Love's Lamentable Tragedy, in this case, refers to the pain of lost love. From the title page:
"When cruel lovers prove unkind, great sorrows they procure; and such strange pains the slighted find, that they cannot endure."
I liked the image, because the woman doesn't die in the ballad--she's just super sad that her boyfriend left her. So the use of the iconic image of death (the ol' Skeleton with hourglass and arrow standby) is a metaphor for heartbreak. Poor lady.
Anyway, if you want a more traditional Valentine image, check out the previous posts, featuring cutting out of hearts, hearts being cut out, and early modern heart anatomy. You know, romance.
