence. As John Donne hears the
bell ring, he knows that a church parishioner has died. He realizes that the very
same bell could be ringing for him, as he is very ill and close to death.
“Perchance he for whom this bell tolls, may be so ill, as that he knows
not it tolls for him; and perchance I may think myself so much better than I am,
as that they who are about me...may have caused it to toll for me...and
therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
In this section of the work, John Donne explains the universality of death as the
bell could be ringing for anyone.
The Island
• The island represents isolation from humanity. Donne felt that humanity is
diminished when any single person dies, as that person is just as important as
the rest 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...”
Here, he uses an example in saying that pieces of clod being washed away from a
country eventually add up and result in a greatly diminished amount of land.
• Donne claims that no man is isolated from mankind, but is wholly connected to
it through human experiences, such as death.
Symbols Cont’d:
Books
• Donne uses an interesting image when he considers how God is the
“author” of every person and every death:
“all mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man
dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a
better language; and every chapter must be so translated.”
• Whether a man dies of old age, in battle, from disease or accident, or even
through the actions of the state dispensing its idea of justice, God has in a
sense decided the terms of each death.
• As universal author, God will bind together these various “translated”
pages, each man a chapter, into a volume which is open to all. In the new
universal “library” of mankind,
“every book shall lie open to one another.”
Motif:
Isolation vs. Interconnectedness of Humanity
•
Donne maintains the idea that people are not isolated from one another, but that
mankind is interconnected throughout the work, as demonstrated in this line
“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...”.
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.
Mortality
•
Throughout the poem, Donne asserts that mortality is a natural outgrowth of a time.
He personalizes death for himself and all of humanity saying
“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.”
The work begins as a wary reflection of his own impending death as he hears church
funeral bells and thinks
“my state may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that”.
• Ultimately, he comes to the conclusion that mortality, although diminishing to
society in one aspect, is not something to be miserable about.
Concepts: Death
• Through various literary techniques, such allegory, symbolism, and
most of all imagery, Donne expresses his fear of death, as well as his
personal feeling of loss at the death of others.
• Although, through the use of imagery and symbolism Donne does paint
a brighter picture by showing that death is not the final outcome of life,
but just a passage into a better world when he describes men as
volumes of a book translated into a better language upon death as he
states
“ all mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one
man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but
translated into a better language; and every chapter must be
so translated”.
• Donne’s affliction also seems to act as a method of humility to the now
dying man as he feels that those who suffer, mature and those who
witness suffering can inherit the maturity and pass it on to others.
Concepts: Religion
• Donne manages to show the spirituality and brotherhood brought on
by Catholicism and Christianity in general. He illustrates men as
parts of a body that when affected influence the other members
when says
“When she baptizes a child, that action concerns me; for that
child is thereby connected to that head which is my head too,
and ingraffed into that body, whereof I am a member,”
and as pieces of the land that creates Europe where those who pass
away are pieces of the land being washed away.
• His illness also teaches him the need to value daily life seen when he
states that the religion that deserves the blessings is decided on
whatever religion wakes first.
• This removes unnecessary squabble so that people can live their
lives to the fullest and not have any regrets before their death, this
also implies the old proverb, “the early bird gets the worm.”
Interpretations: Literal
• Memento mori of bell tolling and Meditation
• Meditation 17, composed by the recovering Donne is taken in its
entirety as contemplation about death and how it doesn’t just
affect the person who is called upon by death, but the whole
mankind.
• Being as we are all interconnected, when
“the bell doth toll for him,....it tolls for thee,”
we call upon a duty to realizes the imminent reality of death, and so
those near to death realize their time has come, and yet others
experience a revelation to attest their devotion to God, the church,
and the divinity of salvation.
Interpretations: Religious
•
Regeneration, Resurrection, Religious symbolism of bell tolling and acceptance of
belief.
• The meditation serves as a religious calling to reaffirm one’s relationship with God
and the Catholic Church.
• When Donne says
“The church is catholic, universal, so are all her actions; all that she
does, belongs to all,”
he makes reference to the Catholic church as a being through personification instead
of an institution, which alludes the reader of the magnitude of reverence with the
analogy of bring life and women’s ability to give birth.
• Another instance of Donne’s meditation perspective is his allusion to baptism and
how
“that action concerns me; for that child is thereby connected to that head
which is my head too, and ingraffed into that body, whereof I am a
member,”
serves as a rebirth through mankind after death as mankind. Donne also mentions
“as therefore the bell rings to a sermon, calls not upon a preacher only,
but upon the congregation to come”
to implement a notion that mankind serves under the divine hierarchy as a whole, to
secure hope in God’s security.
Interpretations: Metaphysical
• Moment of accountability and psychological analysis of death and rebirth.
• Donne focuses on the transition from existence to the uncertainty of being in
the afterlife.
• We see Donne’s metaphysical concentration when he states
“all mankind is from one author, and is one volume,”
and creates a comparison between the transitions from death to the afterlife as a
literary composition of God.
• As in, our lives, when composed, come together to form the creator’s book for
existence and death; as the creations of God, through death we are then
employed as instruments of a new creation that outlines the creations of beings,
which include ourselves in a sense that
“his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again, ...where
every book shall lie open to one another.”
• Donne mentions internal sufferings within one’s being as a
“treasure in the nature of it,” which “matured and ripened by it, and
made fit for God by that affliction.”
Through the existence of a tormented being inside mankind, humanity will save
itself for the call of God through the desperation and fate of those who can no
longer escape the tolling of the bell.
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, an 1887 painting byVictor Vasnetsov.