Iwas besotted with this girl in my office. My mouth went dry trying to talk to her. So I wrote a tome of a love letter to her, spread over five foolscap sheets, typed double-space. Her reaction was a mere ‘nice’, and when I persisted, she told me to get lost! It left me a crippled shell of a man. I faked a laugh, but the tears were real.
Love letters are defined in the dictionary as ‘a letter expressing romantic love for the recipient’. That someone has taken the time to put down how much they love you, in writing, is amazing. Nothing is better than love. And of course, salt!
It is romantic to express feelings of love in a written form. Delivered by hand, mail, carrier pigeon, or romantically left in a secret location, it may be a short and simple message of love, or a lengthy explanation of feelings.
The history
One of the first love letters in the world, more than 3,500 years ago, is one carried from Rukmini to Krishna by her Brahmin messenger, Sunanda, as mentioned in the Bhagavatha Purana. Ancient Egypt had the royal widow, Ankhesenamun writing a letter to the King of the Hittites, Egypt’s old enemy, beseeching him to ‘send one of your sons to Egypt to marry me’, to the down-to-earth: let me ‘bathe in thy presence, that I may let thee see my beauty in my tunic of finest linen, when it is wet’.
The love letter flourished from the start of the 18th century to the first half of the 20th century. Prior to the rise of telecommunications, letters were one of the few ways for a couple to remain in contact, particularly in wartime: as the ‘being apart’ often intensified emotions. Addresses of desirable young ladies were even swapped by soldiers, so that an initial communication and possible start of a relationship could be initiated. A normal communication sometimes could lead to a letter expressing love, longing and desires.
The coming of the permissive society and the instantaneity of the Information Age, in the second half of the century, made the distanced and nuanced art of the love letter fall somewhat into disrepute. The electronic age notwithstanding, the humble love letter may possibly still play its part in life, even if in new formats.
Letters are preferable to face-to-face contact because they can be written as the thoughts come to the author’s mind. Feelings are more easily expressed than if the writer were in the beloved’s presence. It may be made to an existing love or in the hope of establishing a new relationship; and the increasing rarity and consequent emotional charm of personal mail may also serve to emphasise the emotional importance of the message. A love letter can be written in any structure or style, as a sonnet or other form of poem.
Some stationery companies produce paper and envelopes specifically for love letters, some scented, though most people prefer to spray them with their own perfume. This emphasises, in the receiver’s mind, the physical connection that occurred between them in this form of communication, and thus may strengthen the overall impact of the letter.
The celebrated letters of love
Love letters in modern times can also be extended to not only a lover but also to a friend, parent, child, or other important recipient. Hannah Brencher, founder of ‘The World Needs More Love Letters’, has dedicated her life to showing total strangers that they are not alone in the world.
Among the celebrated love letters are that of Johnny Cash wishing wife, June Carter Cash a happy 65th birthday (1994):
Happy Birthday Princess, We get old and get used to each other. We think alike. We read each other’s minds. We know what the other wants without asking. Sometimes we irritate each other a little bit. Maybe sometimes take each other for granted. But once in a while, like today, I meditate on it and realise how lucky I am to share my life with the greatest woman I ever met.
Winston Churchill tells wife Clementine of his undying love (1935): Time passes swiftly, but is it not joyous to see how great and growing is the treasure we have gathered together, amid the storms and stresses of so many eventful and, to millions, tragic and terrible years?
Napoleon Bonaparte sent his love to Josephine de Beauharnais (1796): Since I left you, I have been constantly depressed. My happiness is to be near you. Incessantly I live over in my memory your caresses, your tears, your affectionate solicitude. The charms of the incomparable Josephine kindle continually a burning and a glowing flame in my heart…. I thought that I loved you months ago, but since my separation from you I feel that I love you a thousand fold more.
Beethoven pens his love for his ‘Immortal Beloved’ whose true identity remains a mystery (1812) : Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, Be calm, love me today, yesterday; Oh continue to love me; never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved. Ever thine. Ever mine. Ever ours.
Alice Mongkongllite gives tips for writing an amazing love letter!
Love letters. Pure, old-fashioned, will never go out of style.
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A. Radhakrishnan
A. Radhakrishnan is a Pune based freelance journalist, poet, short story writer and counsellor, who when not busy on social media, loves to keep people happy.[/column]