Famous Love Stories

1. Romeo and Juliet
This is probably the most famous lovers ever .
This couple has become a synonym for love itself.
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy by William
Shakespeare. Their love story is very tragic. The
tale of two teenagers from two feuding families
who fall in love at first sight and then marry,
become true lovers and then risk it all for their
love. To take your own life for your husband or
wife is definitely a sign of true love. Their
"untimely deaths" ultimately unite their feuding
households.
2. Cleopatra and Mark Antony
The true love story of Antony and Cleopatra is
one of the most memorable, intriguing and
moving of all times. The story of these two
historical characters had later been dramatized by
William Shakespeare and is still staged all over
the world. The relationship of Antony and
Cleopatra is a true test of love. They fell in love
at first sight. The relationship between these two
powerful people put the country of Egypt in a
powerful position. But their love affair outraged
the Romans who were wary of the growing
powers of the Egyptians. Despite all the threats,
Anthony and Cleopatra got married. It is said that
while fighting a battle against Romans, Antony
got false news of Cleopatra's death. Shattered,
he fell on his sword. When Cleopatra learned
about Antony 's death, she was shocked. And she
took her own life. Great love demands great
sacrifices.
3. Lancelot and Guinevere
The tragic love story of Sir Lancelot and Queen
Guinevere is probably one of the best-known
stories of Arthurian Legend. Lancelot fall in love
with Queen Guinevere, King Arthur's wife. Their
love grew slowly, as Guinevere kept Lancelot
away from her. Eventually, however, her love and
passion overpowered her and the pair became
lovers. One night, Sir Agravain and Sir Modred,
King Arthur's nephew, led a band of 12 knights to
Guinevere's chamber where they burst in upon
the lovers. Discovered, Sir Lancelot made a
fighting escape, but poor Guinevere was not so
lucky. She was seized and condemned to burn to
death for her adultery. Fear not. Sir Lancelot
returned several days later to rescue his beloved
Guinevere from the fire. This whole sad affair
divided the Knights of the Round Table and
weakened Arthur's kingdom. Poor Lancelot ended
his days as a lowly hermit and Guinevere became
a nun at Amesbury where she died.
4. Tristan and Isolde
The tragic love story of Tristan and Isolde has
been told and retold through various stories and
manuscripts. It takes place during medieval times
during the reign of King Arthur. Isolde of Ireland
was the daughter of the King of Ireland. She was
betrothed to King Mark of Cornwall. King Mark
sent his nephew, Tristan, to Ireland to escort
Isolde back to Cornwall. During the voyage,
Isolde and Tristan fell forever in love. Isolde did
marry Mark of Cornwall, but could not help but
love Tristan. The love affair continued after the
marriage. When King Mark finally learned of the
affair, he forgave Isolde, but Tristan was banned
from Cornwall. Tristan went to Brittany. There he
met Iseult of Brittany. He was attracted to her
because of the similarity of her name to his true
love. He married her, but did not consummate the
marriage because of his love for the "true" Isolde.
After falling ill, he sent for Isolde in hopes that
she would be able to cure him. If she agreed to
come, the returning ship's sails would be white,
or the sails would be black if she did not agree.
Iseult, seeing the white sails, lied to Tristan and
told him that the sails were black. He died of
grief before Isolde could reach him. Isolde died
soon after of a broken heart.
5. Paris and Helena
Recounted in Homer's Iliad, the story of Helen of
Troy and the Trojan War is a Greek heroic legend,
combining fact and fiction. Helen of Troy is
considered one the most beautiful women in all
literature. She was married to Menelaus, king of
Sparta. Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, fell in
love with Helen and abducted her, taking her back
to Troy. The Greeks assembled a great army, led
by Menelaus's brother, Agamemnon, to retrieve
Helen. Troy was destroyed. Helen returned safely
to Sparta, where she lived happily with Menelaus
for the rest of her life.
6. Orpheus and Eurydice
Orpheus and Eurydice story is an ancient greek
tale of desperate love . Orpheus fell deeply in love
with and married Eurydice, a beautiful nymph.
