Setting

Although the poem does not have a setting in the traditional sense, setting is an important theme in the text. Setting is mostly used as a metaphor within the text. The places mentioned in the poem are: islands, continents, mainland, the sea, Europe, a promontory, and a church (implied through the presence of the church bells). Each of these mentioned places stands in for a particular philosophical idea in Donne’s argument about the role of individuals in finding connection and in facing death. The island is a symbol of what people can never be: something that happily stands on its own. The continents represent a vast expanse of space, as does the mainland. The sea represents dangers, isolation, and change. Europe is the only specifically named location in the poem, and it exists only metaphorically: as a representation of culture and civilization. The promontory represents...