You Know About Love At First Sight Literature, Music & Movies

Love at first sight is a personal experience and a common trope in literature in which a person, character, or speaker feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger on the first sight of them. Described by poets and critics from the Greek world on, it has become one of the most powerful tropes in Western fiction.

In the classical world, the phenomenon of "love at first sight" was understood within the context of a more general conception of passionate love, a kind of madness or, as the Greeks put it, theia mania ("madness from the gods").

Literature:

• The Elegy of Lady Fiammetta (c.1345) by Giovanni Boccaccio, describes the ravages of love at first sight on a woman.
• Orlando Innamorato (1486) by Boiardo, the first sight of the beautiful princess Angelica.
• Jerusalem Delivered (1581) by Torquato Tasso, the witch Armida enchants the knights that perceive them.
• Romeo and Juliet (c.1595), by William Shakespeare, Romeo falls in love with Juliet when he first sees her.
• Les Misérables (1862) by Victor Hugo, the characters Marius Pontmercy and Cosette fall in love after glancing into each other's eyes.

Popular songs:

• (1949) "Some Enchanted Evening" by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II
• (1967) "With a Little Help From My Friends" by The Beatles, has the lyric: "Would you believe in a love at first sight? Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time."
• (1969) The first hit instrumental cover of Serge Gainsbourg's song Je t'aime... moi non plus (commonly banned due to its sexual lyrical content) used the title "Love at first sight." This instrumental cover was a Top 20 hit and the recording artist was a British group named Sounds Nice (the group's name actually represents the two words Paul McCartney said when he heard this instrumental cover of the song.)
• (1991) "Love at First Sight" by Styx.
• (2001) "Love at First Sight" by Kylie Minogue describes this phenomenon.
• (2004) In the chart-topping music video for Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved", the young man (lead singer Adam Levine) falls in love with the socialite mother (Kelly Preston) of his girlfriend at first sight; lyrically, the verse describes his seeing the woman for the first time, "Beauty queen of only eighteen/she had some trouble with her self".
• (2006) "Get Together" by Madonna, has a line asking "Do you believe in love at first sight?" and then she answers "It's an illusion/I don't care", since the subject of the song falls in love at the first sight, and she doesn't care if her lover believes it or not.
• (2006) "Good Directions" by Billy Currington describes love at first sight.
• (2010) "As She's Walking Away" by the Zac Brown Band describes a man who fell in love with a woman at first sight.

Movies:

• Cinderella (1950), by Disney, when the prince first sees Cinderella he falls instantly in love with her.
• Love at First Bite (1950), The Three Stooges reminisce about meeting their fiancees.
• In West Side Story (1961), which retells the story of Romeo and Juliet (above), Tony and Maria fall in love the moment they set eyes on one another at the dance.
• The Godfather (1972), Michael gets "hit by the thunderbolt" when he first sees Apollonia.
• Love at First Bite (1979), the vampire Dracula pursues fashion model Cindy Sondheim, whom he thinks is a reincarnation of his true love.
• Somewhere in Time (1980), Richard Collier falls in love with Elise McKenna when he sees a picture of her in the Grand Hotel's museum.
• Scarface (1983), when Tony first sees beautiful Elvira on the elevator he instantly falls in love with her.
• At Close Range (1986), when Brad Whitewood, Jr And Terry first see each other they instantly fall for one another.
• Wings of Desire (1987), the angel Damiel falls in love with circus performer Marion as he watches her on the trapeze. Marion falls in love with Damiel when she first sees him in her dream.
• The Little Mermaid (1989), when Princess Ariel first lays eyes on Prince Eric she instantly falls in love with him.
• Edward Scissorhands (1990), Edward fell in love with Kim when he first saw her in a photograph.
• Aladdin (1992), when Aladdin sees Jasmine for the first time at the marketplace.
• Dumb and Dumber (1994) Lloyd falls in love with Mary after she opens the door to him.
• Forrest Gump (1994), Forrest falls in love with Jenny when he sees her for the first time in a school bus.
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) Phoebus falls in love with Esmeralda when he sees her dancing.
• Titanic (1997) Jack falls in love with Rose when he first sees her.
• 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Cameron falls in love with Bianca the first time he sees her, although she doesn't see him.
• Down to You (2000), when Al first sets eyes on Imogen he falls in love with her instantly.
• Head Over Heels (2001), when Amanda first sees Jim she falls head over heels in love with him.
• Big Fish (2003), Edward Bloom falls in love with Sandra Templeton the first time he sees her, although she doesn't reciprocate his love until he's hunted her down three years later.
• Just Married (2003), when Tom And Sarah first see each other on the beach they fall in love and get married.
• Secondhand Lions (2003), after Hub and Jasmine crash into the Mediterranean on their horses, they look into each other's eyes and as Garth said "It was, plain as day, Love... at first sight."
• A Cinderella Story (2004), Austin falls in love with Sam when he looks into her eyes.
• 50 First Dates (2004 film), Henry Roth falls in love at first sight with Lucy Whitmore, a woman with permanent short-term memory loss, while at a café.
• Mean Girls (2004), when Cady first sees Aaron in math class she instantly falls in love with him.
• The Notebook (2004), Noah falls in love with Allie at a carnival upon seeing her for the first time.
• Raise Your Voice (2004), Englebert 'Kiwi' Wilson Falls in love at first sight with Sloane, even though she ignores his advances for most of the film.
• August Rush (2007), when Louis meets Lyla on the top of a building, he fell in love with her instantly.
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), when Anthony First sees Johanna singing at her room window he falls madly in love with her.
• Twilight (2008), when Bella first sets eyes on Edward she instantly falls in love with him.
• WALL-E (2008), WALL-E falls in love with EVE at first sight, as do two members of the Axiom ship John and Mary.
• (500) Days of Summer (2009), when Tom sees Summer for the first time at work.
• April Showers (2009), Sean falls in love with April when they first meet.
• Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), Scott Pilgrim falls in love with Ramona Flowers in a dream he has.
• Hotel Transylvania (2012), Dracula's daughter Mavis and the human Jonathan fall in love when their eyes meet. Dracula and Mavis' mother Martha also fell in love at first sight. They refer to it as a "zing".
• Mirror, Mirror (2012), when Snow White and Prince Alcott meet for the first time in the forest.
• Despicable Me 2 (2013), when Margo meets Antonio Pérez and is swept off her feet at the Paradise Mall.
• Magic in the Moonlight (2014), when Howard meet Sophie he falls in love with her instantly but, not recognizing the feeling, realizes it only when it's almost too late.