Variations on the Word Love

Variations on the Word Love- Margaret Atwood

The subject of this poem is separated into to two stanzas. The first stanza’s subject is about the different forms love can come in, such as the love for a relative, a friend or a boy. It also shows the different ways that love can be expressed in or through. In the second stanza, the subject is about a relationship, possibly between the persona and her lover. It also shows how the persona loves him so much that the word “love” does not express the amount of compassion that she has for him.
The purpose of the poem is to make the reader more aware of where both the emotion and word love are occurring in and around our lives whether that is the love felt by people or the love or commitment shown by a female gorilla nursing her young.
As I read the poem, I felt an emotion of happiness “add lace and you can sell it” because receiving a card perhaps on valentine’s day would make one very happy. I also felt warmth “and you can cook with it too” as it reminds me of how mum or nanny makes me lovely dinners and all my relatives come and we eat together. Another emotion felt when reading this poem is tenderness “as for the weed-seedlings nosing their tough snouts up among the lettuces, they shout it”- when I read , it reminds me of a little seed being nurtured since the beginning which has been raised until it grows up and is old enough to feel love.
The structure of this poem is a free verse containing two stanzas.
The words that the poet uses often give you a vivid image of the word depending on the context it is in. Such as “Love! Love! sing the soldiers, raising their glittering knives in salute”- this gives you an image of soldiers at a wharf, finally leaving the war, raising their swords (glittering knives) and symbolising the fact that they are finally going home and seeing their loved ones.
In this poem, there are no striking examples of personification or similar that may affect the way that the reader interprets the poem. There are many uses of personal pronouns that make the poem effective such as, “then there’s the two of us” and, “it’s a word we use to plug holes with”. These examples are in two different contexts as the first example appears to be talking about “us” as in the persona and her partner, whereas the second example appears to be referring to “we” as in the persona as well as the audience.
Although the poem does not contain a particular rhythm or pace, you can find enjambment throughout the poem. It does contain one example of repetition being, “O again and again”. However, I do not think this repetition has much affect on the readers’ interpretation of the poem.
In conclusion, this poem is about love and the different ways and forms it can come in, whether it is between a mother and daughter or a woman and her boyfriend. The poem constantly uses enjambment and also creates various images in your head. The poet has been successful in conveying the meaning of the poem to the reader by use of interesting word choices. The reader could possibly, however, find the meaning of the poem ambiguous.