The poet and playwright Andreas Gryphius (1616-1664) was born in Glogau in Silesia. After studies in Leiden and travels throughout Europe, he returned to Silesia, where he spent the rest of his life. He is considered the most important poet of the German Baroque and is particularly famous for his sonnets. His work reflects the destruction, misery, and religious persecution that accompanied the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). This sonnet, “To a Maiden of High Birth,” takes up the Baroque motif of vanitas by reminding readers of the transience of physical beauty and earthly life.