worth exploring, and they are willing to carry this person way from darkness. The other reason that this poem should be valued is because of Atwood’s use of the elements. The imagery of the poem moves from water (“smooth dark wave”) to earth (forest, cave) to water again (“become the boat that would row you”) to fire (“a flame in two cupped hands”) then finally, air (“I would like to be the air that inhabits you”). The poem “Variations of the Word Sleep” is an excellent example of Atwood’s talent for revealing feelings of separations and also for showing the romance in giving up ones’ own identity for the sake of love. This theme is not typical to what the public would consider ruthlessly feminist, but Atwood’s writings redefine the realms of what women desire and deserve in love.The next poem that this paper will discuss is the poem “Variations on the Word Love.” This poem is similar to “Variations on the Word Sleep” in the sense that the idea of love evolves from a simplistic, shallow relationship to realm of love that explores new meanings of human connection and consciousness. The first stanza even seems to be a mockery of the idea of love, because Atwood’s words ring of cynicism: “This is a word we use to plug/ holes with. It’s the right size for those warm/ blanks in speech, for those red heart/ shaped vacancies on the page that look nothing / like real hearts. Add lace/ and you can sell/ it.” (802). This poem, at least initially, seems to fit Atwood’s reputation as a staunch “feminist” better than the latter poem, in the sense of “feminism” as a movement which rejects love and men and all things traditional. Atwood’s first few lines reduce the word “love” to an object of convenience. Her words are highly discouraging, as “love” i...
