"Can someone make my simple wish come true? Is it you?" (Cope, 973).
The villanelle form in which Wendy Cope chose to write "Lonely Hearts" helps create a lonely and empty tone. Additionally, the questions asked at the end of each tercet suggest the search for the person is ongoing. The search for "the one" has resulted in failure various times for these people. The villanelle form allowed Cope to construct the poem in a way so that it appeared like advertisements in a newspaper. There is something ironic in the fact that these people are looking for the one but the one has to meet certain requirements. The ironic aspect of this is that nearly every story ever told about love or friendship gets its happy ending when one person stops forcing others to meet their requirements and starts working on bettering themselves and making themselves more worthy of a great love. This creates this sense that these requests/desperations will result in failure which puts the reader in a melancholy state knowing these wishes will most likely not be fulfilled. At first, I wondered whether or not the location of North London held much significance. The connection it appears is the common association of London with rain and rain with loneliness.
When I first read John Keats' "Bright Star", I initially making a connection between the stars and love. As I read it again, it seems as if he is comparing and contrasting the way the world is viewed. There is great beauty to be seen from a distance, like a star would. From above, the world would appear more calm and quaint than it actually is. "And watching, with eternal lids apart, Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite, The moving waters at their priestlike task Of pure ablution round earth's human shores," (Keats, 792). Though Keats creates such a serene image with this language, he also proclaims the beauty that can experienced on earth as well; this beauty is not strictly visual either. The stability and serenity the perspective of a star offers is tempting, yet it is both unobtainable and unfulfilled. In this poem, Keats, in a way, asks the question of whether people prefer to consistently see beauty and perfection or experience life in a more active, realistic role that is somehow much more fulfilling.
This particular poem reminded me of a song I heard a long time ago on a t.v. show. It takes the same message Keats sends by contrasting perfect beauty with reality.
James Joyce's character of Eveline has extremely clouded judgement. Her childhood was obviously rocky; therefore, she does not have a clear grasp on her own self-worth. When she is offered the chance to escape, it seems a simple decision to make. However, this decision is clouded by the way she has chosen to look back on her life in her moment of nostalgia. With full knowledge of her father's abuse, she chooses to remember the good despite the severity of the bad things that have happened to her. As she recalls the memories of her childhood, she implies a desire to be back in the place which has a significant effect on her decision to not join Frank. However, the life she had as a child cannot be restored. Her mother has passed, and her brother has moved away. The life she longs for no longer exists; she is negligent of the passing of time and how drastically her life has changed since childhood. "Home! She looked around the room, reviewing all tis familiar objects which she had dusted once a week for so many years, wondering where on earth all the dust came from" (James Joyce, 218). The only thing that has remained stable throughout this time has been her father. Her life seems based upon stability in that she recalls components of childhood play like clock-work. On some level, Eveline must find some comfort in this stability which fuels her reason for not joining Frank on the ship.
Alice Munro juxtaposes the characters of Alice Kelling and Edie in multiple ways in her short story. The reader sees their different appearances as it is presented to them through the eyes of Edie. Edie claims there is a lack of youth in her appearance which Edie clearly must have considering her age. Differences between the two characters can also be seen through their relationships with Chris Watters. In her own mind, Edie feels she has a better insight into who Chris is and what he feels; this was highlighted by the fact that Chris Watters character is mainly referred to only by his first name (in Edie's speech and thoughts) while the rest of the characters are referred to by either solely last names or their full name (i.e. The character of Alice is referred to as Alice Kelling throughout the entirety of the short story.). In the story's concluding paragraphs, Edie makes the contrast between Alice and herself evident. "If there were women all through life waiting, and women busy and not waiting, I knew which I had to be. Even though there might be things the second kind of women have to pass up and never know about, it still is better" (Munro, 146). Alice Kelling has spent a considerable amount of time waiting for Chris to at least make a decision about their relationship. She follows him to figure out whether he actually intends to marry her or if he will finally break it off with her. She is the type of woman who waits. Edie decides she cannot be this person and moves on with her life by marrying the mailman.
The villanelle form in which Wendy Cope chose to write "Lonely Hearts" helps create a lonely and empty tone. Additionally, the questions asked at the end of each tercet suggest the search for the person is ongoing. The search for "the one" has resulted in failure various times for these people. The villanelle form allowed Cope to construct the poem in a way so that it appeared like advertisements in a newspaper. There is something ironic in the fact that these people are looking for the one but the one has to meet certain requirements. The ironic aspect of this is that nearly every story ever told about love or friendship gets its happy ending when one person stops forcing others to meet their requirements and starts working on bettering themselves and making themselves more worthy of a great love. This creates this sense that these requests/desperations will result in failure which puts the reader in a melancholy state knowing these wishes will most likely not be fulfilled. At first, I wondered whether or not the location of North London held much significance. The connection it appears is the common association of London with rain and rain with loneliness.
