Valentine

• "Not a red rose or a satin heart." - Structure of ‘Not’ at the beginning of the line

  Emphasises the speaker’s rejection of traditional, clichéd symbols of love like roses and hearts.
• "I give you an onion." - Short, end stopped, line

  Creates humour and surprise – not the gift you would expect.

  However, it is a personal declaration of love: a gift she believes reflects the truth about love.
• "It promises light like the careful undressing of love." - Extended Metaphor, Simile

  “light” captures the hopefulness and positivity surrounding a new relationship. “undressing” suggests the deepening of an emotional bond as partners strip away the layers of their personality
• "Here." - single word sentence

  The command captures the forceful presentation of the gift. Creates a sense that the recipient is not keen to accept the onion (or their love?)
• "It will blind you with tears like a lover." - extended metaphor, simile

  Highlights the negatives of a relationship. Suggests relationships may cause pain and upset, just as the chopping of an onion can bring

  tears to your eyes.
• "I am trying to be truthful." - single line verse, alliteration

  Emphasise the strength of the speaker’s feeling. She believes truth and honesty to be important in a relationship.
• "Not a cute card or a kissogram"

  juxtaposition between these two lines implies that she does not see

  cute cards and kissograms as truthful, honest declarations of love.
• "Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips, possessive and faithful" - Extended Metaphor, Juxtaposition

  Just as the taste of onion can linger, so too can the memory of a passionate kiss. ‘Possessive’ implies a controlling relationship whereas ‘Faithful’ suggests you choose to stay.
• "Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring, if you like" - Extended Metaphor

  The rings of an onion remind the speaker of a wedding ring – a conventional sign of commitment, but ‘shrink’ implies she views marriage as restrictive. This traditional sign of commitment doesn’t

  seem important to her.
• "Lethal" - single word sentence, powerful adjective

  Reinforces the danger she sees in marriage and the notion of

  death to individuality, when a long-term union is pursued.
• "Its scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife" - Extended Metaphor

  Memory of a deep relationship may last, even long after it has ended. Powerful love is very difficult to forget. “Knife” leaves the reader with a

  closing reminder of love’s potential to wound.