Style and Setting
As with any letter, a love letter could be written in any structure or style. One historically popular method is as a sonnet or other form of poem. William Shakespeare's sonnets are often cited as good examples of how to write emotional themes. Structure and suggestions of love letters have formed the subject of many published books, such as the anthology Love Letters of Great Men. 'After reading hundreds of love letters for her collection The Book of Love Cathy N. Davidson confesses, "The more titles I read, the less I was able to generalize about female versus male ways of loving or expressing that love"'.
After the end of a relationship, returning love letters to the sender or burning them can symbolize the pain felt. In the past, love letters also needed to be returned as a matter of honor: a love letter, particularly from a lady, could be compromising or embarrassing later in life, and the use of 'compromising letters...for blackmailing or other purposes' was a Victorian cliche.
Some stationery companies produce paper and envelopes specifically for love letters. Some of these are scented - 'ground up lavender...a whole new sensory experience in letter reading' - though most people prefer to spray them with their own perfume. This emphasizes, 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.
Read more about this topic: Love Letter
Famous quotes containing the words style and/or setting:
“On the first days, like a piece of music that one will later be mad about, but that one does not yet distinguish, that which I was to love so much in [Bergotte’s] style was not yet clear to me. I could not put down the novel that I was reading, but I thought that I was only interested in the subject, as in the first moments of love when one goes every day to see a woman at some gathering, or some pastime, by the amusements to which one believes to be attracted.”
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922)
“Teaching Black Studies, I find that students are quick to label a black person who has grown up in a predominantly white setting and attended similar schools as “not black enough.” ...Our concept of black experience has been too narrow and constricting.”
—bell hooks (b. c. 1955)