They were very much in love and very happy
together. Aristaeus, a Greek god of the land and
agriculture, became quite fond of Eurydice, and
actively pursued her. While fleeing from Aristaeus,
Eurydice ran into a nest of snakes which bit her
fatally on her legs. Distraught, Orpheus played
such sad songs and sang so mournfully that all
the nymphs and gods wept. On their advice,
Orpheus traveled to the underworld and by his
music softened the hearts of Hades and
Persephone (he was the only person ever to do
so), who agreed to allow Eurydice to return with
him to earth on one condition: he should walk in
front of her and not look back until they both had
reached the upper world. In his anxiety he forgot
that both needed to be in the upper world, and he
turned to look at her, and she vanished for the
second time, but now forever.
7. Napoleon and Josephine
A marriage of convenience, at age 26 Napoleon
took a fancy to Josephine. An older, prominent,
and most importantly wealthy woman. As time
drew on, Napoleon fell deeply in love with
Josephine, and she with him, but that didn't deter
the adultery on both sides-their mutual respect for
one another kept them together, and their burning
passion between them didn't falter, and was
genuine. They eventually split, as Napoleon
deeply required something Josephine could not
give him, an heir. Sadly they parted ways, both
bearing the love and passion in their hearts, for
all eternity.
8. Odysseus and Penelope
Few couples understand sacrifice quite like this
Greek pair. After being torn apart, they wait
twenty long years to be reunited. War takes
Odysseus away shortly after his marriage to
Penelope. Although she has little hope of his
return, she resists the 108 suitors who are
anxious to replace her husband. Odysseus is
equally devoted, refusing a beautiful sorceress's
offer of everlasting love and eternal youth, so that
he might return home to his wife and son. This
Valentine's Day, take a cue from Homer, and
remember that true love is worth waiting for.
9. Paolo and Francesca
Paolo and Francesca are made famous by the
Dante's masterpiece "Divine Comedy". It is a true
story: Francesca is married with Gianciotto
Malatesta an awful person, but she has
Gianciotto's brother, Paolo, as lover. The love
between them grows when they read together a
book (according to Dante) about Lancelot and
Guinevere. When the two lovers are discovered
they are killed by Gianciotto.
10. Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler
"Gone with the wind" can be identified as one of
the immortal pieces of literary works in this world.
Margaret Mitchell's famous work has chronicled
the love and hate relationship between Scarlett
O'Hara and Rhett Butler. Proving that timing is
everything, Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler never
seem to be quite in synch. Throughout the epic
story, this tempestuous twosome experience
passion but not permanence, and their stormy
marriage reflects the surrounding Civil War
battles. The flirtatious, promiscuous, and
perpetually pursued Scarlett can't make up her
mind between her many suitors. When she finally
decides to settle on being happy with Rhett, her
fickle nature has already driven him away. Hope
springs eternal in our devious heroine, however,
and the novel ends with Scarlett proclaiming,
"Tomorrow is another day."
11. Jane Eyre and Rochester
In Charlotte Bronte's famous tale , friendless
characters find a cure for loneliness in each
other's company. Jane is an abused orphan
employed as a governess to the charge of an
abrasive, but very rich Edward Rochester. The
improbable pair grow close as Rochester reveals
a tender heart beneath his gruff exterior. He does
not, however, reveal his penchant for polygamy -
on their wedding day, a horrified Jane discovers
he is already married. Heartbroken, Jane runs
away, but later returns after a dreadful fire has
destroyed Rochester's mansion, killed his wife,
and left him blind. Love triumphs, and the two
reunite and live out their days in shared bliss.
12. Layla and Majnun
A leading medieval poet of Iran, Nizami of Ganje
is known especially for his romantic poem Layla
and Majnun Inspired by an Arab legend, Layla
and Majnun is a tragic tale about unattainable
love . It had been told and retold for centuries,
and depicted in manuscripts and other media
such as ceramics for nearly as long as the poem
has been penned. Layla and Qays fall in love
while at school. Their love is observed and they
are soon prevented from seeing one another. In
misery, Qays banishes himself to the desert to
live among and be consoled by animals. He
neglects to eat and becomes emaciated. Due to
his eccentric behavior, he becomes known as
Majnun (madman). There he befriends an elderly
Bedouin who promises to win him Layla’s hand
through warfare. Layla’s tribe is defeated, but her
father continues to refuse her marriage to Majnun
because of his mad behavior, and she is married
to another. After the death of Layla’s husband,
the old Bedouin facilitates a meeting between
Layla and Majnun, but they are never fully
reconciled in life. Upon death, they are buried side
by side. The story is often interpreted as an
allegory of the soul’s yearning to be united with
the divine.
