The invitation to the reader is a poetic strategy; obviously nothing compels readers to accept the poem’s invitation or to accept it on the poet’s terms. To judge from the admiration, and even adoration, it has elicited over the centuries, the Song is very effective in seducing most readers with its poetic vision of desire, though recently the number of resistant readers seems to be increasing. We might ask, how can a poem about desire not arouse readerly desire? Readerly desire, of course, can take