Read the following literary passage. Answer Questions:-
No Man is an Island
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 the 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.
'No man is an Island' signifies that-
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → No man stands in isolation
Note: The given answer is as per the official NTA Answer Key. However, more than one answer is possible here: Option (1) "No man stands in isolation" and Option (2) "All of humanity is connected" both state what the line signifies, as explained below.
Option 1: No man stands in isolation — Correct (Answer as per NTA). An island is land cut off on every side. To say that no man is an island is to say that no person lives cut off from others or is complete by himself ("Entire of itself").
Option 2: All of humanity is connected — Can also be considered as correct. The poem draws this very conclusion from the image: every man is "a piece of the continent", and the speaker is "involved in mankind". Not being isolated and being connected to all others are two sides of the same idea.
Option 3: No man exists as a landmass — Incorrect. Misread: this reads the metaphor literally; the island is an image for isolation, not a statement about land.
Option 4: No island is inhabited by men — Incorrect. Not mentioned: the line says nothing about whether people live on islands; it compares a person to an island.