Desperate Repetition

In the poem "Lonely Hearts", poet Wendy Cope uses repetition to convey information about the speaker's feelings and the extent of his desire for love. The repeated use of the lines "Do you live in North London? Is it you?" and "Can you make my simple wish come true" (Cope, 973-4) both convey the fact that the speaker is pursuing love intensely. In each stanza, the speaker describes a completely different set of his own characteristics. Then, he follows his description with one of these two lines. The repetition of these lines shows that he is looking for anyone at all to be his lover. He makes as many descriptions about himself as possible in hopes that one will attract someone who will "make his wish come true." He is desperately lonely. Reading this poem reminded me of when a child has been riding in the car with his parents for a very long time. Usually, after a while (or maybe even after no time at all) the child begins to ask the infamous question, "Are we there yet?" over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. The child may not realize how irritating his constant inquiries are because he is too focused and too desperate to be freed from the car when the family arrives at their destination. When one is so desperate for a certain outcome, he asks question after question and pushes until he gets what he wants. Likewise, the lonely lover in this poem does all he can and asks the same questions over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again in hopes that he will find someone to love him in return.