Lonely Hearts
Wendy Cope

The stanza's in this poem are structured to be like ads for a companion in a newspaper. Each one is an ad for a different type of person. The ads themselves are reminiscent of a stereotypical eHarmony ad. This represents the struggles of finding someone to love.  Each person's ad asks for someone different with different characteristics. However, two lines in the poem repeat: "Do you live in North London? Is it you?" and "Can someone make my simple wish come true?" The stanza's with the first line are asking for a person with specific characteristics. These ads are more practical as is suggested by asking if the person is in the specific area of North London. Meanwhile, in the ads with the second line, the person is describing themselves with the hope that someone will find their characteristics appealing. These ads are more hopeful and pleading than the others.