The Most Famous Lovers of all Time in History and Literature

Digging into the archives to repeat one of my most-pinned-on-Pinterest posts ever...

In honor of Valentine's Day! From listafterlist.com, the most famous lovers in literature and history.

OK, so unless you're extremely erudite or well-versed in literature and mythology, you may not have even heard of some of these.  Others you'll know from famous movies.  Here we go:

1. Romeo and Juliet--portrayed by Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting in Franco Zeffirelli's movie adaptation of Shakespeare's famous play.

2. Cleopatra and Mark Antony-portrayed by Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor 

3. Lancelot and Guinevere

Source

4. Layla and Majnun--OK, this one I admit I had never heard of, but you can read about them here

5. Tristan and Iseult (Isolde)--pictured portrayed by James Franco and Sophia Myles in the 2006 movie adaptation

6. Eloise and Abelard

7. Paris and Helena--portrayed by Orlando Bloom and Diane Krueger

8. Orpheus and Eurydike

9. Napoleon and Josephine--portrayed by Armand Assante and Jacqueline Bisset

10. Cyrano and Roxane

11. Pyramus and Thisbe

12. Werther and Lotte

13. Odysseus and Penelope

14. Jane Eyre and Rochester--(portrayed by Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska) The romance from my favorite novel of all time! It gives hope to every young girl who isn't beautiful that the man of her dreams can still fall madly, passionately in love with her. Who can forget Jane's impassioned speech to Rochester, just before he declares his love for her:

"Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! - I have as much soul as you, - and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you."

15. Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler--(famously played by Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable) From one of my favorite books and movies, Gone With the Wind.

Got any favorites here?--or couples that you think should be added to the list? Let me know in my comments section!

What does love mean to you?

Here's my reply...

 Love is meeting the needs of another.

 Love's not a feeling--it's an action!

The best expression of what love is all about comes from I Corinthians chapter 13 in the Bible: 

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails...

...13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Be Still My Heart: A Tribute to Love & Romance

via

Falling in love is like jumping off a really tall building. Your brain tells you it is not a good idea, but your heart tells you, you can fly.

Shakespeare's Sonnet 116--via

At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet. 

Plato 

via

The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves. 

Victor Hugo 

via

 Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another. 

George Eliot 

via

 This is one of the miracles of love: It gives a power of seeing through its own enchantments and yet not being disenchanted.

C.S. Lewis

via

“I know what it is to live entirely for and with what I love best on earth. I hold myself supremely blest -- blest beyond what language can express; because I am my husband's life as fully as he is mine.” 
 Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

via

"...I found him whom my soul loves; I held on to him and would not let him go..."

Song of Solomon 3:4

via

 "And he took her in his arms and kissed her under the sunlit sky, and he cared not that they stood high upon the walls in the sight of many."

J.R.R. Tolkien 

via

“In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” 

Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm linking up with Katherine's Corner for Favorite Things Thursday!

The Most Famous Lovers of Literature and History

In honor of Valentine's Day! From listafterlist.com, the most famous lovers in literature and history.

OK, so unless you're extremely erudite or well-versed in literature and mythology, you may not have even heard of some of these.  Others you'll know from famous movies.  Here we go:

1. Romeo and Juliet--portrayed by Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting in Franco Zeffirelli's movie adaptation of Shakespeare's famous play.

Source: google.com via Cindy on Pinterest

2. Cleopatra and Mark Antony-portrayed by Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor 

3. Lancelot and Guinevere

Source

4. Layla and Majnun--OK, this one I admit I had never heard of, but you can read about them here

5. Tristan and Iseult (Isolde)--pictured portrayed by James Franco and Sophia Myles in the 2006 movie adaptation

6. Eloise and Abelard

7. Paris and Helena--portrayed by Orlando Bloom and Diane Krueger

8. Orpheus and Eurydike

9. Napoleon and Josephine--portrayed by Armand Assante and Jacqueline Bisset

10. Cyrano and Roxane

11. Pyramus and Thisbe

12. Werther and Lotte

13. Odysseus and Penelope

14. Jane Eyre and Rochester--(portrayed by Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska) The romance from my favorite novel of all time! It gives hope to every young girl who isn't beautiful that the man of her dreams can still fall madly, passionately in love with her. Who can forget Jane's impassioned speech to Rochester, just before he declares his love for her:

"Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! - I have as much soul as you, - and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you."

15. Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler--(famously played by Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable) From one of my favorite books and movies, Gone With the Wind.

Got any favorites here?--or couples that you think should be added to the list? Let me know in my comments section!

What does love mean to you?

Here's my reply...

 Love is meeting the needs of another.

 Love's not a feeling--it's an action!

The best expression of what love is all about comes from I Corinthians chapter 13 in the Bible: 

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails...

...13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

From the Archives: 10 Ways to Love

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I thought this would be a good time to repeat a post from early last year...

I found this on the internet (not sure of the original source) and decided to write it in calligraphy.

The message convicted my heart. These are definitely things I need to work on--with God's help, of course.



Originally posted 1/8/2011

A little treat from the archives: The Most Famous Lovers of All Time

In honor of Valentine's Day! From listafterlist.com, the most famous lovers in literature and history. (Originally posted February 13, 2009)

1. Romeo and Juliet--portrayed at left by Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting in Franco Zeffirelli's movie adaptation of Shakespeare's famous play.

2. Cleopatra and Mark Antony

3. Lancelot and Guinevere

4. Layla and Majnun--OK, this one I admit I had never heard of, but you can read about them here

5. Tristan and Iseult (Isolde)--pictured portrayed by James Franco and Sophia Myles in the 2006 movie adaptation

6. Eloise and Abelard

7. Paris and Helena

8. Orpheus and Eurydike

9. Napoleon and Josephine

10. Cyrano and Roxane

11. Pyramus and Thisbe

12. Werther and Lotte

13. Odysseus and Penelope

14. Jane Eyre and Rochester--The romance from my favorite novel of all time! It gives hope to every young girl who isn't beautiful that the man of her dreams can still fall madly, passionately in love with her. Who can forget Jane's impassioned speech to Rochester, just before he declares his love for her:

"Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! - I have as much soul as you, - and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you."

15. Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler--From one of my favorite books and movies, Gone With the Wind.

Got any favorites here--or couples that you think should be added to the list? Let me know in my comments section!

Check out my book blog, Cindy's Book Club, where I'm reviewing Jenny B. Jones' Save the Date!

13 (Plus) Things about My Husband and Me

This is from one of those things that goes around on Facebook. With Valentine's Day approaching, I thought I would use it for a Thursday Thirteen. This is dedicated to my one and only true love, Doug! Happy Valentine's Day, honey!

♥ What are your middle names?
Susan and Elving (he's going to kill me)

♥ How long have you been together?
Married over 30 years

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Known each other slightly and from a distance for a couple of years

♥ Who asked who out?
Doug asked me out.

♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most?
His. All of his brothers live in this area, and all my siblings live out of state.

♥ Do you have any children together?
Yes, three.

♥ What about pets?
Two dogs...Stormy the German Shepherd, and Brandy the toy poodle

♥ Did you go to the same college?
Yep. That's where we met.

♥ Are you from the same home town?
No.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Giuseppi's...a wonderful little mom-and-pop Italian restaurant.

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
California

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Doug is, definitely. Although I've become more of a neat-freak and he's become a little less of one...we've kind of met in the middle.

♥ Where was your first date?
We went bowling!

♥ How long did it take to get serious?
We were engaged less than nine months from the time we met.

Go here to participate in Thursday Thirteen