http://www.englishforums.com/English/LinguisticsDiscussionForum/Forum35.htmGet into the nitty-gritty of the language.enXMOD (Build: 3607.32596)http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/9/dpvb/Post.htm#320803Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:320803Anonymous0http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/9/dpvb/Post.htm#320803http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-320803.xmlJohn Donne, an English philosopher wrote: No man is an island, to himself. Any man's death dimminishes me. Therefore, do not send to ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. in the old days, the bells would toll when someone died. THUS, since he said he was involved with all men, he would die a little whenever someone passed away.http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/9/dpvb/Post.htm#320246Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:320246Anonymous1http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/9/dpvb/Post.htm#320246http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-320246.xmlAparently Ernest Hemmingway wrote a novel by this name, however the one I am familiar with it by Alister McLean (Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra etc) title 'For Who the Bell Tolls.' Hope this assists. Browndog!!http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/9/dpvb/Post.htm#302668Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:302668Tam Sadek2http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/9/dpvb/Post.htm#302668http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-302668.xmlTry the first entry on 'Page One' of this post...http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#302660Thu, 21 May 2009 08:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:302660Anonymous3http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#302660http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-302660.xmlNanakiXIII wrote: Could someone tell me what that phrase means? What page is it on?http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#302137Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:302137MrPedantic4http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#302137http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-302137.xmlI like the thought of "tall bells", Anon; but sadly, it's "For whom the bell tolls". MrPhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#302033Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:302033Anonymous5http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#302033http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-302033.xmlActually I think he took it from John Donne "For Whom the Bell Talls". JGhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#291911Thu, 21 May 2009 08:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:291911Anonymous6http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#291911http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-291911.xmlJust additional info... When Donne writes of the tolling bell, he is, of course, speaking of the funeral bell. It was traditionally rung three times for a man and two times for a woman followed by a pause and then a toll for every year of age for the deceasedhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#286089Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:286089Anonymous7http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#286089http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-286089.xmlan excellent answer in deed . I should have seen signs of a declining lovel affair , but have been hearing that bell for sometime now , so the bell tolls for me . Good wishes .Maggiehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#275282Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:275282Anonymous8http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#275282http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-275282.xmlit is from a sermon but my impression is that it is widely referred to even by academics as a poem i see where you get your name mr. pedantic.http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#264392Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:264392MrPedantic9http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#264392http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-264392.xmlAnd yet, Anon, don't you think it's strange to say, "don't ask this question"; then to give the answer?http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#263986Thu, 21 May 2009 08:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:263986Anonymous10http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#263986http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-263986.xmlalthough it orginally comes from books and poems. because of its obvious ties to death,resently in film, theater, and entertainment this has become something of a poetic threat of ones impending doom. scene: dark shadow lingers over a man. man: who are you? shadow: Ask not for whom the bell tolls (name), for the bell tolls for thee.http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#238010Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:238010Anonymous11http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/8/dpvb/Post.htm#238010http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-238010.xmlyou don't walk around putting fifty cent words in "parentheses" doth ye? elevation from pedestrianism requires more than smoke and mirrors...http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#231537Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:231537Anonymous12http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#231537http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-231537.xmlWhen the bell tolls to signal that someone has, in fact died, do not ask who died. This is because (according to the author) when one person dies we all die a little. Therefore, when the bell tolls, it tolls not only for the person who physically died, but for the little bit of all of us that died as well...http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#220424Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:220424Anonymous13http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#220424http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-220424.xmlIts Death annoucing that its coming for someone. the actual sentence is Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee......http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#218196Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:218196MrPedantic14http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#218196http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-218196.xmlThe bell tolls during a funeral. MrPhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#218176Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:218176Anonymous15http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#218176http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-218176.xmlthe