Lonely Hearts

     Lonely Hearts by Wendy Cope implores many different literary techniques. The most noticeable is her use of rhetorical questions. "Can someone make my simple wish come true? Do you live in North London? Is it You? (Cope, 973). These questions are repeated to show the reader that these are people yearning for companionship. This poem is very clever in the fact that it combines many personal ads to create one poem with a central theme. While seemingly sad and lonely, this poem offers a glimmer of hope. The fact that the address is included shows that these people truly crave a response- and the possibility of them actually finding love. I also found it very interesting that Cope offered such a wide array of personalities- a biker, a gay vegetarian, a librarian. The fact that all of these diverse characters can somehow be put into one poem shows how creative Cope is with her writing and how she speaks to many different audiences. It also adds to the theme of the poem by showing how even though these people are so different- they have one thing in common: a want for love.