Valentine’s Day is a time for romance, but what if you’re struggling to find the right words to express your affection?
We’ve compiled nearly 40 of the best romantic lines from some of history’s greatest poets, from the Sonnets of Shakespeare, to contemporary writers like Margaret Atwood.
Write one of these in your Valentine’s card, and you’ll have that special someone swooning in no time (maybe).
Here are the 37 of the most romantic quotes from history’s great poets:
“Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom.” – William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116
“I would like to be the air that inhabits you for a moment only. I would like to be that unnoticed and that necessary.” – Margaret Atwood, Variations on the Word Sleep
“With the earth and the sky and the water, remade, like a casket of gold. For my dreams of your image that blossoms a rose in the deeps of my heart.” – W.B. Yeats, The Rose in the Deeps of His Heart
“This feeling is like a wonderful sting. I want this feeling to hold me captive. I wouldn’t give this up, not even for all four seasons to be spring.” – David P. Leverett, A Wonderful Sting
“You are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing.” – E.E. Cummings, I Carry Your Heart With Me
“Clasp me close in your warm young arms, while the pale stars shine above, and we’ll live our whole young lives away in the joys of a living love.” – Ella Wheeler Wilcox, I Love You
“Be with me, darling, early and late.” – John Frederick Nims, Love Poem
“The hours after you are gone are so leaden they will always start dragging too soon.” – Samuel Beckett, Cascando
“Love allows us to walk in the sweet music of our particular heart.” – Jack Gilbert, The Great Fires
“Drink to me only with thine eyes, And I will pledge with mine; Or leave a kiss but in the cup, And I’ll not look for wine.” – Ben Jonson, Song: To Celia
“I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.” – W.B. Yeats, Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
“I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach.” – Elizabeth Barrett Browning, How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways…
“I have to tell you, there are times when the sun strikes me like a gong, and I remember everything, even your ears.” – Dorothea Grossman, I Have to Tell You
“I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.” – Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sonnets From the Portuguese 43
“And the sunlight clasps the earth, And the moonbeams kiss the sea – What are all these kissings worth if thou kiss not me?” Percy Bysshe Shelley, Love’s Philosophy
“Love at the lips was touch as sweet as I could bear; And once that seemed too much; I lived on air.” – Robert Frost, To Earthward
“I dreamed you bewitched me into bed and sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.” – Sylvia Plath, Mad Girl’s Love Song
“If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving be me.” – W.H. Auden, The More Loving One
“Come live with me, and be my love, and we will some new pleasures prove.” – John Donne, The Bait
“Take, oh, take those lips away That so sweetly were forsworn And those eyes, like break of day, Lights that do mislead the morn; But my kisses bring again, Seals of love, though sealed in vain.” – John Fletcher, Take, Oh, Take Those Lips Away
“Oh plunge me deep in love – put out my senses, leave me deaf and blind, swept by the tempest of your love, a taper in a rushing wind.” Sara Teasdale, I Am Not Yours
“Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime, nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.” – John Donne, The Sun Rising
“Her gesture, motion, and her smiles. Her wit, her voice my heart beguiles. Beguiles my heart, I know not why. And yet, I’ll love her till I die.” – Thomas Ford, There Is a Lady Sweet and Kind
“Love is… an ever-fixed mark, that looks on tempests and is never shaken.” – William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116
“Then while we live, in love let’s so persevere, that when we live no more, we may live ever.” – Anne Bradstreet, To My Dear and Loving Husband
“If certain, when this life was out, That yours and mine should be, I’d toss it yonder like a rind, And taste eternity.” – Emily Dickinson, If You Were Coming in the Fall
“O, my luve’s like a red, red rose, That’s newly sprung in June.” – Robert Burns, My Luve Is Like A Red Red Rose
“I wish I could remember the first day. First hour, first moment of your meeting me; If bright or dim the season it might be; Summer or winter for aught I can say. So, unrecorded did it slip away. So blind was I to see and to forsee. So dull to mark the budding of my tree. That would not blossom, yet, for many a May.” – Christina Rossetti, The First Day
