valentine

• • “Not a red rose or a satin heart.”

  By opening with a negative, Dufly rejects the cliched symbols of love This is effective as it immedialy shows the reader that the poem will not be a traditional love poem and appears as a surprise as the title leads readers to expect something conventional.
• • “It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.”

  The metaphor here compares the onion to a moon. Just as a moon is round and translucent, so too is the onion when the brown skin is peeled away. This is effective as Duffy is showing that the onion has its own beauty like the moon, and it’s not that unusual.
• • “It will blind you with tears like a lover.”

  Just as an onion can make you cry when you cut it, so too love can make you cry when your heart gets broken This is effective as Duffy shows the onion is a truthful symbol of love as love can cause both pain and joy.
• • “It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief.”

  Just as a lover may make you cry and if you looked in the mirror or the image back would be distorted so too cutting an onion may also cause tears. This is effective as it shows that love can be painful. What you will see in the mirror is a picture of the pain love can cause when relationships go wrong.
• • “Possessive and faithful.”

  The word “possessive” has connotations of ownership and controlling. However, the word “faithful” has connotations of honesty and loyalty. This contrast of words demonstrates the two sides of love.This adds to the idea that love is not always as perfect as it seems and can turn into something unloving very quickly but sometimes it can also be a wonderful thing.
• • “Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring.”

  Just as the loops of an onion are round circles, so too is a ring. This suggests that one outcome of love may be marriage. However, with the addition of the word “shrinks” which has connotation of something becoming less, confinement - this adds to the idea that marriage can make a couple feel trapped and may reduce the love and passion between a couple.
• • “Lethal.”

  The word “lethal” has connotations of something deadly, suggesting that love can be dangerous and may harm you. The impact of the word is emphasised by the use of a minor sentence which makes it more blunt and forceful. 
• • “It’s scent will cling to your fingers”

  Just as the smell of an onion is long - lasting and overwhelming so too the pain from heartbreak will stay with an individual for a long time. This is effective as Duffy suggests love is not always wonderful, but can be greatly painful as well.