Francis Quarles | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | |
| Baptised | 8 May 1592 |
| Died | 8 September 1644(1644-09-08) (aged 52) London, England |
| Education | Christ's College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Notable work | Emblems |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 18, includingJohn Quarles (poet) |
Francis Quarles (about 8 May 1592 – 8 September 1644) was an English poet most notable for hisemblem book entitledEmblems.
Francis Quarles was born inRomford,Essex, and baptised there on 8 May 1592. His family had a long history of royal service. His great-grandfather, George Quarles, was Auditor toKing Henry VIII, and his father, James Quarles, was Clerk of the Green Cloth, and Purveyor of the Navy, inQueen Elizabeth's reign. His mother, Joan Dalton, was the daughter and heiress of Eldred Dalton of Mores Place, Hadham. Francis grew up in the Manor of Stewards.[1][2] There were eight children in the family; the eldest,Sir Robert Quarles, was knighted by James I in 1608.[3]
Francis Quarles was entered atChrist's College, Cambridge, in 1608, and subsequently joinedLincoln's Inn to read for the bar.[4] In 1613, whenPrincess Elizabeth marriedFrederick V of theElectoral Palatinate, Quarles was made her cupbearer and went with her to the continent, remaining in post for some years.
I love the earth - she is my Maker's creature,
She is my mother for she gave me birth.
She is my tender nurse - she gives me food.
But what is a creature, Lord, compared with Thee?
Or what is my mother or my nurse to me?
I love the air - her dainty sweets refresh
My drooping soul and to new sweets invite me.
But what is the air or all the sweets that she
Can bless my soul withal, compared to Thee?
Some time before 1629, Quarles was appointed as secretary toJames Ussher,Archbishop of Armagh and primate of all Ireland.
About 1633, Quarles returned to England, and spent the next two years in the preparation of hisEmblems. In 1639 he was made city chronologer, a post in whichBen Jonson andThomas Middleton had preceded him. At the outbreak of theCivil War, he took theRoyalist side, drawing up three pamphlets in 1644 in support of the king's cause. It is said that his house was searched and his papers destroyed by the Parliamentarians in consequence of these publications.[6]
Quarles married Ursula Woodgate in 1618, by whom he had eighteen children. His son,John Quarles (1624–1665), was exiled toFlanders for his Royalist sympathies and was the author ofFons Lachrymarum (1648) and other poems.[7]
The work by which Quarles is best known, theEmblems, was originally published in 1634, with grotesque illustrations engraved byWilliam Marshall and others. The forty-five prints in the last three books are borrowed from the designs byBoetius à Bolswert for thePia Desideria (Antwerp, 1624) ofHerman Hugo. Each "emblem" consists of a paraphrase from a passage of Scripture, expressed in ornate and metaphorical language, followed by passages from theChristian Fathers, and concluding with an epigram of four lines.[6]
TheEmblems was immensely popular with readers, but the critics of the 17th and 18th centuries had no mercy on Quarles.Sir John Suckling in hisSessions of the Poets disrespectfully alluded to him as he "that makes God speak so big in's poetry."Pope in theDunciad spoke of the Emblems, "Where the pictures for the page atone And Quarles is saved by beauties not his own."[6]
In 2022 some kitchen re-fitters found murals in a flat on Micklegate in York city centre. Now fully uncovered, they are thought to be based on scenes from Quarles'sEmblems.[citation needed]
The works of Quarles include:[6]
An edition of theEmblems (Edinburgh, 1857) was embellished with new illustrations by CH Bennett and WA Rogers These are reproduced in the complete edition (1874) of Quarles included in the "Chertsey Worthies Library" byAlexander Balloch Grosart, who provides an introductory memoir and an appreciation of Quarles's value as a poet.[6]
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Quarles, Francis".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 711–712.