“Trees and seas have flown away, I call it loving you.” – Reginald Shepherd, You, Therefore
“It well may be that in a difficult hour, Pinned down by pain and moaning for release, Or nagged by want past resolution’s power, I might be driven to sell your love for peace, Or trade the memory of this night for food. It well may be. I do not think I would.” – Edna St. Vincent Millay, Love Is Not All
“Her voice is low and sweet, and she’s all the world to me. And for bonnie Annie Laurie, I’d lay me down and die.” – William Douglas, Annie Laurie
“Love seeketh not itself to please, Nor for itself hath any care; But for another gives its ease, And builds a Heaven in Hell’s despair.” – William Blake, The Clod And The Pebble
“Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.” – Khalil Gibran, Love One Another
“You open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens (touching skilfully, mysteriously) her first rose.” – E.E. Cummings, Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond
“All I ever wanted was to sit by a fire with someone who wanted me in measure the same to my wanting. To want to make a fire with someone, with you, was all.” – Katie Ford, All I Ever Wanted
“This poem is endless, the odds against us are endless, our chances of being alive together statistically nonexistent; still we have made it.” – Lisel Mueller, Alive Together
“Beauty and Love are as body and soul. Beauty is the mine, Love is the diamond.” – Rumi, All Through Eternity
Insights, advice, suggestions, feedback and comments from experts
As an expert in the realm of love and romance, I bring to you a wealth of knowledge and understanding on the topic. With a deep appreciation for the poetic arts, I have delved into the works of some of history's greatest poets, gathering a collection of nearly 40 romantic lines that will surely ignite the flames of passion in your Valentine's card.
From the timeless Sonnets of Shakespeare to the contemporary brilliance of Margaret Atwood, these quotes encompass the essence of love in all its forms. Allow me to share with you some insight into the concepts used by these poets in their evocative words:
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Love's Timelessness: Love is an eternal force that transcends the constraints of time. Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 proclaims that true love remains steadfast, even in the face of adversity.
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Unseen but Necessary Love: Margaret Atwood's Variations on the Word Sleep speaks of a love that is both unnoticed and indispensable, like the very air we breathe.
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Love as a Dream: W.B. Yeats paints a vivid picture of love as a dream, a rose blossoming deep within the heart in The Rose in the Deeps of His Heart.
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Intense Passion: David P. Leverett's A Wonderful Sting encapsulates the exhilarating feeling of love, a sensation that captivates and holds us captive, never to be relinquished.
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Soulful Connection: E.E. Cummings beautifully expresses the profound bond between two souls in I Carry Your Heart With Me, where love encompasses the sun and the moon.
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Enduring Love: Ella Wheeler Wilcox's I Love You celebrates the joys of a living love, where two hearts find solace in each other's warm embrace.
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Devotion and Longing: John Frederick Nims' Love Poem expresses a deep longing to be with one's beloved, yearning for their presence both early and late.
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The Weight of Absence: Samuel Beckett's Cascando poignantly captures the heaviness that lingers after a loved one departs, where time seems to stretch endlessly.
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Love's Song: Jack Gilbert's The Great Fires celebrates the unique rhythm and melody of love, allowing us to walk to the sweet music of our own hearts.
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Symbolic Gestures: Ben Jonson's Song: To Celia speaks of the power of a kiss, where a mere touch or a stolen kiss holds more allure than the finest wine.
These are just a few examples of the rich tapestry of emotions woven by these poets. Each quote holds its own meaning and significance, offering a glimpse into the vast landscape of love. Choose one of these lines to capture the essence of your affection, and watch as your special someone is swept away by the beauty of your words. Love knows no bounds, and through the power of poetry, you can create a lasting impression that will leave them swooning.
