The title suggests a love poem so content is surprising. Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy Not a red rose or a satin heart. Single line/starts with a negative Rejects traditional symbols of love. Not dismisses usual gifts plain brown paper is the outer layer of the onion and makes the point that real romantic gifts do not need expensive wrapping. True beauty is hidden in beneath the ugly exterior the onion symbolises a positive aspect of love since it represents refreshing honesty, hope and delight ( promises light ), often experienced at the beginning of a relationship I give you an onion. Directly addresses reader. Onion metaphor for realistic love more so than clichéd roses. Moon: symbol of romance and connotations of romantic love It is a moon wrapped in brown paper. It promises light like the careful undressing of love. Simile refers to passionate aspect of their relationship - peeling away clothes of a lover as you grow closer just as you pull back layers of onion Word choice careful suggests tenderness, affection, warmth and sensitivity between the lovers
One word sentence suggests speaker is commanding and emphasises the forceful presentation of the gift Exaggerated warning that It will blind you with tears - this relationship may cause pain and make you cry, you can t see straight, just as cutting an onion can bring tears to your eyes Here. It will blind you with tears like a lover. It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief. Simile - Like a lover - love can bring passion and pain. Love can make you vulnerable and be destructive It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief. crying in the mirror, or into an old photograph? Sense of loss and deterioration of the relationship Wobbling suggest instability; love is fragile but has the power to break you. Single line statement emphasises idea the speaker thinks their view is more realistic than tradition symbols of love I am trying to be truthful. Speak is trying justify their gift. Change in tone - becomes more brutal and threatening. Echoes the opening with a single line rejecting more stereotypical Valentine s gifts. They are meaningless and cannot show real love like the onion can. Not a cute card or a kissogram.
Personification - shows negative, darker associations: it reminds us of the strong, nippy taste of the onion. The kiss/ love lingers like the taste of an onion. Fierce violent, aggression, threatening and forceful difficult to escape. I give you an onion. Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips, possessive and faithful as we are, for as long as we are. Realistic as long as we are shows they know love doesn t always last Repetition of I give you an onion implies person has still not accepted the gift? Juxtaposition of word choice: faithful has positive connotations of a trusting loyal relationship however, possessive creates a contrast and suggests obsessive, controlling and jealous love that can trap you.
Compares the white rings of the onion with the platinum loops of a wedding ring. When all is peeled away and revealed, left with the traditional symbol of love and marriage Single minor sentence - "Lethal - changes tone and reinforces threatening/warning imagery, and has connotations of death. Speaker becomes more insistent. Imperative command in the words Take it. Take it. Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring, if you like. Lethal. Its scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife. Shrink suggests marriage can be restricting Scent - echoes back to the fierce kiss that lingers. The memory of a deep relationship may last, even long after it has ended Ending the poem with the violent imagery of a knife emphasises Duffy s point of the destructiveness of love/marriage: love is not all roses and gifts, it can be painful and cause suffering too. Repetition/word choice of cling suggests that, like the scent of onion, love will be difficult to remove or shake off and echoes the possessive nature of love
The poem is a dramatic monologue in the form of an extended metaphor, an unconventional symbol of love an onion given as a Valentine Day gift. It is written in the present tense as if the event described is unfolding as we read, but also warns as to how the relationship might develop in the future. The poem acts as a warning: to be aware of both the pleasures and risks of love. Structure: the poem is written in free verse (lack of rhyme) using irregular stanza lengths to support its irregular content. The structure rejects typical love poetry forms such as the Sonnet which has a very regimented structure in rhythm and rhyming scheme. Duffy deliberately avoids the use of language or imagery that we associate with love poetry. Theme: Valentine deals with relationships and love In Valentine, Duffy ends on a warning note that love can be Lethal and so life-threatening, forcing the reader to confront the notion that a real love based on honesty and truthfulness can be painful and destructive as well as fulfilling and enriching The allusion to the negative aspects of conventional relationships suggests that, ultimately, they can often be restrictive to the individual, while a love which is free from such constraints is an ideal worth pursuing