Critical Appreciation of “No Man Is An Island” By John Donne

            The poem, “No Man Is An Island” is a beautiful and thought provoking poem by John Donne. The poet is trying his best to remind a man’s real position in the world. “Man is a social animal” is basically the underlying theme of the poem. The poet wants to convey the idea that man is a social being. He cannot live alone in this world. Rather it would be very difficult for him to survive in the world. If he is living alone, he is like a person who is living in an isolated island but if he wants to be isolated and an island, he will have to boycott all the human beings. But it is not an accepted and authentic idea to live in this world because man can never survive because he is to live in the company of others. He has so many duties to perform for others. Further the poet says that all the mankind is of one author, and is one and complete book. It means that if a man dies, his death does not mean that it is the end of a chapter in the book rather it means that chapter has been translated into some other better language.

            As man is a social animal, his existence has great effect on others living around him. His gestures, feelings and emotions also affect others around him. What happens to a man, happens to all the people in touch with him. A man is connected to all the others through his existence and his responsibilities, and compulsions but one thing can isolate him from others and that is death. However, a point that is worth mentioning is that a man leaves the world after he dies but he is remembered by his dear ones. It means that he is still alive even after his death.                                                                                                                                                      (Words: 310)