The 17th century was a time of great change and upheaval in England. All around a new age was dawning. An age filled with bold and startling revelations both in the world of science and in the world of religion. In the midst of all this change there raged a political battle between King Charles and Parliament; a battle whose essence was captured in the writings of one of the great writers of this historic time - John Donne. It is in Donne's works that we see the culmination of all England's change and upheaval, taken from reality, dipped into the ink of religious piety and written into prose. The purpose of this essay will be to show the effects of England's tumultuous change during the 17th century through Donne's Wretched Man.

The first effect we see in Donne's work concerns the very core of what man is made of. He believes that man is entirely made up of negative elements. As early as the first paragraph Donne states that man is not composed of the traditional elements but rather, of such things as bodily pain and sorrow of the heart. As Donne bears witness to the chaotic times occurring in his own country (particularly with King Charles becoming more and more tyrannical), he comes to the realization of what man must truly be made of. Having already gained a foreknowledge of the sinful nature of man from his training in seminary, Donne is now beginning to see the full extent of this sinful state being played out in his countries own backyard.

As Donne continues on in the first paragraph he turns his attention to how the sin and evil which comprise the nature of man are poisonous to mankind, much like the poisons of toads and vipers. In this, he states that the poisons with which an animal has are not used against itself but, ultimately become the ills that pour down upon men. Here Donne is making an indirect attack on the dictatorial behavior of King Charles. He is a witness to the power struggle between the King and Parliament and knows that the poisons of this viper-like King will ultimately bite and infect the people. From there the wound will gangrene and pass on to every other part of the body eventually reaching the heart of the people and destroying them. Donne concludes the paragraph by predicting that this infectious poison hath made every man (especially the King) who once walked in the finest of spirits into an empty shell. In essence, these poisons have eaten away at man until he remains nothing more than a living sarcophagus, playing host to his own demise.

The second effect we see in Donne's work deals with the introspection of man. Donne believes that every man (including the King) should dissect himself. By this Donne means that man must look deep inside himself in order to see what he was before God Almighty raised him up to what he is now. This message would have had particular potency for King Charles who was essentially the first generation of his family to be born and raised in England. His father James I, having started off from a more modest beginning, bequeathed to his son considerably more wealth and power as the royal head of all England. Donne feels that King Charles failure to acknowledge his roots is the source of the venomous poison that he spits out at his subjects.

The third effect we see in Donne's work concerns the issue of making atonement. In this, Donne urges all men (especially the King) to acknowledge their faults and pay their debts. Donne is aware of the wrongs that the King has perpetrated upon the people of England and so once again targets his message at the throne. For Donne it is only when a man pays for his debts can he know the full extent of the wrong he has done. And only when a man knows the full extent of the wrong he has done can he ever hope to make restitution. In the country's current situation this would have almost certainly entailed that King Charles put aside his royal arrogance and reinstate Parliament as the voice of leadership.

In conclusion, the 17th century was indeed a time of great upheaval in England. Between the battles over new ways of thinking and the battles over political power the effects of this era in time became heavily etched onto the minds of such men as John Donne. The very 'spirit of the age' was reflected in his writings and sermons. These effects manifested themselves in three statements that Donne proposed: 1) that the very core man is made up of negative elements, 2) that every man must at some point critically examine himself, and 3) every man must pay for his debts. Although these statements were directed at mankind in general it is important to note that the basis of his proposals stemmed directly from the conflict between the royal throne and the people of England. Eventually it would be this same conflict that would lead to an all out civil war in which would bring about a revolution.