bell 'tolls' (rang) when the dead or injured soldiers came in from war.http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#216771Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:216771Anonymous16http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#216771http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-216771.xmlThe quote is from John Donne's Meditation 17. It means basically that we are all in life together, we are all humans, and anyone's death affects all of us.http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#198153Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:198153MrPedantic17http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#198153http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-198153.xmlAnonymous wrote: Have you read the poem? It is not from a poem. It is from a sermon. MrPhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#197768Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:197768Anonymous18http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#197768http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-197768.xmlHave you read the poem? It means that we are all in "it" together, if one gets cut, we all bleed. If the waters get poisonous, we all die. It means that everything in the universe is connected, fragile yet strong, looks muddled up but really is clear if you are looking at it from the correct vantange point.. It means if someone yells out "Help me, Help me!!" as they are throwing themselves into the raging river to save a child, you don't hesitate or call for he;p on your cell, you jump in to help them both survive. Hopefully, when all of you are on the shore and the crowd draws, you slowly seperate yourself from them, keeping who you are and what you did to yourself because that is not why you did it, You did it because the bell...http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#173356Thu, 21 May 2009 08:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:173356Anonymous19http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#173356http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-173356.xmlNo Man Is An Island No man is an island, Entire of itself. Each 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 manner of thine own Or of thine friend's were. Each man's death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee. — John Donne These famous words by John Donne were not originally written as a poem - the passage is taken from the 1624 Meditation 17, from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions and is prose. The words of the original passage are as follows: John Donne Meditation 17 Devotions upon Emergent Occasions "No man is an...http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#162655Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:162655Anonymous20http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/7/dpvb/Post.htm#162655http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-162655.xmlthe song is about war and death. "Make his fight on the hill in the early day Constant chill deep inside Shouting gun, on they run through the endless grey On the fight, for they are right, yes, by who’s to say? For a hill men would kill, why? they do not know Suffered wounds test there their pride Men of five, still alive through the raging glow Gone insane from the pain that they surely know" That is about fighting over land.http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#161275Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:161275Anonymous21http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#161275http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-161275.xmlinteresting thread.. I came accross this when I was looking for the meaning of a Metallica song 'For whom the Bell Tolls' This stuff is great, one artist leans on another and that sort of thing. I can just picture James Hetfield sitting down to a beer and reading 16th Century poetry...lolhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#152688Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:152688Stannum22http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#152688http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-152688.xmlmy suspicion is that the ambiguous nature of the poetry is the very reason that it is still being discussed robert as i seek definition i may find meaninghttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#150098Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:150098Anonymous23http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#150098http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-150098.xmlquote Donne: "ask not for whom the bell tolls... it tolls for thee."http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#147168Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:147168Anonymous24http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#147168http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-147168.xmlIf you're still struggling to get your head around the meaning of "for whom the bell tolls", you might sympathise with King James I (a contemporary of Donne) who said: Dr Donne's poetry is like the peace of God... it passeth all understandinghttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#146339Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:146339Anonymous25http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#146339http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-146339.xmlGuest wrote: This phrase was used in a poem by John Donn in the 15th century. What is its meaning? It's am beginning of a book fron Hemingway..http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#145065Thu, 21 May 2009 08:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:145065Anonymous26http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#145065http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-145065.xmlThe bell tolls (rings out) for a funeral, only one bell, not the whole carillon, and its sombre note can be heard for quite some distance. In a smaller community, One might be tempted to ask "For whom does the bell toll?" In the quotation, it hints that, although the bell is tolling out for one person who has died, the loss of one person is a loss to the whole of the human race; as if a piece of rock from a promontory (peninsula) had fallen into the sea, that would be a small loss to the promontory, on the face of it, but a loss, nevertheless , to the country the promontary is in, and the whole continent it is in, so a bell tolling at a funeral signifies a loss to all of us, therefore, send not to ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls...http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#142457Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:142457Anonymous27http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#142457http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-142457.xmlWrong, mate. It