No Man Is an Island

But, then again, no island is a man, either.

John Donne’s No Man Is an Island, reproduced in its entirety above, is my kind of poem: short and sweet. It’s been a very long time, if ever, since I have read the poem. And, I was surprised by the final lines of the piece; I did not know that the bell tolling thing was contained within.

Of course, the island referred to in the poem, penned in the early 1600’s, is not really a physical island; it’s a metaphor used to offer commentary regarding climate change, I believe (I’m kidding: I recognize the interconnectedness of man angle - I was seeking an amusing left-turn, and that’s where I landed - not my strongest work - please accept my sincere apologies) - poets pull that kind of crap all the time. Another memorable allusion attached to islands is the theme of being exiled - being placed on an island, alone; of course, we can forgive Napoleon for not embracing that imagery, inasmuch as he was actually exiled to St. Helena - not so much a metaphor for him as a domicile. And, who can forget the “Island of Misfit Toys,” featured in the classic Christmas tale, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? That was truly a collection of useless toys, but, we have to wonder why Irwin Mainway’s product line didn’t suffer the same fate. . .

Here at Rule of Three we don’t traffic in allegories; no sir, real tangible things are of the utmost importance to us. Well, at least the real, tangible things represented in literature, music and film, anyway. Which can be quite illusory, as well.

Goodreads.com lists 746 books containing the word “island” in the title. Some that you may have actually heard of include: Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island; Island of the Blue Dolphins; and H.G. Wells’ Island of Dr. Moreau. You might have missed No. 742 on the list: Mermaid Island (Barbie Sweethearts #4) - I’m still working my way through the first three; or, Mary Ann’s Gilligan’s Island Cookbook, concocted by the actress who played Mary Ann in the iconic 1960’s TV series: Dawn Wells, and which apparently contains recipes provided by cast members, including such mouth-watering entries as: Gilligan Stew, Ginger’s Snaps and Shipwreck Sandwich; or, No. 729: The Genitalia of the Group Tortricidae of the Lepidoptera of the British Islands: An Account of the Morphology of the Male Clasping Organs and the Corresponding Organs of the Female, written by F.N. Pierce, in 1922. Pierce, as you may or may not be aware, is the acknowledged authority on genitalia, having published ten volumes containing the word “genitalia” in the title - perhaps the subject of a future Rule of Three column.

When it came time to review films associated with islands, we did not adhere to the strict framework we adopted regarding books (i.e. those movies containing the word “island” in the title; rather, we identified those movies in which the storyline of the film was closely tied to islands.

Some of the more well-known entrants in this category include: Moana, an animated Polynesian tale; Cast Away, a documentary about overnight package delivery and dental procedures and the anthropomorphizing of volleyballs; The Blue Lagoon, a movie depicting the dangers of launching an acting career way too soon; Lord of the Flies, which probably should have been included in the books discussion, and which captures the high jinks of schoolboys, except on an island, rather than in the hallways of a school; and Jurassic Park, in which, a dinosaur swallows a lawyer whole.

On the music front, you may be familiar with Kokomo, a tune performed by the Beach Boys, about an island which doesn’t actually exist, although fans have attempted to locate it, and secure travel reservations, because, let’s face it, it sounds delightful. Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers recorded a song, Islands in the Stream, which was quite peppy. Another island-themed tune was recorded by Madonna, entitled La Isla Bonita, which, if my Spanish is good, translates in English to “Island of Bones.” (Ed. note: Most Spanish to English translation applications indicate that La Isla Bonita actually means “beautiful island”). A final entry in this series is Message in a Bottle, by The Police, playing off of the trope of delivering mail to desert islands via floating bottle, one of the least reliable postal delivery options available.

The subhead reflected above for this column suggests that no island is a man, but, how then do you explain the Isle of Man?

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