The first "to desire and burn" in his verses was Sappho, from the Greek island of Lesbosbetween the 7th and 6th centuries BC. "Eros stirs my heart / like the wind that lashes the oaks in the mountains," says one of the fragments that have come down to us according to the latest Catalan translation, signed by Eloi Creus (Proa, 2022). Two centuries later, in Song of SongsIn this love poem, a foundational piece of mystical literature, two lovers converse about the pleasure of loving each other, sparing no detail of remarkable sensuality: "How delicious are your caresses, / my sister, my wife! / Your caresses are sweeter than wine."

The Two Gentlemen of Verona It is thought to be a comedy about Shakespeare's youth, and, as usual, it is not known exactly when it premiered. What is clear to biographers such as Peter Ackroyd is that it is a work written at breakneck speed, with the resulting inconsistencies, inspired, as is usual with Shakespeare, by other preceding writings and ultimately with the satirical air of the romantic drama of the 16th century. And hence the unexpected ending, which seems to mock those works, since when it comes to choosing between love and friendship, Shakespeare opts for the friendly relationship between Proteus and Valentine, leaving Julia and Silvia, the two young women of marriageable age, in Decla's magnificent proposal, with a pinch of salt. In other words, a friendship forged over years of adventures and secrets cannot be equated with falling in love, no matter how beautiful the girl may be.