‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’, John Donne, and William Perkins

Sullivan examines the phrase "For whom the bell tolls" by John Donne and the possibility that it may have its origin in an edifying anecdote by William Perkins. In Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions (1624), Donne tells of hearing the passing bell tolling, and wondered about it. Visitation articles enquired about the precise time at which the bell was tolled: before death (a Christian duty, allowing prayer for a soul still on earth) or after death (a superstitious practice, encouraging heretical prayer for a soul now gone to judgment. Not to want the bell tolled was condemned as schismatic, an offence against Christian charity and community. It should be a moment when individuals in the parish came together in prayer.