A Litany in Time of Plague

“The Fearful Summer” by John Taylor (1625)

A professional pamphleteer and poet like Nashe, John Taylor wrote on a broad variety of topics, and his poem “The Fearful Summer” laments the moral lapse and corrupted condition of England that brought about God’s wrath and consequently another outbreak of plague. While Taylor accepts and approves of God’s decision to punish England with disease, he ultimately still hopes that the disease and God’s anger will pass when England repents. “The Fearful Summer” also personifies Death and contains references to condemned houses with the plaque “Lord, have mercy upon us” on their doors, just as Nashe’s poem does.

“Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness” by John Donne (1635)

Much of John Donne’s poetry focused on the topic of death, and “Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness” is no exception. Donne makes his peace with death, because he sees it merely as a necessary step on his journey to Heaven, and feels “joy” during his sickness as he anticipates the next world. Donne’s poem highlights Renaissance England’s spiritual perspective on death and also shows how life-threatening sickness could be in that period.

“Made When I Was Sick, 1647” by Hester Pulter