Marvell wrote his ode during one of the most significant transitions in Britain's history. King Charles I took to the throne in 1625 and believed that the king’s only responsibility was to God. Charles held a tyrannical rule over Britain, Scotland, and Ireland, and used his role as king to fund a luxurious lifestyle. Charles also engaged in long, costly wars with Spain and France.

Throughout Charles’s reign, his haphazard and tyrannical rule grated against the elected Parliament. In the early years of Charles’s rule, he used his position as king to dissolve Parliament three times until, in 1929, he dismissed it to rule the country alone. Parliaments, however, continued to reestablish themselves and call for reform. The king’s behavior led to civil wars throughout Great Britain, first in Scotland (starting in 1637), Ireland (starting in 1641), and England (starting in 1642 after Charles broke into the House of Commons to demand that five members of parliament surrender). Eight months later, Charles declared war with Parliament.

Oliver Cromwell served as commander-in-chief of the Parliament of England’s armies for much of the English Civil War. After years of fighting, Charles was captured by Scottish forces at the battle of Naseby on June 14, 1645.