Lonely Hearts

Lonely Hearts
Wendy Cope

This was extremely entertaining and one of the most interesting poems we've read so far in class.  The first stanza describes a male biker who is looking for a woman who would be able to accompany him on his adventures.  The second stanza involves a "gay vegetarian" (Cope, page 973) who represents a stereotype in my opinion.  The third presents a boring executive who wants something fun.  This was interesting because we don't often read pieces involving bisexual women...  But anyway, the fourth description is of a single mother who wants her wish to come true as well.  The fifth person is obviously younger than the others and specifies a young, non-smoker.  To wrap up, the last stanza begs a response to the five people and their "personals."  The form of this villanelle is appropriate for the subject matter because real personals are only just a few sentences long and give only the briefest of descriptions.  The repetition of several phrases also contribute to the poem's meaning because personals do often sound similar or repetitive.