CAD analysis Flashcards
Originally - “We came from our own country”
Introduction to the poem uses first person plural to emphasise the impact this decision has had on her entire family. “our own” further emphasises her definite sense of belonging to and possession of a particular place.
Originally - “red room”
This description of the colour of the interior of the train has connotations of passion or anger, perhaps reflecting her own feelings about being forced to leave the city of her birth and early childhood
Originally - “fell through the fields”
Emphasises her feelings of impotence and lack of control in the making of this important decision
Originally - “our mother singing/our father’s name to the turn of the wheels”
The optimistic mood of her mother acts as a distinct contrast to the obvious negativity of Duffy herself and is ambiguous: the reader is unsure whether their father is in the train carriage or if they are travelling to meet with him
Originally - “bawling Home/Home”
The repetition and capitalisation of the word “home” reinforces the misery and overwhelming sense of loss and separation that she associates with the time
Originally - “the miles rushed back to the city”
Personification used to emphasise her own desire to return to Glasgow
Originally - “the street, the house, the vacant rooms/where we didn’t live anymore”
The first person plural of “we” emphasises that even though this poem is written from her own perspective, she very clearly considers the impact of the move not only as an individual but also for the rest of her family.
Originally - “stared/at the eyes of a blind toy”
The word choice of “blind” again exposes her uncertainty and anxiety as they head towards something unknown and unfamiliar.
Originally - “All childhood is an emigration”
This memorable opener to the second stanza is a metaphor which reveals one of the key ideas explored by Duffy in this work as she considers the wider, more generic experience of childhood itself which is equated with changes and transitions that are often beyond our control.
Originally - “Some are slow,/Leaving you standing,resigned”
Enjambment is used to draw attention to and express the idea that for some children change comes upon them so gradually that they barely notice it, however the word choice of “resigned” also suggests for children the change is to be accepted without any chance to question or challenge it
Originally - “Others are sudden, Your accent wrong”
In the expression your accent “wrong” Duffy makes it clear that it was her Glasgow accent which made her and her brothers different to others suggesting she didn’t find it easy to fit into her new community. This made her isolated and anxious further deepening the reader’s sympathetic response to her situation
Originally - “Corners which seemed familiar, Leading to unimaginable pebble dashed estates”
The loss of the “familiar” and its replacement with the harshness, “pebble dashed”, of the identical looking houses deepened the poet’s sense of loss and isolation. The reader feels the poet’s sense of dislocation and is sympathetic towards her. The word choice of “seem” and “unimagined” exposes her inability to negotiate her way successfully through this new, strange and unfamiliar landscape.
Originally - “big boys/eating worms and shouting words you don’t understand”
This highlights her own discomfort with her accent, the strange setting which she found herself in and hearing words she didn’t know all caused her and her family anxiety.
Originally - “My parents’ anxiety stirred like a loose tooth/In my head. I want my own country, I said.”
Just as a loose tooth falls out of its proper place and just as young children needs to lose their baby teeth in order to get their adult ones Duffy feels out of place and anxious in this experience. At this stage her child-like solution is to go back to where they came from.
Originally - “Shedding its skin like a snake”
Just as snakes leave old skin behind them so too she has left her old accent. However the word choice “snake” has connotations that she may not be entirely comfortable with this.
Originally - “Do I only think/I lost a river, culture, speech, sense of first space/ and the right place?”
The poet has been attempting to answer this question throughout the poem with no resolution. In asking this, she challenges both herself and the reader to consider our own notions of self and identity. The deliberate inversion of “I only” again emphasises her feelings of isolation and separateness from the other members of her family during this period.
Valentine -“It is a moon wrapped in brown paper. It promises light like the careful undressing of love.”
Just as an onion has many layers so to does love. The metaphor suggests that the best part of love (“it promises light”) is found when you work your way through the layers. The light represents the goodness with which typical valentines are lacking. “undressing” has obvious sexual connotations but represents the increasing depth which is discovered as a relationship develops
Valentine -“Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring”
Has both positive and negative connotations. Positively: marriage and commitment are at the heart of love in the same way as a single ring is at the heart of an onion. Negatively: word choice “shrink” suggests something reduced in size which shows that marriage can ruin some relationships
Valentine -“Lethal. Its scent will cling to your fingers, Cling to your knife”
Highlights that powerful love is difficult to forget and that some relationships linger on even though love has brought pain and suffering which might have even caused the death of the relationship. Shows that love can continue even though the relationship itself has been ‘killed off’. Also highlights that love can be dangerous, possibly in its possessiveness.
Valentine - “blind you with tears”
This comparative simile highlights what a lover can do, and even in their affection can be a sense of danger. Suggests that love is blindness
Valentine - reference to “it”
Ambiguity, is it love or an onion?
Valentine - “cute card” and “red rose”
The alliteration highlights the cliche of valentines and suggests the poets feelings of the overuse of alliteration in love poems
Valentine - “Here”
The use of the one word imperative sentence gives the act of giving more dramatic weight than a more elaborate sentence might have had. In addition, the abruptness of this line emphasises the simple straightforward manner of giving - it is a meaningful gift given without any ceremony or frills.
Valentine - “a wobbling photo of grief”
This refers to photo which has become blurred from tears created by the onion. ‘Wobbling’ also refers to love as something which is ultimately unstable and unsustainable.
Valentine - “I am trying to be truthful”
Isolation is emphasised, therefore it must represent a rather important idea or theme in the poem. This tells you that honesty is a crucial issue for the poet in this poem.
Valentine - “Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips”
Fierce because of the powerful smell of onion, representing emotions in love. What could amount to a passionate kiss, with a wealth of feeling and emotion behind it, will remain, unlike the passing temporary empty gestures of Valentine’s Day.
Valentine - “as we are for as long as we are”
The narrator and her lover. She is resisting the temptation to say forever (cliche) - Duffy’s cynicism about everlasting love creeping in.
Valentine - “if you like”
Once again asks the recipient to use his imagination to create something out of the onion. The onus is on the recipient, who is more than a passive receiver.
Why is imagination so important in relation to love for Duffy? Imagination shows and requires mental application, which is perhaps what makes love real and meaningful.
Valentine - “Its scent will cling to your fingers”, last stanza
The scent of an onion is a symbol of the thoughts and emotions; memories of love that remains once a relationship has ended. Suggestion: perhaps true and meaningful honest love will outlast the relationship; if it was false love (of the Valentine’s Day type) it will disappear quickly, leaving no lingering “scent”.
Valentine - “Cling to your knife”, last stanza
Here is the twist that Duffy often uses to end her poems. Knife perhaps represents the tool used in act of breaking the relationship - the emotions invested in a love/meaningful relationship linger on in the mind of both partners but perhaps particularly in the mind of the one who cut the ties. The knife also suggests pain. It could also be a phallic symbol.