appears in the sermon, and is also the title of an Ernest Hemingway novelhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#133056Thu, 21 May 2009 08:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:133056Anonymous28http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#133056http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-133056.xmlActually, there is a secret book of sexual positions that inspired John Donne to write those words...http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#122994Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:122994MrPedantic29http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/6/dpvb/Post.htm#122994http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-122994.xmlAnonymous wrote: True enough, but that's not the true story. It's a line taken out of a poem by John Donne, 1624, Meditations 17. Please read it. Just to keep things straight: it's from a sermon, not a poem. MrPhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#122979Thu, 21 May 2009 08:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:122979Anonymous30http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#122979http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-122979.xmlTrue enough, but that's not the true story. It's a line taken out of a poem by John Donne, 1624, Meditations 17. Please read it.http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#118988Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:118988Anonymous31http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#118988http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-118988.xmlThe "Nine Tailors" is a mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayres. The title is a reference to a particular pattern of "change ringing" of church bells - a rather arcane activity based on complex mathematical combinations that are best left to its devotees to comprehend.http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#117173Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:117173Anonymous32http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#117173http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-117173.xmlI think it could be interpreted this way too... the bells dont toll "for" the dead man...(he's dead !!!)... it tolls for u... reminding you of the reality of your own death...which exists, at a different place in time..http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#96638Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:96638MrPedantic33http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#96638http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-96638.xmlThank you, Selwyn – and welcome to English Forums! MrPhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#96636Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:96636selwyn34http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#96636http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-96636.xmlFor Whom the Bell Tolls was the title of a novel by Ernest Hemingway, published in 1940 about the Spanish Civil War. The words, however come form a much older source - the English divine, somewhat enigmatical and rakish John Donne (16th/17th century). He wrote of his apprehensions while lying sick and hearing the church bells tolling believed they were announcing his own death he began a contemplation. The entire quote is a reminder that we are not isolated particles but that each and everyone of us is connected with humanity and that what happens to one, happens to all. The social ramifications of his perspicacity are wide-ranging and cover the whole human experience, especially today where we seem to be uncaring of what happens to...http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#92231Thu, 21 May 2009 08:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:92231Guest35http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#92231http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-92231.xmlI read through this discussion with great interest. I was aware of the Hemingway book, the Donne poem and the Shakespeare quote, but I just found another literary reference. I was reading the Raymond Chandler book "The Little Sister" on the plane the other day, and Philip Marlowe (one of Chandler's nods to English literature) says that he hears a bell tolling while talking to Flack, a corrupt and stupid hotel detective. He is obviously telling Flack how meaningless his life is, but Flack does not catch the reference at all. He says that he can't hear the bell. Philip Marlowe is one of the great characters in modern American literature. He is a dissipated intellectual, just like Chandler himself.http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#85585Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:85585Guest36http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#85585http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-85585.xmlI am not the most intellegent person gracing this rock but I find this a very interesting page. I typed in "ask not for who the bell tolls" in my google search box and got this page. I saw that quote on a sign on the news tonight after Terri Shiavo died and wanted to know where it came from. I think that 95% of the definitions that people are giving are correct. It's very interesting that there's more than one meaning for a given "poem". That's what constructive criticism is all about. Maybe that's why people write "poems". If you want to know what something means, ask the person who wrote it. Oh wait, he's dead. Keep up the good work. I hope I die before I get oldhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#85583Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:85583Guest37http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#85583http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-85583.xmlHemmingway took the words from the poem by John Donne which has these last words: If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, Everyman's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind, Send therefore not to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#82846Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:82846MrPedantic38http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/5/dpvb/Post.htm#82846http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-82846.xmlHello Guest Have you lost a century somewhere? 