1: for whom this bell tolls
 The
church tolled its bell when one of
its parishioners died.
2: perchance I may think myself...toll
for me, and I know not that.
 While
writing this meditation, Donne is deathly ill.
Donne was deathly ill many times during his life. At this
point in the meditation, Donne is saying that it is
possible he is sicker than he thinks he is, therefore, the
bell ringing for someone's death may actually be
ringing for him and he does not know it. Those who
were taking care of him might have caused it to be
rung for him because they expect him to die soon.
3: her
 The
feminine pronouns in this section refer
to the Church.
4: that head which is my head too
 Refers
to Christ. See Ephesians 5:23.
Likewise, "the body whereof I am a
member" refers to the Church, called "the
Body of Christ" in Romans 12:5.
5: one author
 Refers
to God as Creator of all mankind.
6: translated into a better language

Donne comments that the church ceremonies (baptisms and
funerals especially) are important to him because all people
who are born and die are linked to him through God. He uses
the book metaphor to illustrate this point. God is the author
and each man is a chapter in His book. He extends this
metaphor by saying that when we die, and we all must die,
our lives are elevated (translated) into a higher state (better
language). This statement is a very common Neoplatonic
concept for the time period.
7: several translators
 Compare
 Thou
lines 9-10 of Donne's "Holy Sonnet X":
[Death] art slave to fate, chance, kings,
and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell
8: leaves
 Pages
of a book. A play on words
between the "leaves" of a book and each
man's taking "leave" of this world through
death.
9: every book shall lie open to one
another
 Donne
is referring to Judgement Day.
Compare 1 Corinthians 13:12, "Then I shall
know fully just as I also have been fully
known" (NASB).
10: contention
 disagreement
or conflict
11: There was a contention... we would
be glad to make it ours by rising early.

Donne describes a disagreement among the religious orders as to who
would have the honor of ringing the bell to call the members to prayers
early in the morning. The dispute was settled by saying that the first person
up would ring the bell. Donne argues that if people truly understood "the
dignity of this bell that tolls for our evening prayer," that is, of the bell that
signals our death and passing from this world to a better world, then we
would gladly embrace death and even wish for it to come sooner.
Compare 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 "knowing that while we are at home in the
body we are absent from the Lord...we...prefer rather to be absent from
the body and to be at home with the Lord" (NASB) and Philippians 1:21,
"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (NASB).
12: intermit
 to
cease for a time or at intervals
13: No man is an island
 Donne
suggests that no man can exist by
himself. He states that we are all
interconnected, and someone else's loss
is a loss of our own. In the same sense,
someone else's death is a death of our
own. Each time the bell rings, mankind
loses.
14: promontory
a
high point of land projecting into the
water
15: never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
 This
is a famous line in Donne's meditation
which influenced the title of Hemingway's
novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. It is a
reminder of our own mortality and the
interconnectedness of mankind.
16: a begging of misery or a
borrowing of misery

Compare Matthew 6:34.
“So do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow
will take care of itself. Each day has enough worry
of its own.”
17: taking upon us the misery of our
neighbors
 Donne
says that it is not enough to joy in
our own misery, but we must also feel
the misery of our neighbors (all of
mankind). He goes on to suggest that
this pain and misery will bring us closer to
God. Compare Galatians 6:2.
18: bullion
 gold
or silver in bars
19: defray him
 pay
his expenses
20: making my recourse to my God,
who is our only security

Donne suggests in his last few lines that to think about our
own death/misery is not enough because oftentimes we
do not think of these things until we are dying ourselves.
We must also take thought of others' miseries and deaths.
Through suffering and sacrificing in others' miseries, we
become closer to God. By considering the fate of others
as they pass from the earth, our thoughts turn closer to
God and our own afterlife. Donne concludes by
suggesting that God is the only Being that can ensure our
existence beyond this life.