What is the forbidden love trope?

Forbidden love is as old as storytelling: feuding houses, class barriers, a priest and a sinner, a mortal and a fae. In queer fiction, especially historical, the barrier is often the law itself, which gives the trope real weight.

Common variations

  • Star-crossed lovers
  • Class divide
  • Mortal and immortal
  • Queer love in a hostile era

What to watch out for

  • Tragedy used only for shock

Classic examples