1500-99 = cinquecento = 16th century 1600-99 = seicento = 17th century MrPhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#82593Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:09:48 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:82593Guest39http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#82593http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-82593.xmlThis is a departure from English but since it came up, Italians refer to centuries very much like we do in English, e.g.: 1000-1099 = l'undicesimo secolo (i.e. eleventh century) 1100-1199 = il docicesimo secolo (i.e. twelfth century) But from 1200 on, 1200-1299 = il tredicesimo secolo (i.e. thirteenth century) OR il Duecento (i.e. the two hundreds, whereas in English we would say the twelve hundreds) So 1500-1599 is il sedicesimo secolo, which is sixteenth century, or il Seicentohttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#78690Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:09:49 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:78690Aysel40http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#78690http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-78690.xmlAsk not for whom the bell tolls, for it tolls for thee... It means that when a person dies, a part of u is also dying...http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#78613Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:09:49 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:78613Guest41http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#78613http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-78613.xmlThe significance of that line is infinitely more profound than just Death telling someone not to ask for whom the bell tolls because it may be tolling for them. It is a complete and unabiding universal appeal for everyone on the planet to get involved in the affairs of humanity in a very benevolent manner to make the world a better place before it's too late. What Donne is essentially saying is that we are all here for the same reason, and that reason is to love and care for each other and make life itself more liveable. He's pointing out that we are all part of the same human fabric, and everytime one of us dies, that beautiful fabric is weakened, therefore it is our absolute duty to keep that fabric as alive and happy as possible for...http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#78007Thu, 21 May 2009 08:09:49 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:78007Guest42http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#78007http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-78007.xml"Ask not for whom the bell tolls, for it tolls for thee" refers to the funeral bells that would ring at the church everytime someone died. A man was faced with death and asked death who are the bells ringing for. Death replys that do not ask who because it is you that they ring for. You helped me to. I had a paper and this quote was in it. Thanks! -Slimhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#71451Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:09:49 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:71451Sand43http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#71451http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-71451.xmlHemingway's novel, "For Whom the Bell Tolls" was essentially a cry to humanity that the war against fascism in the 30's in Spain required the whole of humanity to rise and support the Spanish republic. The world ignored this warning of this struggle and the descent into World War II was the result. Hemingway's cry was in close conformance with Donne's.http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#71338Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:09:49 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:71338Guest44http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#71338http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-71338.xmlHemingway got it from John Ruskin, in connection with "No man is an island." "Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee."http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#70719Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:09:49 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:70719Guest45http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#70719http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-70719.xmlHemingway's novel, "For Whom The Bell Tolls," tells the story of a gallant sacrifice by a hero in the Spanish Civil War. In the movie version, Gary Cooper holds off army troops with a Lewis gun, buying time for his comrades, including his lover, Ingrid Bergman, to retreat. Cooper's character's farewell dialog embodies the essence of Donne's sermon. Sorry, there's no "For Whom The Bell Tolls II, The Sequel."http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#68963Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:09:49 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:68963matthewg46http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#68963http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-68963.xmlBecause the forums are cosmopolitan, there could be some confusion over date systems. I do know that Italians refer to 1500-1599 as the fifteenth century, 1700-1799 as the seventeenth century, etc.http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#66630Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:09:49 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:66630Guest47http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/4/dpvb/Post.htm#66630http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-66630.xmlyes, do not concern yourself with finding out who has just died because that could be you next and we are all part of a common humanity, inextricably linked, hence the line 'every man's death diminishes me'...I think this is a particularly telling poem at a time of Amercian isolationism & introspection, for what it's worth, from Peter in the UKhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/3/dpvb/Post.htm#62121Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:09:49 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:62121Guest48http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/3/dpvb/Post.htm#62121http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-62121.xmlThe 15th century? Donne was born in 1572 and died in 1631, so to clear up when he wrote, it was in the 16th and 17th century, and many of his more well know works are from the early 17th century. Donne was not responding to Hemingway, perhaps you meant to say Hemingway was responding to Donne? Hemingway was born just before the turn of the century, that is, 19th to 20th. It didn't appear in a novel, as someone above asked, but in a sermon, which was quoted very nicely high on the page. The meaning was explained nicely in that and several other posts. It's a brilliant line. Cheershttp://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/3/dpvb/Post.htm#61598Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:09:49 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:61598Guest49http://www.englishforums.com/English/ForWhomTheBellTolls/3/dpvb/Post.htm#61598http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-61598.xmlThis phrase was used in a poem by John Donn in the 15th century. What is its meaning?