Lonely Hearts by Wendy Cope

The poem Lonely Hearts by Wendy Cope is a poem composed of multiple people looking for someone to love. There is a great deal of repetitive lines and themes throughout the entire poem. One of these themes actually results in irony. Each of the people who make a statement about the type of person they are looking for ends their statement similar to, "Can someone make my simple wish come true?" (line 6). Each of these entries describes a perfect person in their eyes and how they want a specific person. These people are picky and have high standards, and yet they state that they are making a simple request. This is an example of irony because their requests or wishes are not simple if they are going to narrow down the type of person they are looking for. These statements are also ironic because, according to most of the entries, they all live in close proximity and are looking for someone to love them. Rather than looking for a specific person, they should be looking for each other. This poem serves to show that humans search and require love, but look in the wrong direction for love.