13. Eloise and Abelard
This is a story of a monk and a nun whose love
letters became world famous. Around 1100, Peter
Abelard went to Paris to study at the school of
Notre Dame. He gained a reputation as an
outstanding philosopher. Fulbert, the canon of
Notre Dame, hired Abelard to tutor his niece,
Heloise. Abelard and the scholarly Heloise fell
deeply in love, conceived a child, and were
secretly married. But Fulbert was furious, so
Abelard sent Heloise to safety in a convent.
Thinking that he intended to abandon Heloise,
Fulbert had his servants castrate Abelard while he
slept. Abelard became a monk and devoted his
life to learning. The heartbroken Heloise became
a nun. Despite their separations and tribulations,
Abelard and Heloise remained in love. Their
poignant love letters were later published.
14. Pyramus and Thisbe
A very touching love story that is sure to move
anyone who reads it is that of Pyramus and
Thisbe. Theirs was a selfless love and they made
sure that even in death, they were together.
Pyramus was the most handsome man and was
childhood friend of Thisbe, the fairest maiden in
Babylonia. They both lived in neighboring homes
and fell in love with each other as they grew up
together. However, their parents were dead
against them marrying each other. So one night
just before the crack of dawn, while everyone was
asleep, they decided to slip out of their homes
and meet in the nearby fields near a mulberry
tree. Thisbe reached there first. As she waited
under the tree, she saw a lion coming near the
spring close by to quench its thirst. Its jaws were
bloody. When Thisbe saw this horrifying sight, she
panicked and ran to hide in some hollow rocks
nearby. As she was running, she dropped her veil.
The lion came near and picked up the veil in his
bloody jaws. At that moment, Pyramus reaches
near the mulberry tree and sees Thisbe's veil in
the jaws of the lion. He is completely devastated.
Shattered, he pierces his chest with his own
sword. Unknown to what just happened, Thisbe is
still hiding in the rocks due to the fear of the lion.
When she comes out after sometime, she sees
what her lover did to himself. She is totally
shattered when she sees the sword piercing right
through her lover's chest. She also takes the
sword and kills herself.
15. Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy
Actually Jane Austen has personified two
attributes of human nature, pride and prejudice in
Darcy and Elizabeth. Darcy comes from a very
high social hierarchy and Pemberley. He typifies
the educated aristocracy while on the other hand,
Elizabeth is the second daughter of a gentleman
of modest means. Mr. Bennett has five daughters
who have been allowed to grow up the way they
wanted, there has been no school education for
them, nor has there been any governess at home.
Elizabeth’s very indulgent mother and
irresponsible father never gave any thought to the
future of the daughters, it is always taken for
granted, that they will do well for themselves. To
a woman of Mrs. Bennett's understanding, doing
well exclusively means finding a rich, well to do
husband. For a man of Darcy's social stature,
these were very serious failings of the family and
totally unacceptable to his polished, educated and
refined mind. Darcy adores Pemberley, and the
future mistress of that estate can only be just as
polished and refined and from an equally
prestigious family. He falls in love with Elizabeth
only to be refused by her initially, and then much
later she realized that she can love no one but
Darcy. How they become united and understand
the love for each other makes very interesting
study.
16. Salim and Anarkali
The love story of Salim and Anarkali is a story
that every lover knows. The son of the great
Mughal emperor Akbar, Salim, fell in love with an
ordinary but beautiful courtesan Anarkali. He was
mesmerized by her beauty and fell in love as soon
as he saw her. But the emperor could not digest
the fact that his son was in love with an ordinary
courtesan. He started pressurizing Anarkali and
devised all sorts of tactics o make her fall in the
eyes of the young, love smitten prince. When
Salim came to know of this, he declared a war
against his own father. But the mighty emperor's
gigantic army is too much for the young prince to
handle. He gets defeated and is sentenced to
death. This is when Anarkali intervenes and
renounces her love to save her beloved from the
jaws of death. She is entombed alive in a brick
wall right in front of her lover's eyes.
