Compare and Contrast Essay: Humanity in I Am A Rock and Meditation XVII

Everyone in humanity has their own personal preference on whether to be connected or isolated from each other, and everyone has diverse ways to express it. In two pieces of writings which are I Am A Rock by Paul Simon and Meditation XVII by John Donne have similar and different ways on how to describe humanity. Although Simon’s writing is a lengthy song and Donne’s writing is a brief sermon, both authors are trying to convey powerful messages to their audiences. The effective use of imagery in I Am A Rock and Meditation XVII gives impact to their meanings. However, the messages that they are dispensing are entirely in contrast to one another. Without a doubt, there are more differential factors than there are similar factors, but if we look away from the details, Simon and Donne’s writings are more alike than we think.  

Starting with the similarities, Simon’s and Donne’s writings are based on humanity and one's own self. The use of imagery is present in both writings, and some examples of this would be, “Gazing from my window to the streets below” (pg. 2) and “is a clod be washed away by the sea” (pg. 3). Their writings are personal, straightforward with their beliefs by both using the word “island” as a metaphor. What is more, they also try their best to convey their feelings and emotions into everything they write. Overall, we can tell that I Am A Rock and Meditation XVII are remarkably similar to each other since they are written on inspiration. However, there will always be differences no matter how duplicated or indistinguishable they are.  

The one element that stands out the most from both writings would be their tones. While Donne uses more of a comforting, soft, positive tone, Simon uses a depressive, gloomy, negative tone. Moreover, I Am A Rock is disconnected and isolated from humanity whereas Meditation XVII is cherishing and unified with it. Examples of this would be, “I touch no one and no one touches me” pg. 2 and “every man is a piece of the continent” pg. 3. In addition, the styles that the authors are using to write their works are very distinctive. Simon uses more literary terms and has capital letters in every stanza, while Donne includes liturgy and has a lot of complex vocabulary.  

Without a doubt, I Am A Rock and Meditation XVII are outstanding pieces of writing. Even though each of their messages are opposites from one another, Paul Simons and John Donne were able to use imagery, tone, and perspective to explicate it. Personally, I believe that being alone is not entirely bad and being together is only part of life. There are times when we would feel like an isolated, protected, painful island or a peaceful, united, important piece of a continent, and there are times when we feel like we are both -- an island and a piece of a continent.