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Biography

Francis Quarles was a well-known poet of the Elizabethan era.

He was born in Essex in 1592 and was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he received a B.A. degree in 1608, and later at Oriel College, Oxford. In 1613, he began a brief career as a courtier, with an appointment as a cup-bearer on the mission to escort Elizabeth, the daughter of James I, to Heidelburg to marry the Elector Palatine, Frederick V. He accompanied the couple to Germany, but returned to England after the situation on the Continent soured.

His first important work was "A Feast for Worms" (1621), a paraphrase of the Book of Jonah in verse form. After its success, he went on to write similar paraphrases on the books of Esther (1621), Job (1624), Jeremiah (1624), Psalms (1625) and a work on Samson (1631). His best-known work was the book Emblemes or Emblems (1634), consisting of images to illustrate various spiritual topics, each accompanied by a paraphrase from a passage of Scripture, followed by writings from religious leaders, and concluding with a four-line epigram.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Quarles-479