Valentine

• “Not a red rose or a satin heart.”

  • ‘Red rose’- commonly associated with Valentine’s day, in particular the colour ‘red’ alluding to passion, love and devotion. conventional imagery prepares the reader for her subversion of it which is about to follow.
  • Through placing the end-stopping sentence on its own, Duffy appears to aim to create impact and a lasting message to the reader which undermines conventions straight away.
  • ‘A satin heart’- satin, a silky and luxurious material could also allude to intimacy and sensuality, however also a synthesised and falsified covering of the ‘heart’, illuminating the stereotypical artificial expression of love.
  • In this way, tension and surprise is also created- following the title of ‘Valentine’, the reader would expect images akin to that of a ‘red rose’ or a ‘satin heart’, however the poet’s initial disregard and rejection of these images prepares us for her unconventional expression of love
• “It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief”

  • The adjective “wobbling” could also depict the blurry vision created by tears, this exposes the harsh reality of love which Duffy is trying to imply.
  • “Grief” the noun signifies agony and bereavement caused by love and relationships, this illuminates Duffy’s intentions to ridicule the portrayal of love as being affectionate and joyful through subverting it with the noun “grief”
  • ‘Wobbling’ the adjective seems to suggest instability and uncertainty; both typically experienced within love.
  • While not an attractive portrayal of love, Duffy offers the reality of love to readers. 
  • The shortened word of the noun ‘photo’ could be a reminder of past relationships, a snapshot, this time incorporating sadness and tears, linking to the adjective of ‘wobbling’ 
• “Lethal. Its scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife”

  • Seems to proleptically foreshadow death and suffering. Lethal, meaning sufficient to cause death, Duffy emphasises how love has the potential to doom lovers to death
  • Verb: ’Cling’- appears to have, generally, negative connotations- a possessive, unrelenting and continuous attachment. Duffy could perhaps be suggesting that like the onion’s prolonged scent, love is possessive and controlling
  • Almost synesthetic clinging of the ‘scent’ alludes to both a perfume-idyllic perception of the ‘fierce kiss’ as well as the unpleasant odour of the onion. suggesting that a relationship without both values ‘clinging’ is unachievable.
  • The reference to the ‘knife’ appears to highlight and emphasise the potentially violent and hurtful side of the relationship- however that it is honesty & ‘truthfulness’ that is vital in a relationship which ‘cuts’ through perceptions.