Valentine Quotes and Analysis

• Valentine

  TITLE

  - suggests that this poem will deal with the fairly conventional notions of love with its connotations of flowers, hearts and romance

  - in contrast to the poem
• I give you an onion.

  WORD CHOICE/SENTENCE STRUCTURE

  -Duffy uses a short sentence which is effective as it emphaises how suprising the gift is

  -Throughout the poem, duffy uses the onion as a metaphor for love

  -'I give you' suggests forcefulness and dominance in the relationship
• "It is a moon wrapped in brown paper."

  METAPHOR

  -Duffy uses a metaphor to compare the onion to the moon, which is a traditional symbol of love

  -Moon has romantic connotations, light, everpresent

  -Brown paper can be compared to the outside of an onion. - a moon is round and translucent, so is an onion when peeled

  - Symbol of positivity, found in the beginging of a relationship
• "It promises light"

  WORD CHOICE

  Shows that relationship can be enriching and fulfilling

  Conveys the optimism and hopefulness of lovers embarking on a new relationship.
• like the careful undressing of love.


  SIMILE and WORD CHOICE

  - reference to sexual aspect of their relationship, and the growth of their emotional bond that builds over time.

  -"Careful" suggest tenderness, affection, warmth
• Here.


  SENTENCE STRUCTURE

  Monosyllabic & minor sentence-

  The full stop and solitary stance emphasise the forceful presentation of the gift.
• It will blind you with tears

  like a lover.

  SIMILE

  -Conveys the idea that this relationship may occasionally cause pain and make you cry, just as getting too close to a chopped up onion can bring tears to your eyes.

  -effective as Duffy is showing that the onion is a truthful symbol of love as love can cause both pain as well as joy
• It will make your reflection

  a wobbling photo of grief.

  METAPHOR

  -Duffy uses a metaphor to compare your reflection when an onion makes you cry and when a lover makes you cry

  -Emphasises the vulnerability and danger people expose themselves to when they are in a romantic relationship.

  -face looking back at you will be "Wobbling" b/c your vision will be distorted by tears

  -Love can be both passionate and damaging - Duffy is trying to tell the truth about love using an onion to represent it
• I am trying to be truthful.


  WORD CHOICE

  -Attempting to justify all that has been said so far

  -First person- conveys strength of feeling in their desire for a relationship which is based on honesty
• Not a cute card or a kissogram.

  WORD CHOICE

  -Rejecting more stereotypical gifts.
• I give you an onion.


  REPETITION

  -Repeated line from stanza 2 to stress the speaker's insistence of the gift be accepted

  - Full stop signifies ft being accepted
• Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,

  METAPHOR

  -The lover is attempting to articulate not only the romantic, positive aspects of love but its more negative, darker associations.

  -Compares the intense memories which linger once a relationship ends to the strong taste of an onion
• possessive and faithful


  WORD CHOICE

  Juxtaposition - signals a change in the relationship

  "faithful" - positive connotations of trust

  "possessive" - negative connotations of jealousy, distrust, control and insecurity.
• Take it.


  SENTENCE STRUCTURE and WORD CHOICE -7

  Minor sentence - Lover is forcfull and demanding , becoming desperate for the lover to accept gift
• Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring,

  METAPHOR

  -Comparing the inside of an onion to a wedding ring, the ultimate symbol of love

  -However, "shrink" suggests a claustrophobic, restrictive nature in the relationship.
• Lethal.

  SENTENCE STRUCTURE -8

  Minor sentence - gives the word impact

  - Lethal suggests danger
• Its scent will cling to your fingers,

  cling to your knife

  METAPHOR

  -Comparing the lingering smell of an onion to the memories of an intense, potentially violent, relationship

  -Reiterating the fact that the memory of a deep relationship may last, even long after it has ended.
• Form and Structure

  -Written in free verse using irregular stanzas to support its content and purpose, which is to reject traditional restrictive conventions such as marriage and other notions of love and to warn lovers that being overly possessive can have undesirable consequences.

  -Duffy deliberately avoids the use of language or imagery that we associate with love poetry. Instead, the words are often stark and monosyllabic to allow her to present her ideas clearly and unambiguously.
• "Not a red rose or a satin heart"


  Duffy opens poem with a negative, rejecting the cliched symbols of love

  This is effective as it immediately shows the reader that the poem will not be a traditional love poem