Blog #4

Lonely Hearts by Wendy Cope

In Lonely Hearts by Wendy Cope, the speaker is creating ads in an attempt to find someone who will love them. At this point, it can be assumed that the speaker is rather desperate and lonely, for they do not have any specific standards or type, but is ready to settle for anyone who will love them. The speaker does not care if  this person is, "Successful, straight and solvent," or a "Gay vegetarian whose friends are few," (Cope, 973). The speak just wants someone to relieve them of their lonely heart. The desperation and longing can be seen through the repetition of the phrase, "Do you live in North London? Is it you?," (Cope, 973-974). This refrain found throughout the poem reflects upon the speakers search for love. The speak is constantly asking who will love them, longing for the person who will "make my simple wish come true,"(Cope, 974). I feel that this poem is making the notion that the more desperate a person is for love, the more likely they will settle for just about anyone. The speaker is so fixated on the idea of love, but is completely forgetting the concept of falling in love. Love is not suppose to be about sending out desperate ads to everyone and anyone, but finding the one special person that will come into your life at the right time.