But historically, the word romance incorporates a far broader meaning. In medieval times, Romance literature consisted of tales of chivalrous heroes told in epic poetry. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Romance literature became a fictitious narrative describing far away places and events. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the literary movement known as Romanticism grew to embody a vast assortment of novels and stories, often woven into historic contexts and exotic settings. Most agree that Romance literature is a fictional dramatization of characters and stories that stir our passions and awaken our yearnings for those things which are beyond our ability to know or possess.
Romance literature encompasses a broad variety of settings and themes.
A runaway slave in search of freedom, an immigrant family passing through Ellis Island, a Sioux Indian boy coming of age in the era of westward expansion - all constitute romantic plots and themes. All are tales of individuals searching, yearning and striving for a better life. The Holy Scriptures also manifest a romantic quality. They raise the standard of relationship and establish the ideal for living. Calling us upward, they cause us to yearn for that which we cannot fully possess in this earthly life.