In 1623 John Donne, dean of Saint Paul's Cathedral in London, suddenly fell ill of a pestilential illness. He took notes during this near fatal illness and published them as Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions in 1624. It is in the context of devotional literature that this book has formerly been studied. If, however, the work is read with specific attention focused on the dynamics of Donne's psychological responses to a serious illness, it may be seen to be the powerful dramatic presentation of his struggle for emotional and spiritual survival following the disruption of a previously accepted value system. Our population today has experienced many of these feelings in facing illness, isolation, and death during the course of COVID-19. We are all Donne. He gives us a voice from four hundred years in the past.

Mary Ann Antley is a retired English professor who lives in Morganton, North Carolina. She attends Grace Episcopal Church. A graduate of Agnes Scott College, she has an MA degree from Emory University.