17. Pocahontas and John Smith
This love story is a famous legend in the history
of America. Pocahontas , an Indian Princess was
the daughter of Powhatan. Powhatan was the
powerful chief of the Algonquian Indians in the
Tidewater region of Virginia. Pocahontas for the
first time in her life saw Englishmen in May 1607.
She found John Smith most attractive and
developed a liking for him. Smith was taken to
the official residence of Powhattan and he was
tortured. It was Pocahontas who saved his life
from the attack of the Indians. Pocahontas then
helped Smith to stand on his feet and Powhattan
adopted Smith as his son. This incident helped
Pocahontas and Smith to become friends with
each other. Pocahontas after this incident made
frequent visits to the Jamestown and passed on
to the Indians messages of her father. John
Smith after getting badly injured due to
gunpowder explosion, returned to England. When
Pocahontas made a visit to the fort, she was
informed that Smith was dead. Sometime after,
Pocahontas was taken prisoner by Sir Samuel
Argall. Argall hoped to use Pocahontas as
abargaining chip with her father Powhatan in
effort to get English prisoners returned. During
her captivity, she decided to become a Christian,
taking the name “Rebecca” when she was
baptized. A year later, she married John Rolfe.
She made a visit to London, where he met his
friend John Smith after eight long years and it
was their last meeting.
18. Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal
In 1612, a teenage girl, Arjumand Banu, married
15-year-old Shah Jahan , ruler of the Mughal
Empire. Renamed Mumtaz Mahal, she bore Shah
Jahan 14 children and became his favorite wife.
After Mumtaz died in 1629, the grieving emperor
resolved to create a fitting monument. It took
20,000 workers and 1,000 elephants nearly 20
years to complete this monument - the Taj
Mahal. Shah Jahan was never able to complete a
black marble mausoleum he planned for himself.
Deposed by his son, Shah Jahan was imprisoned
in the Red Fort of Agra, and spent lonely hours
staring across the Jamuna River at the
monument to his beloved queen. He was
eventually buried beside her in the Taj Mahal.
19. Marie and Pierre Curie
This is a story about partners in love and
science. Unable to continue her studies in Poland
because universities did not admit women, Maria
Sklodowska Curie traveled to Paris in 1891 to
attend the Sorbonne. Known by the French
"Marie," she spent every spare hour reading in the
library or in the laboratory. The industrious
student caught the eye of Pierre Curie, director
one of the laboratories where Marie worked. Curie
ardently wooed Marie and made several marriage
proposals. They were finally married in 1895 and
began their famous partnership. In 1898 they
discovered polonium and radium. The Curies and
scientist Henri Becquerel won a Nobel Prize for
Physics in 1903 for discovering radioactivity.
When Curie died in 1904, Marie pledged to carry
on their work. She took his place at the Sorbonne,
becoming the school's first female teacher. In
1911 she became the first person to win a second
Nobel Prize, this time for chemistry. She
continued to experiment and lecture until her
death of leukemia in 1934, driven by the memory
of the man she loved.
20. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
This love story is about English royalty who
mourned her husband's death for 40 years.
Victoria was a lively, cheerful girl, fond of drawing
and painting. She ascended the throne of England
in 1837 after the death of her uncle, King William
IV. In 1840, she married her first cousin, Prince
Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. While at first Prince
Albert was unpopular in some circles because he
was German, he came to be admired for his
honesty, diligence, and his devotion to his family.
The couple had nine children. Victoria loved her
husband deeply. She relied on his advice in
matters of state, especially in diplomacy. When
Albert died in 1861, Victoria was devastated. She
did not appear in public for three years. Her
extended seclusion generated considerable public
criticism. Several attempts were made on
Victoria's life. However, under the influence of
Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, Victoria resumed
public life, opening Parliament in 1866. But
Victoria never stopped mourning her beloved
prince, wearing black until her death in 1901.
During her reign, the longest in English history,
Britain became a world power on which "the sun
never set."