Love and Romance

Romance and romantic both derive from the Latin romanice meaning "in the Roman manner". Uses in English vary widely by subject and context. Romantic love is a form of love that is often regarded as different from mere needs driven by sexual desire, or in common term - lust. Romantic love generally involves a mix of emotional and sexual desire, as opposed to platonic live. There is often, initially, more emphasis on the emotions than on physical pleasure.

Romantic love can be returned or unrequited. In the former case, the mutual expressions of love can lead to marriage or to the establishment of a permanent relationship, which in most cases will include passionate sexual love. Where the love is one-sided (unrequited), the result can be damaging to their self- esteem and/or the psychological welfare of the spurned lover.

One aspect of romantic love is the randomness of the encounters which lead to love. In more modern times romantic love has been the theme of art and entertainment in all its forms. Some of the greatest poetry (e.g. Shakespear's works), opera (e.g. la boheme), and literary prose (e.g. Pride and Prejudice) has romantic love as its main theme. Similarly much of more popular culture from theater to film to popular music (pop culture) has romantic love at its heart. However, it has not been without its critics. As above mentioned, though widely believed the romantic love/relationships are unique to Western culture, it can be found in different cultures but in various different forms/styles which Western people would not immediately recognise.

Romance/romantic love have been there for long time outside of Western culture but comes in different forms/styles. Because of the recent globalisation, Western form of romantic love becomes more common and many people identify it as only the form/style of romantic love.

While romantic love as discussed above is a dream of many, some claim that such love as is depicted in books and movies rarely, if ever, occurs. They point to the modern practice of dating, where often the goal is to have sexual intercourse as soon as possible instead of building a lasting relationship. Often, the rigorous demands of careers in the modern world rob people of the time to find such ideal companions, and mental disorders such as social anxiety disorder prevent people from approaching others. In addition, the high prevalence of divorce in western society may be an additional deterrent for individuals seeking long-term, romantic relationships with the possibility of marriage. Yet while romantic love may remain no more than a dream for many, as a dream it is unquestionably a powerful influence on real-world behavior and judgments.

Now, on the other hand, what exactly is love? what is this thing called love? Love is generally a profound feeling of tender affection, or intense attraction. People in love are often considered to have "good" interpersonal chemistry in between ^^. Love is often described as a deep, ineffable feeling shared in passionate or intimate interpersonal relationship. In different contexts, however, the word love has a variety of related but distinct meanings: in addition to romantic love, which is characterized by a mix of emotional and sentimental desire, other forms include platonic love, religious love, familial love, true love and the more casual application of the term to anyone or anything that one considers strongly pleasurable, enjoyable, or desirable, including activities and foods. This diverse range of meanings in a single word is commonly contrasted with the plurality of Greek word for love, reflecting the word's versatility and complexity. Love is a term used to describe the act of having intimate feelings towards a person or to care greatly about that person.

Although clearly and consistently defining love is a difficult task, and often a subject of much debate, different aspects of the word can be clarified by determining what isn't "love." As a general expression of positive sentiment (a stronger form of like), love is commonly contrasted with hate(or neutral apathy); as a less sexual and more "pure" form of romantic attachment, love is commonly contrasted with lust; and as an interpersonal relationship with romantic overtones, love is commonly contrasted with friendship, though other definitions of the word love may be applied to close friendships in certain contexts.

n ordinary use, love usually refers to interpersonal love, an experience felt by a person for another person. Love often involves caring for or identifying with a person or thing, including oneself (Narcissism).

The concept of love, however, is subject to debate. Some deny the existence of love. Others call it a recently-invented abstraction, sometimes dating the "invention" to courtly Europe during or after the middle ages—though this is contradicted by the sizable body of ancient love poetry. Others maintain that love really exists, and is not an abstraction, but is undefinable, being a quantity which is spiritual or metaphysical in nature. Some psychologists maintain that love is the action of lending one's "boundary" or "Self-Esteem" to another. Others attempt to define love by applying the definition to everyday life.

Cultural differences make any universal definition of love difficult to establish. Expressions of love may include the love for a soul or mind, the love of laws and organizations, love for a body, love for nature, love of food, love of money, love for learning, love of power, love of fame, love for the respect of others, etc. Different people place varying degrees of importance on the kinds of love they receive. Love is essentially an abstract concept, easier to experience than to explain. Because of the complex and abstract nature of love, discourse on love is commonly reduced to a thought-terminating cliche.

Though love is considered a positive and desirable aspect of existence, love can cause a great deal of emotional harm. Consider Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Great Expectation and other classical and popular works that enumerate how love can lead to tragedy and emotional pain. In human interactions, love becomes a peril when love is not bilateral, known as Unrequited love. A further peril for individuals that love, or can love others, is that love is not enduring and that many people have psychological defense mechanism inhibit their ability to accept or reciprocate.

Alright now, these are all what i think about love and romance. And if you paid a little bit more attention, you will noticed the key and element of it which itch our human curiosity upon the field of romantic love and intimacy. A love fiction always included the ups and downs of a relationship which then uses it as a bridge to strengthen the connection links between the reader's perception towards love and the novel. Well, to me, i realized that, most people has a fair bit of interest towards unrequited love or a pathway that isn't that common in reality as compared to a smooth, cliche fairy tales. And since i am really devoted in producing a piece of fiction dedicated to romantic love, i sat down, cleared up my mind, and came up with all these. So, please put down some comment and reviews, regarding love and romance.. ^^V