Side by side on facing pages, Mortimer gives us the original Italian and his own translation into English of 46 of the 366 poems that make up Petrarchs Canzoniere. Concentrating on the major theme of the poets love for Laura, most of the poems that Mortimer translates are sonnets- but there are also two canzoni, tow madrigals, and a sestina, to provide a proportionate reflection of Petrarchs choice of forms. The same balance is given to the two major sections of the Canzoniere--In Vita and In Morte.