Preview

Analysis of the Poem "Variations on the Word Love"

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
481 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analysis of the Poem "Variations on the Word Love"
_Analysis of the Poem "Variations on the Word Love"_

The writer of the poem Margaret Atwood was born in November 18, 1939 in

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She is not only a poet, but also a novelist, a literary critic,

an essayist and an environmental activist. And she is an excellent writer, a winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Prince of Asturias award for Literature. Her genres of writing include historical fiction, speculative fiction, science fiction, and dystopian fiction.

The theme of the poem "Variations on the Word Love" by Margaret Atwood

is that there is a wide range of types of love that are expressed differently. The poem mainly composes of two parts. Firstly, she explores the word "love" and how widely it is nowadays used. And secondly, Atood related her own personal experience about love. In the first stanza, Atwood described the commercial side of love, making "love" seem insignificant. An example would be one of her line: "for those red heart-shaped vacancies on the page that look nothing like real hearts." This line shows that how commonly that the symbol of love is used in commercial ways, thus depreciating the value of love. Later in the poem, Atood also described the patriotic feeling that soldiers in the battle fights upon in the line "they shout it. Love! Love! Sing the soldiers, raising their glittering knives in salute. This shows that there are other types of love exist beside the romantic ones. As well in the last stanza, Atood explored her relationship with her husband within the topic of the deep connection they shared with each other. Through the poem, Atwood had revealed several forms of love, and how love can take on different meanings. She portrayed the theme effectively through her outstanding writing.

Many poetic devices were used in the poem include enjambment, repetition, and imagery. Enjambment is used throughout the whole poem. For example, in the last line, Atwood used line breaks abruptly and meaningfully to emphasize

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Poetry Analysis Essay

    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Poetry arouses great emotions in people. How have four poems “aroused emotions” in you? What have you learnt about war and the emotions associated with it?…

    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    She is a human rights activist with numerous awards for her writing including the title “One of the most Important Writers of the 20th Century” by Reader’s Digest. She has written 13 books and won the National Book Prize of South Africa, American Library Association Award, and is an author on Oprah’s book list. Who is this marvelous writer? Her name is Barbara Kingsolver. In her first book, The Bean Trees, her life and political views are greatly displayed throughout her writing and her choice of themes.…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Originally she preferred pseudonyms but changed to poetry because of her growing reputation. The poetry she writes is deeply personal and presents a strong sense of identity; she also presents unusual perspectives on everyday experiences and relationships.…

    • 1274 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eileen Goudge's Novels

    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages

    She is someone who hears what people tell her, and then puts it in one of her novels. Her writing is what funded her and her family's life while she was married a few times, a single mother, and moving to New York. Throughout all of that,…

    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Patricia Young Analysis

    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages

    writer or residence at multiple universities. She received the arc poem of the year award in 2009 and…

    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the poem “Sweethearts,” by Allen Branden he describes the feelings of a young couple who have to sneak out to find time to spend with each other. The line, “Through the pale statuary and falling leaves” (2) gives the poem a setting of being in a cemetery in the autumn. Their love is so strong that they never want to be apart. The speaker is a man who is telling a story about a relationship that he was in as a teenager; he is not speaking to anyone unparticular. Through diction, symbols and tone the author explains how young love can be confusing, misunderstood, and full of emotion.…

    • 1606 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gwen Harwood- life

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages

    - critical of academics, not a social or political activist. Refers to her poetry as a “private project”…

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The most interesting poetic device found in the poem was the use of extended metaphor. It is evident in lines three to ten:…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poem can be read two ways: either left to right OR left hand side and then the right hand side. [Please look in your anthologies for the actual layout]…

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “The beginning of the feminist movement in the 1960s changed her attitude toward a self-destructive mindset that she later labeled a "post-Romantic collective delusion” (“The Handmaid’s Tale”).…

    • 1190 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    She is a specialist in public law and feminist issues. She is the author of several books and articles.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    She shined a light on issues no one ever wants to talk about. I learned things I never knew in those shorts minutes that she spoke. Her astonishing work examines an endless cycle of war and violence. I really loved hearing the poem where she had lifted the words and phrases she had lifted from the Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. She exposes the euphemisms spoken in that book in order to sugar coat the language, control its effects on people, and justify their actions. My eyes were tearing up when resided her poem on what if she wrote a letter to the prisoner held at Guantanamo bay. It was so powerful to here and it’s something I had never thought about so for her to sit down and say I want to write a poem about this issue is really amazing. I had a chance to talk to her after the poetry readings and she is very intelligent, kind, and humble about her work. I really loved listening to the poetry readings and hope to attend the next one held at UC…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mary Oliver was born September 10, 1935 in Maple Hieghts, Ohio, to Helen and Edward Oliver. She grew up in a pastoral enviorment. There, she developed a strong relationship with which is her most wrote about subject, the natural world. Mary was influenced by William Blake and Walt Whitham. She was also inluenced greatly by Edna St. Vincent Millay. So influenced that when she passed away, Mary wrote a letter to her sister requesting she visit Edna's home. Her influence can be read and felt throughout her poetry. Mary, like…

    • 474 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poem Analysis

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The text that I will be analyzing is a poem by Lorna Crozier called The Child Who Walks Backwards. Throughout my analysis I will look into parental abuse, underlying meanings in the lines in the poetry, as well as connections I can make personally to the book. I think it is also important that I bring forth essential messages in the words and statements of the poem. The main theme I will choose to focus on is that abuse does not only happen at school or back alleys, but that it happens in homes as well.…

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Maya Angelou

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Maya Angelou has dedicated her life to end prejudices faced by many black females in the 20th century. As an author, poet, and entertainer, she is known best for her strong portrayal of African-American women. Some of her most outstanding work is the series of autobiographies that she wrote telling about her childhood. Her work has contributed immensely to Americans everywhere.…

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics