Can anyone out there give me an analysis of cope's - the orange- on form, storucture and lexical choice.
ellie

At lunchtime I bought a huge orange
The size of it made us all laugh.
I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave -
They got quarters and I had a half.

And that orange it made me so happy,
As ordinary things often do
Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park
This is peace and contentment. It's new.

The rest of the day was quite easy.
I did all my jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I'm glad I exist.


Lexical choice - why particular words were chosen? To read like a nursery rhyme perhaps.

Form & structure - short meter, but anapestic instead of iambic? That is, three feet in lines 1, 2 and 4; four feet in line 3. Yeah, stanza 3, line 3 is missing a foot, and ordinary is pronounced 'ORdinry'. Feminine endings on the odd lines, masculine on the even. Rhymes xbxb.

I copied and pasted from a web link, but I suspect Wendy had 'the jobs on my list' instead of repeating 'my'. I have a copy of Making Tea For Kingsley Amis, but not Serious Concerns, so I can't check it.

Hugh, I too think it's 'the' not 'my': go here -
[www.thermalnoise.net]



Stephen

can anyone out there please post an analysis of Wendy Cope's
"Lonely Hearts"

thank you

In form, it's a villanelle. Look here for a more thorough explanation. [www.uni.edu]

The phrases are pulled from personal ads- perhaps she's hinting that we all need the same thing, love.

pam

Lonely Hearts


Can someone make my simple wish come true?
Male biker seeks female for touring fun.
Do you live in North London? Is it you?

Gay vegetarian whose friends are few,
I'm into music, Shakespeare and the sun.
Can someone make my simple wish come true?

Executive in search of something new -
Perhaps bisexual woman, arty, young.
Do you live in North London? Is it you?

Successful, straight and solvent? I an too -
Attractive Jewish lady with a son.
Can someone make my simple wish come true?

I'm Libran, inexperienced and blue -
Need slim non-smoker, under twenty-one.
Do you live in North London? Is it you?

Please write (with photo) to Box 152
Who knows where it may lead once we've begun?
Can someone make my simple wish come true?
Do you live in North London? Is it you?

Wendy Cope

Thank You Pam, that link was a big help, but I need more help with writing an essay on that poem.

They are representative lonely hearts personal ads from a newspaper. Humo(u)r, doncha know. What kind of analysis do you need? Did you click on Pam's link for the definition of the villanelle form?