Valentine Poem Analysis PDF

Themes: Honesty, the darker side of love. What is most important about this poem is the fact that the whole...

Themes: Honesty, the darker side of love. What is most important about this poem is the fact that the whole thing is an extended metaphor for the passionate and often violent Carol Ann Duffy nature of love. Valentine WC Word Choice Not a red rose or a satin heart. Duffy starts the poem in a negative tone which is unusual when describing love. She rejects the Imagery traditional symbols of love and is forceful in her opinion of this. I give you an onion. SS Metaphor It is a moon wrapped in brown paper. Here is the first sign of romance - Extended Metaphor moonlight is a romantic notion but she It promises light The whole poem is based around tries to hide it in the ordinary. This is, the idea that love is an onion. She again, a more honest presentation of Like the careful undressing of love. takes pride in this presentation. love. She compares the onion skin to She is purposefully unromantic and brown paper, which underlines her idea honest here. of the onion being a gift. Here. Word Choice Symbolism Undressing has deliberately sexual connotations. Light symbolizes goodness and deeper It will blind you with tears The idea is that you get to know each other meaning - something you can't get from better through this exploration, just as peeling normal gifts. Her present might not Like a lover. back an onion skin would reveal more layers. look like much, but it promises much. It will make your reflection Simile/Personification Word Choice The metaphor is extended to show the less The poem becomes bold with her gift - A wobbling photo of grief. positive side of love. Anyone being in love is it also gives the gift simplicity. It also at risk of heartbreak. Just as an onion doesn’t need all the fancy notions makes our eyes sting when you cut into it, so associated with other gifts. too love and heart break can make you cry. I am trying to be truthful. Imagery When we are looking through the Sentence Structure eyes of the upset lover, who may A single line stanza which serves to be looking at a mirror and crying Not a cute card or kissogram underline the bitter truth of the gift and at the same time. Love makes a the nature of love. This is a line mess of who we are. conveying honesty. Word Choice I give you an onion. Although seemingly romantic, these Blunt Statement quotes underline the close contact Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips, At this point the recipient of her gift may between violence and passion. Her love be pausing. So she underlines her is forceful, as well as her gift. Possessive and faithful intention to force this gift upon him. As we are, Metaphor The loops (in an onion) shrink to a For as long as we are. wedding ring - implying that marriage is a Symbolism shortening or lessening of love. The scent of an onion is a symbol of the thoughts and emotions which remain when a Word Choice Take it. relationship has ended. This quote introduces the smell of the onion and the knife. This is Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring, violent imagery which implies that the relationship has taken a turn. If you like. This is an unexpected end to the poem. Lethal. Its scent will cling to your fingers, Cling to your knife.