Gustave Caillebotte, A Paris Street, Rain, 1877

No Man Is An Island
By John Donne

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.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
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.

Caillebotte's painting creates the illusion of disunity between its figures, each huddled under their own umbrellas. It undermines poet John Donne's idea that human lives are the sum of their interactions with other people, that each person endures similar joys, hardships, and growth.

Editor's Note: Students were asked to match a poem to a picture. They could do so with or without comment; they could be serious or playful. We will leave it to our dear readers to make the connection.