In John Fletcher’s Upon an Honest Man’s Fortune, the poet’s attitude to man is both critical and hopeful. He reproves man for his foolish dependence on astrology and fortune-tellers, his forgetfulness of God’s power, and his fear of suffering and death. At the same time, he admires the moral and spiritual potential of the honest man, who can rise above fortune through faith, integrity and purposeful living.
Man is presented as thoughtless and spiritually misguided. The poet is displeased with man’s tendency to believe that the stars, astrologers or fortune-tellers control his life. He dismisses such beliefs as foolish because the astrologers themselves are unreliable. Their “calculations” are described as blind and their “conjectures” as drunken, showing that they cannot truly understand or predict human destiny.
Man is criticised for forgetting God’s goodness and supremacy. Fletcher laments that man fails to appreciate the special position God has given him. God has endowed man with reason, a soul and authority over other creatures; even angels are presented as ministering to him. Therefore, the poet finds it regrettable that man should ignore God and seek direction from the stars or from impostors who claim to read the future.
Man wrongly attributes fate to the stars instead of to God. The poet insists that all power, truth and influence belong to God, not to the heavenly bodies. Man’s belief in astrology is therefore shown as a form of faithlessness. The poet’s attitude is one of rebuke: he sees man as blind to the fact that God, rather than fortune, is the ultimate ruler of human life.
Yet, man possesses the ability to shape his life through his conduct. The statement, “Man is his own star,” does not simply mean that man is independent of God or can control everything that happens to him. Rather, it means that a person’s character, effort and moral choices have great influence on his life. By honest and worthy actions, man can become “a glorious man” and need not surrender himself to superstition or fate.
The poet values honesty as man’s highest virtue. Fletcher declares that “the soul that can / Be honest is the only perfect man.” His attitude here is approving and admiring. He considers the honest man superior to one who depends on wealth, social position, luck or astrological predictions. True greatness lies in a pure conscience, moral discipline and dependence on God.
Man should not fear affliction, sickness or death. The poet also regards man’s fear of suffering and death as unnecessary. Affliction and sickness are tests of endurance and inner strength, while death is “but another night” — a temporary passage rather than an ultimate disaster. Since man has a divine spirit and hope beyond this life, he should face such experiences with courage and faith.
In conclusion, Fletcher’s attitude to man is corrective but uplifting. He condemns man’s superstition, fear and failure to trust God, but he also affirms man’s dignity and capacity for moral greatness. The honest man, guided by faith, hard work and integrity, can overcome the false power of fortune and live nobly.
