Кохання в літературних творах

LOVE IN LITERATURE

10 FAMOUS

STORIES ABOUT LOVE

PROJECT-BASED LESSON

Love has always had a place in every society and culture since the beginning of time. Love binds people, love binds lives of togetherness, or love may put someone in an overwhelming state of euphoria or break a heart in two. Its power is remarkable. It can change someone forever, or drive him or her to do insane things that are completely out of their character. Love can never die, it lives on eternally in the heart of every man and woman who have been blessed to find someone to love. Literature has also existed for ages. Its power is comparable to that of love. Literature has for centuries changed the views and beliefs of individuals and molded society as well; it is a remarkable power in itself. Love has always been prevalent in literature. For some, feelings of exhilaration or saddening heartache can only be expressed through paper and pen. Writers at one time or another have used life experiences in their writing to express their deep felt emotions, and the dee!

1. Adam & Eve

• The story in the Bible says that God created Adam and Eve who lived happily in the Garden of Eden. God said, “All that you see is for you. But never touch the tree in the middle of the Garden because the day you eat its fruit, you will die.”

• One day a snake told Eve, “God knows that if you eat from that tree, you'll become just like him.” Then Eve ate the apple that the snake offered and picked some more fruit which gave to Adam. As soon as they ate the fruit, they became unhappy and fearful of God. Then God said, “You have disobeyed and eaten the forbidden fruit, now leave the Garden of Eden forever”.

2. Tristan & Isolde

•                                               Tristan, the heroic nephew of King Mark of Cornwall, was sent to Ireland to escort Isolde, the Irish king's daughter to become his uncle's bride.

•                       During the return voyage, Tristan and Isolde accidentally drank a love potion and fell in love.

•                       Isolde's engagement to Mark could not be broken and they became husband and wife although she loved Tristan.

•                       The two lovers spent the rest of their lives trying to satisfy their desire of living together.

3. Romeo & Juliet

• Romeo and Juliet fell in love despite their families’ rivalry. Friar Lawrence married them secretly, but unfortunately, the fights between Montagues and Capulets, two wealthy families from Verona, went on.

• At the same time, the Capulets planned Juliet's marriage to Paris but she did not want to marry him.

Friar Lawrence gave Juliet a sleeping potion to pretend that Juliet was dead and she, then, could run away with Romeo. Unfortunately, Romeo thought that Juliet was really dead so he drank poison and died. When Juliet woke up, she found her lover dead. Then she killed herself.

• When the two families found Romeo and Juliet’s bodies, they made peace with each other.

4.        Don Juan & Doña Ines

The action took place in Seville. Don Juan was a man who took great pleasure in seducing women and enjoyed fighting their men in duels. He bet he could seduce a young novice and a young man’s fiancée. But his defying lifestyle made him run away accused of murder and kidnapping.

In a graveyard, Don Juan saw the statue of the dead father of a girl he had seduced, Doña Ines. The father's ghost invited Don Juan to dine with him in the graveyard. Don Juan accepted. Then, the statue asked to shake Don Juan's hand. When he extended his arm, the statue held and dragged him away to hell. Don Juan prayed to heaven for mercy. Doña Inés and the love she felt for Don Juan saved him from hell.

5.    Aragorn & Arwen

•               This story appears J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Lord of the Rings.
•               It tells the love story of the mortal man Aragorn and the immortal elf-maiden Arwen. Aragorn, who was twenty years old, met Arwen, who was over 2,700 years old, in Rivendell, where he lived under Arwen’s father protection. Aragorn fell in love with Arwen, it was love at first sight.
•               Thirty years later, they declared their love to each other and they committed themselves to marry. Arwen chose a mortal life and promised to love Aragorn for the rest of her life.
•          After the War of the Ring, Aragorn became king and they got married.

6. Superman & Lois Lane

•               This couple's relationship is a love triangle story: Clark was interested in Lois, who was in love with Superman. Although Clark and Superman are the same person, Clark felt he could not compete with Superman for Lois' love. He is his own rival.

