No Man Is an Island

Since Donne originally wrote his poem in prose form in his “Meditation 17,” the poetic adaptations vary. The lines from Donne’s devotional writing are broken into different configurations and lengths depending on the adaptation. In the adaptation used in this study guide, the sermon is broken down into 13 lines. Each line length varies from the one that comes before it, alternating between a longer line and a shorter line. Other adaptations vary the line breaks so that each line is the same length, making the poem look square and blocky. However, with this adaptation, the variation in line length fits with the poem’s usage of water imagery with bits of earth being washed away by the sea. The alternation between longer and shorter lines creates a sense of ebb and flow, just like the sea tide.

Because the poem originated as prose, it does not have a distinct metrical pattern. The metrical pattern analyzed in this particular adaptation may also vary from another version of the text. Each line varies in its combinations of stressed and unstressed syllables. One aspect to note about the

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