Lonely Heart
“Lonely Hearts”
“Lonely Hearts” by Wendy Cope is a statement on the disconnectedness and isolation of modern city living. By showing the reader five different people all searching for love, all in the same area of North London, all of whom have different but very basic needs in a love interest, Cope is highlighting the fact that current societal means of meeting ones mate have changed. In addition the use of the villanelle style of closed form poetry gives this the presentation of a Greek chorus. Lonely Hears is a modern poem which with its individual narrators for each verse, followed by a final chorus, which appears to be spoken by all of the narrators, gives the presentation of a Greek chorus (Campbell 66). This pattern adds to the loneliness of each speaker, almost as if they step out of the darkness, state their plea and retire to the shadows. By utilizing this style of narration Cope is highlighting the disconnectedness and loneliness of these urban dwellers, all of who reside in a relatively small area of a large city but are unable to meet people without placing a personal ad. Using the closed form rapid tone and rhythm Cope is following the path of many English poets who use this style of poetry to tell serious stories as well as comic ones. Cope focuses on loneliness and the search for love in several of her poems “Lonely Hearts” and “Bloody Men” focus on the search for and the difficulty of finding love and “Rondeau Redouble” which tells of what happens when one the narrator meets the wrong man. But like so many English poets Cope shows that she understands the darker side of love and loneliness in “Spared” a poem about 9/11. Loneliness and isolation in Metropolitan areas is not a new problem, indeed loneliness anywhere is itself not a modern problem; but with the growing worlds of social media and internet living, people are connecting less one on one. In a research study commissioned by the BBC in 2008, 30% of Londoners classified
“Lonely Hearts” by Wendy Cope is a statement on the disconnectedness and isolation of modern city living. By showing the reader five different people all searching for love, all in the same area of North London, all of whom have different but very basic needs in a love interest, Cope is highlighting the fact that current societal means of meeting ones mate have changed. In addition the use of the villanelle style of closed form poetry gives this the presentation of a Greek chorus. Lonely Hears is a modern poem which with its individual narrators for each verse, followed by a final chorus, which appears to be spoken by all of the narrators, gives the presentation of a Greek chorus (Campbell 66). This pattern adds to the loneliness of each speaker, almost as if they step out of the darkness, state their plea and retire to the shadows. By utilizing this style of narration Cope is highlighting the disconnectedness and loneliness of these urban dwellers, all of who reside in a relatively small area of a large city but are unable to meet people without placing a personal ad. Using the closed form rapid tone and rhythm Cope is following the path of many English poets who use this style of poetry to tell serious stories as well as comic ones. Cope focuses on loneliness and the search for love in several of her poems “Lonely Hearts” and “Bloody Men” focus on the search for and the difficulty of finding love and “Rondeau Redouble” which tells of what happens when one the narrator meets the wrong man. But like so many English poets Cope shows that she understands the darker side of love and loneliness in “Spared” a poem about 9/11. Loneliness and isolation in Metropolitan areas is not a new problem, indeed loneliness anywhere is itself not a modern problem; but with the growing worlds of social media and internet living, people are connecting less one on one. In a research study commissioned by the BBC in 2008, 30% of Londoners classified
Cited: Campbell, Peter A. "Remaking the Chorus: Charles Mee Jr. 'S Orestes 2.0." Comparative Drama 45.2 (2011): 65-79 Cope, Wendy. Two Cures for Love: Selected Poems 1979-2006. Farber, 2008. Print. Cornford, Frances. Poems of To-Day: an Anthology. 1st. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Library, 1997 Finneran, R. J. The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats . 1st ed. Macmillan, 1989. Print. Mendelson, Edward. Selected Poems of W.H. Auden . Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2007 Poe, Edgar Allan. “Raven, The.”Columbia Granger 's World of Poetry Online. 2012.Columbia University Press