The word 'love' has many meanings to describe personal feelings and has been overused as a marketing tool. In Margaret Atwood's poem, "Variations on the Word Love," the author explores the meanings and the different interpretations of the word 'love'. She explains these meanings through symbolism, imagery, and diction. The word 'love' is overused and can be interpreted in numerous ways losing its meaning.
             Symbolism in the poem allows Atwood to explore the many meanings of love by replacing them with different symbols. Atwood describes love as "a word we use to plug holes with" (Lines 1-2). Atwood does not mean plugging real holes like in the ground but plugging a gap in a sentence to express personal feelings or indescribable words. Love is one of these words that are used, "to plug holes with" (Lines 1,2) because it has many interpretations and meanings that fill the gaps of what people are trying to say perfectly. Many people use this word to fill in gaps to express their feelings, which has been repeatedly used to the point that the word 'love' has lost meaning.
             Atwood tries to describe the many ways love is interpreted and used in our society. Her use of imagery to explore what love really means gives the reader a mental picture. She asks, "How do we know it isn't what goes on at the cool debaucheries of slugs under damp pieces of cardboard?" (Line 13-16) This imagery personifies the slugs to be able to have the human emotion of love. Atwood is trying to relay the fact that there are endless amounts of meanings for the word 'love'. By using the metaphor, "a finger grip on a cliffside" (Lines 35-36). Atwood tries to describe the feeling of love but does not specifically say what the feeling of love really is. The true meaning of the word love has lost its effect and that's why it is so hard to explain what one feels since love is interpreted in many different ways.
             The diction used in the poem allows Atwood to express the m...