Romance

Definition

Romance is a narrative genre in literature that involves a mysterious, adventurous, or spiritual story line where the focus is on a quest that involves bravery and strong values, not always a love interest. However, modern definitions of romance also include stories that have a relationship issue as the main focus. 

Etymology

From Old French romanz (“vernacular language (of France)”), from Late Latin rōmānicē, from Latin rōmānicus < rōmānus + -icus.

Examples/Types

a) Gothic

In Gothic romance, the settings are usually in distant regions and the stories feature dark and compelling characters. They became popular in the late 19th century and usually had a sense of transcendence, supernatural, and irrationality

• Dracula

• Frankenstein

• The Woman in White

b) Historical

Historical romance takes place in times long past and appears romantic due to the adventure and wildness of the time. This also provides value and meaning to the lifestyle of the characters

• The Flame and The Flower

c) Contemporary/Modern

Contemporary romance focuses on a love relationship and has a happy ending. There are two ways these romance novels are written: as a series or category romance (the author writes a succession of books that fit a theme or follow a storyline) or as a single-title romance.

Even more so, within the sub-genre romance, and as seen in many movies, there can be:

• comedy-romance - Bridget Jones's Diary

• tragic-romance - The Notebook

• satire-romance - Pride and Prejudice

• serious romance - The Song of Achilles

Playwrights and poets also treat romance with various tones.