From the Song of Solomon, Catullus, and Ovid, to recent masterpieces by the Irish Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney and the British Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, each love poem is preceded by pithy, introductory biographical notes. With favorites from W. H. Auden, Carol Ann Duffy, Federico Garcia Lorca, and Jacques Prevert, this is a comprehensive collection to treasure. From the thrill of a new romance to the knowing celebration of an enduring one, from the comedy of lust to the tragedy of profound loss, celebrated poets of past centuries and renowned modern ones confess their love, beg for it, or rage against it, sometimes with humor and often with elegance.