Words of Love Challenge

I was so delighted by the response to the first “O, JULIET Love Games Giveaway,” not just because so many readers entered, but because everyone who did enter put some real feeling – real heart – into their comments. The question I posed was “What are the qualities in a lover that are most important to you?” The answers ranged from poetic to practical. One woman was hoping for a lover who could sing. The hands-down winners in the qualities department (mentioned the most) were honesty, fidelity and a good sense of humor. There's still one more week for you to enter for the Thai silver necklace.

This week, in order to win the lovely hand-blown glass heart necklace pictured above, I’m going to ask that instead of searching your own heart for gems of wisdom about love and what it means to you, you find your favorite love quotation from literature, poetry or song and share it with me.

No other subject has been written about so frequently in all of our history as love. From biblical times:

“This is my beloved and this is my friend.” Song of Solomon

From ancient times:

“He is not a lover who does not love forever.” Euripides

I open O, JULIET with Shakespeare’s famous quote from “Romeo and Juliet.”

My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.

There are well-known homilies:

“‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” – Alfred Tennyson

Lines from songs:

“All you need is love.” – John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Ones that impart wisdom:

“Absence is to love as wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small and kindles the great.” – Roger de Bussy-Rabutin

“Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young.” – Sir Arthur Pinero

“The first duty of love is to listen.” – Paul Tillich

Ones that are clever:

Love doesn't make the world go 'round; love is what makes the ride worthwhile.”– Franklin P. Jones

“Do you love me because I'm beautiful, 
or am I am beautiful because you love me? – Oscar Hammerstein, II

Ones that are humorous and even cynical:

“Love: a temporary insanity, curable by marriage.” – Ambrose Bierce

“Love is a thing that can never go wrong; And I am Marie of Romania.” – Dorothy Parker,

“Sex without love is an empty experience, but, as empty experiences go, it's one of the best.” – Woody Allen

To enter for the blown glass heart, share a favorite quotation about love. The challenge is that there can be no duplicates! What I’m hoping is that during this process you can experience one of my favorite parts of writing – research. There are countless sites to be googled under “love quotations,” and they’re filled with fabulous wisdom. I had so much fun reading them and choosing my favorites, and I was endlessly surprised. So enjoy this challenge and get a literary education about love.

I’ll also need your email address to complete the entry.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Lots of love,