First they came...

People should define themselves by their similarities, not by their differences.

Fear can cause people to stop caring about others or their suffering.

People should speak out when they see injustice, or they may risk experiencing it themselves.

Staying silent while witnessing a crime is the same thing as committing the crime.

"First they came for the Socialists" (Line 1)

"Because I was not a Trade Unionist" (Line 2)

"I did not speak out — Because I was not a Jew." (Line 3)

"Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me." (Line 4)

The speaker is lonely and distanced from the rest of society, which is why he did not speak out.

The speaker is deeply sorry and wants to justify why he did not speak out against the arrests.

The speaker regrets not speaking out because he was not being targeted and ignored those who were.

The speaker is a selfish, prejudiced person who did not care about the suffering of other people.

People tend to care only about themselves and cannot easily connect with others.

Peace among different people and countries is possible through shared grief.

Everyone and everything in the world is connected as part of a larger whole.

Loneliness is one of the worst fates one can suffer and no one should have to bear it.

It compares people to land masses, and when one clod is washed away it lessens the continent; this develops the theme of connection between individuals as parts of a whole.

It compares people to islands, and when one island loses land it only impacts the one island; this develops the theme of people who exist within their own worlds.

It compares the world to the continent of Europe; this develops the theme of European expansion across the world, uniting different parts of it under colonial rule.

It compares different peoples to land masses, and when one clod is washed away it lessens the continent; this develops the theme of peace and unity among different countries.

to end

to belittle

to lessen

to sadden

"No man is an island entire of itself" (Line 1)

"if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe / is the less" (Lines 3-4)

"as any manner of thy friends or of thine / own were" (Lines 5-6)

"I am involved in mankind." (Line 7)