stanza one

• • “Not a red rose or satin heart.”
  • Word choice
  • Shows that Duffy rejects normal romantic gifts, beginning the poem on a negative note.
  • Traditional symbols of love are clichéd, and lack any real meaning.
• • “It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.”
  • Imagery - metaphor
  • The brown skin of the onion covers the white vegetable inside. This brown skin is the wrapping paper of the gift: the white onion inside is the moon.
• • “It promises light“
  • Word choice
  • The moons ‘light,’ represents love. Moonlight often provides a romantic setting.
  • ’Light,’ also represents the truth.
• • “like the careful undressing of love.”
  • Imagery - simile
  • Suggests that the layers of the onion are like the layers of someone‘s personality. The onion represents discovery, stripping away outer layers to reveal the person beneath.
  • “Careful,” suggests tenderness and affection allowing barriers to come down and expose themselves.
  • The peeling of the onion conveys the emotional/ sexual image of undressing.