"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"

William Shakespeare is ubiquitous throughout the Western world as the master of the written word, and theabove-quoted"Sonnet 18" is celebrated as one of the most exquisite love poems of all time. Love comes in allforms-friendly, familial, unrequited, and lustful-and impressively, the bard's canon works with them all. Hisviews on love-whether they be amorous and passionate or obsessive and unsettling-are provocative to themind and imagination. The modern reader will recognize poignant turns of phrase; though still used today, theyoriginated from Shakespeare-known for inventing much of the modern English vocabulary. Shakespeare onLove draws from the entire Shakespeare canon: love sonnets, plays, and songs. Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, AMidsummer Night's Dream, and countless others all have their place. In one complete volume, discover thelyrical, the funny, the lewd, and the idolatrous passages on love as composed by the most influential writer ofthe English language.