• Like Clark Kent, Lois Lane is a reporter for The Daily Planet. Lois was a determined intellectual journalist as Superman.

• Finally, Clark decided to reveal his real identity to Lois and they began a long and complicated engagement.

• At last, after a breakup and several problems, Lois and Clark got married.

7. Penelope & Odysseus

     Penelope is the wife of the king of Ithaca, Odysseus (Ulysses in Roman mythology).

     Odysseus was called to fight in the Trojan War; as a result they lived separated for twenty long years before they got together again. War took Odysseus away shortly after his marriage to Penelope.

      He lived lots of amazing adventures and she had some marriage proposals that she always rejected because she always had a hope that Odysseus was still alive.

       Their story makes us remember that true love always succeeds.

8.                Robin Hood & Maid Marion

• Robin Hood was a legendary hero who robbed from the rich (the government and the church) to help the poor and the oppressed. He lived with his band of Merry Men in Sherwood Forest, where they hid from the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Maid Marion, a Norman noblewoman, sometimes a damsel and others a skilful swordswoman, was Robin Hood's true love.

According to the legend, they married in St. Mary's church in Edwinstowe and remained together for the rest of their lives.

9. Marc Anthony & Cleopatra

• Cleopatra VII was the brilliant and beautiful last Pharaoh of Egypt.
• When she saw Marc Anthony, one of the rulers of the Roman Empire, they fell in love almost instantly.
• Back in Rome, Marc Anthony was forced to marry Octavia, the emperor’s sister while he still loved Cleopatra.
• In the battlefield in Actium, he was shocked by the false news of Cleopatra’s death, and he fell on his sword. When Cleopatra learned about Antony's death, she committed suicide by getting herself bitten by a poisonous snake.

10. Lancelot & Guinevere

• Guinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. She had a love affair with Arthur's knight, Sir Lancelot. At first, Guinevere kept Lancelot away from her, but finally, they became lovers.
• They were discovered in Guinevere's chamber by King Arthur’s nephew. Sir Lancelot escaped away from the castle, but Guinevere was condemned to burn to death for her adultery. When Sir Lancelot returned to rescue Guinevere, he killed several of King Arthur's knights. Later, King Arthur attacked Lancelot's castle without success.
• Lancelot ended his days as a hermit and Guinevere became a nun at Amesbury where she died.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

1. How did Cleopatra die?

2.           How did Cleopatra die?
3.           How many years were Penelope and Odysseus separated?
4.           In which novel does the Aragorn and Arwen’s story appear?
5.           In which war did Odysseus fight?
6.           Was Juliet a Montague or a Capulet?
7.           What did Don Juan like doing?
8.           What nationality was Tristan?
9.           What newspaper did Lois Lane work for?
10.   What was different between Aragorn and Arwen?
11.   What was Guinevere condemned to?
12.   What was Superman’s alter ego?
13.   When did the Montagues and Capulets make peace with each other?
14.   Which knight did Guinevere fall in love with?
15.   Which Roman ruler married Cleopatra?
16.   Who disobeyed God?
17.   Who represented the statue that held and dragged Don Juan away to hell?
18.   Who was Maid Marion skilful at?
19.   Who was Robin Hood enemy?
20.   Who were expelled from the Garden of Eden?
21.   Why did Tristan and Isolde fall in love?

Which story do these words and names belong to?

1. A love triangle story
2. Adultery
3. Egypt
4. Elf-maiden
5. Journalist
6. King Arthur
7. King Mark of Cornwall
8. Novice seducer
9. Roman Empire
10.      Seville
11.      Sherwood Forest
12.      Sleeping potion
13.      The forbidden fruit
14.      The Garden of Eden
15.      The Irish king's daughter
16.      The king of Ithaca
17.      The Merry Men band
18.      The War of the Ring
19.      Ulysses
20.      Verona