Variations on the Word Love
Poet: Margaret Atwood
Variations on the Word love describes 'love' and all the variations on this singular word. It shows that the fantasized description of Love isn't always what it is made out to be. It's also about the experience of love, and how it doesn't always run smooth. Examples of this include; in stanza 1 "This is a word we use to plug holes with" Showing how love as a word can be used carelessley and used to fill blanks in without as much meaning.
The themes and purposes of the poem is romance and to describe and reflect on love. It shows how overrated it is, and also how it can be good and can be the cause of many things that humans undertake in "..You can cook with it too" one of the few examples given, of how someone can cook with love and passion, and that love is not always related to being with somebody, "It's a single vowel in this metallic scilence"
There are many contradicting emotions protrayed during this poem. They include reflectiveness "Then there's the two of us." Spitefulness "is a word we use to plug holes with". Confusion"..that comes with no instructions" Regret and fear "It's not love we dont wish to fall into, but that fear" and ultimatums "you can hold on or let go."
This peice is a freeverse peom. It uses Peresonal Pronouns and enjabment to create imagery. Atwood has a great vocabulary throughout this poem. She has excellent word choice in using "vacancies" instead of spaces, 'debauncheries' 'glittering' 'deep bare vacuums between the stars' which makes the space seem much more magnatising and grander than it actually is; and 'it's a single vowel in this metallic silence" which also creaters imagery. By choosing her words carefully (as discussed previously) the poet has been able to sucessfully portray imagery into the readers head. There weren't many poetic techniques used during this poem, but some possible examples of personification - 'This is a word we use to plug holes with" as you cant really plug a hole with love, let alone the word. This poem was read in 2/4 time, although it doesn't carry much rhythm, repetition or rhyme, though there was one example of repetition "Love, Love". This poem does use assonance though, for greater emphasis and effect on the phrases it's matched with. Atwood has used Peresonal pro-nouns through the whole poem which capture the readers interest and mind, to form imagery and more realistic emotions as the poem is beleived to be directed at them.
Overall this poem was not able to udentufy and show it's purpose or any of the techniques discussed above openly and without evaluation. The impact of this piece was confusing, love, boring, lame and extremely lousy. It was felt that this poem - had it been structured differently could have triggered more posotive remarks.
:) Did you like it? For those of you who dont know ... SPECS and SLIMS are a form of poetry analysis
S- subject matter
P- purpose
E- emotion
C- craftsman ship (go to slims now)
S- summary
S- structure
L- language
I- Imagery
M- movement
S- sound
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