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‘Flowers’ by Wendy Cope – Poetry Analysis, Interpretation, and Discussion

What does the poem ‘Flowers’ by Wendy Cope actually mean? Is it a light-hearted and positive poem or does it have dark and negative connotations to it? Perhaps both?  ‘Flowers’ by Wendy Cope is a bittersweet poem about intentions, inaction, and the memory of love. It says that thought without action isn ’t meaningless, nor is it meaningful enough  –  it reflects a darker aspect of us that we oft hide with good intentions. ( Young Man with A Flower Behind His Ear , Paul Gauguin, 1891) ‘Flowers ’ is a bitter-sweet poem in the truest of senses: on one side of the coin, Cope’s ex-lover cared enough to want to do an act of love for her (bringing flowers); on the other side of it, he never actually goes through with it.  To show the same within the poem, the  ‘ sweet ’  aspects are in bold, and the  ‘ bitter ’  parts of the poem are in italics. As follows, Flowers , Wendy Cope Cope, Wendy; ‘Flowers,’  Serious Concerns , Page 4; London: Faber and Fa...

‘Flowers’ by Wendy Cope – Poetry Analysis, Interpretation, and Discussion

What does the poem ‘Flowers’ by Wendy Cope actually mean? Is it a light-hearted and positive poem or does it have dark and negative connotations to it? Perhaps both?  ‘Flowers’ by Wendy Cope is a bittersweet poem about intentions, inaction, and the memory of love. It says that thought without action isn ’t meaningless, nor is it meaningful enough  –  it reflects a darker aspect of us that we oft hide with good intentions. ( Young Man with A Flower Behind His Ear , Paul Gauguin, 1891) ‘Flowers ’ is a bitter-sweet poem in the truest of senses: on one side of the coin, Cope’s ex-lover cared enough to want to do an act of love for her (bringing flowers); on the other side of it, he never actually goes through with it.  To show the same within the poem, the  ‘ sweet ’  aspects are in bold, and the  ‘ bitter ’  parts of the poem are in italics. As follows, Flowers , Wendy Cope Cope, Wendy; ‘Flowers,’  Serious Concerns , Page 4; London: Faber and Fa...