Donne was a priest writing while gravely ill. He argues that death is a translation rather than an ending, and he builds the argument out of ordinary grammar.
All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated.
Underlined words and phrases can be tapped for a note
All of humanity has one author and is one book. When someone dies, a chapter isn't torn out — it's translated into a better language, and every chapter must be translated eventually.
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less... Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Underlined words and phrases can be tapped for a note
No one is an island, complete in themselves; every person is a piece of the continent, part of the mainland. If a lump of earth is washed away by the sea, Europe is smaller... Anyone's death makes me less, because I am involved in mankind. So never ask who the bell is tolling for — it tolls for you.
How a sentence gets a room to move. Every answer comes with the reason and the line that proves it.
That's the whole thing.
Read it again slowly — it gets better the second time.