Carol Ann Duffy - Valentine Flashcards
“Not a red rose or a satin heart”
- Clichéd romantic gifts
- Have no deep emotional meaning , just tokens
- Duffy is looking for more meaningful gifts
“I give you an onion”
-Short sentence, blunt, not romantic but realistic
“It is a moon wrapped in brown paper”
- Romantic image
- Ordinary/Practical opposite of romantic image, contrast with moon
“It promises light”
-Positive, love of depth will fulfil more than tokens
“like the careful undressing of love”
-Simile - undressing a lover = positive exciting, truly romantic
“Here.”
-Blunt, full stop shows it is simple delivery no extravagance
“It will blind you with tears like a lover”
-Metaphor = love is not perfect, you can cry because of love, both positive and negative, realistic, not fake romance
“Your reflection”
-Love can change who you are and how you see yourself
“a wobbling photo of grief”
- Love does not always last forever like tokens suggest.
- It can end and leave you upset
- Image = photo of a past lover
“I am trying to be truthful”
- Structure = Truth literally at the centre of the poem
- truth must be at the centre of every relationship
“Not a cute card or a kissogram”
- Another two examples of token gifts, they have no real meaning
- the onion symbolises honest love
“Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips”
- Love = intense, strong and dangerous
- Love is not fleeting, it leaves an emotional mark
“Possessive and faithful”
-Oxymoron = love is complicated, can be positive and negative and can be confusing
“as we are for as long as we are”
- Honest about the fact that while their relationship is complicated its honest”
- Realistic = not pretending they will last forever, they might they might not
“Take it”
-Blunt command, unromantic
