The first study to offer an integral theory of love poetry, examining why it is that poetry, even more than other arts, is so consistently associated with romantic love.
Scores of evocative love poems, drawn from the entire range of world literature, are matched with wonderfully vibrant works of art--paintings, sculpture, prints, collages, and stained glass to create an elegant anthology of love peoms and masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 140 color illustrations.
This is a full-scale commentary devoted to the third book of Ovid's Ars Amatoria. It includes an Introduction, a revision of E. J. Kenney's Oxford text of the book, and detailed line-by-line and section-by-section commentary on the language and ideas of the text. Combining traditional philological scholarship with some of the concerns of more recent critics, both Introduction and commentary place particular emphasis on: the language of the text; the relationship of the book to the didactic, 'erotodidactic' and elegiac traditions; Ovid's usurpation of the lena's traditional role of erotic instructor of women; the poet's handling of the controversial subjects of cosmetics and personal adornment; and the literary and political significances of Ovid's unexpected emphasis in the text of Ars III on restraint and 'moderation'. The book will be of interest to all postgraduates and scholars working on Augustan poetry.
The work of women poets is often overlooked in anthologies, and collections of love poetry are no exception. This delightful and highly original collection shows that on the subject of romantic and sexual love, women can be just as eloquent as men -- if not more so. Here, the bitter and the sweet mingle as women from the last five hundred years write about jealousy, fickleness, exhilaration, the pain of parting, and the transience of love. Revealed is poetry which has been largely invisible since the fifteenth century; surprises from women better known for other things, like Elizabeth I and E. Nesbit; classics old and new from names including Margaret Atwood, Wendy Cope, Anne Sexton, Carol Ann Duffy, Erica Jong, Amy Lowell, Stevie Smith, Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti, Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton, Adrienne Rich, Katherine Mansfield, George Eliot, and Dorothy Parker.
In the first century a.d., Ovid, author of the groundbreaking epic poem Metamorphoses, came under severe criticism for The Art of Love, which playfully instructed women in the art of seduction and men in the skills essential for mastering the art of romantic conquest. In this remarkable translation, James Michie breathes new life into the notorious Roman’s mock-didactic elegy. In lyrical, irreverent English, he reveals love’s timeless dilemmas and Ovid’s enduring brilliance as both poet and cultural critic.
Following the success of Poetry Out Loud (now in its eighth printing), an affectionate celebration of the declaimed poem, Love Poetry Out Loud now turns to the choppier waters of affection itself. From Hello, I Love You to Pleasures of the Flesh to Loves Me Not, this collection of one hundred poems shouts out life’s grand passion with the help of the voices of poets old and new. Rubin’s informed, irreverent style skillfully reveals the humor, beauty, variety, tradition, and passion of love poetry. Insightful commentary on the poems’ meanings and on ways to read them aloud, as well as notes on their history and background, are found on every page. Whether long lived like Shakespeare’s sonnets or newly-hewn like Carolyn Forché’s “Taking Off My Clothes,” Love Poetry Out Loud makes each poem as fresh and inspiring as the first time it was uttered.
I had been searching for love my whole life. It took the opening up of the world via technology for me to find my soulmate. Once I laid eyes on her, at the arrivals gate, I knew I was never going to let her go. The following is a collection of poems I wrote to my angel, from our first meeting up until our wedding day. I was working crazy hours as a chef and I had a long commute. I chose my commuting time to pen her a poem each day. These poems speak of our life, our challenges and our growth together...in every aspect they speak of our love. May this book give someone the courage to let their special someone know how much they care for them and how much they mean to them. Saying I love you is a gift you can give many times a day.