? How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.



I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight.

For the ends of being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of every day's

Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.

I love thee freely, as men strive for right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from praise,

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints---I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death...?

Do you prefer fictional romance to real love? If so, then snuggle up this valentines Day with some seductive love stories, and some immortal love birds, and immerse yourself in literary love...

1: Odysseus and Penelope

The Odyssey,

by Homer

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.

2: Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet,

by William Shakespeare.

Generally perceived as the quintessential romantic couple, Romeo and Juliet are star-crossed lovers, painfully separated by feuding families. In this classic play, Shakespeare asserts that teenagers were just as impulsive and dramatic in the 16th century as they are now. In the tragic ending, the lovers perish in a catastrophic double suicide. So, if you're not in the mood for happy endings this Valentine's Day, dig up the Bard's most famous tale and remind yourself why love stinks.

3: Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

Macbeth,

by William Shakespeare

Proving that femme fatales preceded feminism, Lady Macbeth wields a weighty influence over her infatuated husband. When she urges him to seize the crown by murdering the current king, her infectious ambition takes hold, and the easily manipulated Macbeth takes measures to carry out the treasonous scheme. The wicked pair's connection is made only stronger by their shared secret, but their plans unravel when Lacy Macbeth dies. Left without his partner in crime, Macbeth is weakened, exposed, and killed. This play reminds of us of the infinite power of two - stronger together than apart.

4. Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy

Pride and Prejudice,

by Jane Austen.

If happily-ever-after is your style, then check out Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's version of love in the 1800s. Despite her mother's incessant pleas, the independent and headstrong Lizzy is determined to marry her true love or else be a spinster. Heedless of societal pressures, this feminist protagonist prefers nature to dating and boldly exclaims, "What are young men to rocks and mountains?" In a life bound by etiquette and frivolity, she meets the proud, taciturn, and very wealthy Darcy. The two seem to disagree on just about everything, but an unlikely love blooms from their antagonism. In the end, Lizzy yields her admiration of rocks and mountains to delight in the natural charms of FitzWilliam Darcy.

5: Emma and Knightley

Emma,

by Jane Austen

Austen once remarked that she created Emma as a character that no one would like but herself. Contrary to the author's intentions, and despite Emma's numerous flaws, the character is a most appealing and pleasing young woman. Emma's appeal is particularly noted by her neighbor and brother-in law, Mr. Knightley, who secretly pines for her. Vowing never to marry, Emma is content instead to play matchmaker -- to fruitless and hilarious results. She nonetheless finds herself a surprising and loving mate in her close friend, George Knightley.

6: Jane Eyre and Rochester

Jane Eyre,

by Charlotte Bronte

This is Charlotte Bronte's one of the famous tales, where 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 destroyed Rochester's mansion, killed his wife, Bertha Mason, and left him blind. Love triumphs, and the two reunite and live out their lives in shared bliss.

7. Catherine and Heathcliff

Wuthering Heights,

by Emily Bronte

The howling moors could not drown out the love of childhood sweethearts Catherine and Heathcliff, who manage to continue a paranormal affair even after Catherine's death. Death has not abated Heathcliff's adoration of his beloved, and he begs Catherine's spirit to haunt him always. With an obsession that would warrant a restraining order in today's world, Heathcliff is driven to cruelty by Catherine's demise, and his life is fueled by a preoccupation with revenge on Catherine's widower. In the end, Heathcliff starves himself to death and is buried beside his Catherine. Bronte's bittersweet story affirms that sometimes love can survive death.

8. Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler

Gone with the Wind,

by Margaret Mitchell

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."