Trying to pen the perfect Valentine’s Day love letter can be tough, especially when you can’t seem to get any further than “Dear Darling.” Not to fret. We’ve gathered excerpts from the best love letters of all time that can serve as inspiration.
Whether you use the sentiments verbatim or as a jumping off point for writing your own words, the expression of your love may soon flow freely from your pen.
From Ernest Hemingway
“I can’t say how every time I ever put my arms around you I felt that I was home.”
American novelist Ernest Hemingway wrote more than two dozen love letters to actress Marlene Dietrich between 1949 and 1958. Although the letters were flirtatious and intimate, the two were strictly friends.
From John Keats
“My love has made me selfish. I cannot exist without you — I am forgetful of every thing but seeing you again — my Life seems to stop there — I see no further. You have absorb’d me.”
You’d expect Romantic poet John Keats to easily be able to craft one of the best love letters of all time, and he doesn’t disappoint. The above excerpt comes from a letter he penned to his next-door neighbor Fanny Brawne in 1819.
From Jimi Hendrix
“Happiness is within you….so unlock the chains from your heart and let yourself grow—
like the sweet flower you are….
I know the answer—
Just spread your wings and set yourself
FREE.”
Jimi Hendrix displayed extraordinary passion through his guitar, as well as through his pen. The above letter was addressed to “little girl,” and signed “Love to you forever.”
From Juliette Drouet
“I love you because I love you, because it would be impossible for me not to love you. I love without question, with calculation, without reason good or bad, faithfully, with all my heart and soul, and every facility.”
French actress Juliette Drouet abandoned her acting career when she became the mistress of French poet and author Victor Hugo. Their affair began after Hugo was betrayed by his wife, and Drouet became his constant companion for decades.
From Winston Churchill
“I kiss your vision as it rises before my mind. Your dear heart throbs often in my own.”
Winston Churchill was a phenomenal statesman, as well as a gifted writer. In addition to having multiple memorable quotes attributed to his name, he masters the power of words in a 1909 love letter to his wife, Clementine.
From Marilyn Monroe
“I love you till my heart could burst. All I love, all I want, all I need is you—forever.”
Although the marriage between Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio lasted a scant 274 days, she was evidently enamored by the Yankee great when she wrote the words above.
So grab your pen, select your stationery, and let your sentiments flow. No matter who you’re penning your love letter to, PaperDirect has the perfect cards and stationery to house your romantic words.
