Valentine Flashcards
Summary
-Duffy’s poem is a rejection of traditional preconceptions of love and relationship and an expression of her unorthodox views on the topic.
Context
-Duffy is a Scottish playwriter and poet and her work often subverts traditional structures and this poem can be read as postmodernist as she deconstructs ideas and themes that are often perpetuated as universal.
Structure/form
- The poem is written in free verse so has no regular rhyme scheme/poetic meter/ stanza length. This reflects Duffy’s rejection of traditional representations of love and suggests the speaker is liberated to freely express their love both physically and emotionally.
- The stanza lengths are extremely varied within the poem. This inconsistency in the structure could be mirroring the inconsistency of love and adding to Duffy’s honest interpretation of love and relationships.
Themes
- Love
- Relationships
‘Not a red rose or a satin heart.’ ‘Not a cute card or a kissogram’
- This declarative sentence immediately rejects the initial impressions created by the title ‘Valentine’. The use of a full stop forces the reader to pause and reflect on the initial point made, further adding to the importance of it within the poem.
- She talks about typical valentine day gifts such as a ‘cute card’ and a ‘red rose’ to expose how superficial and materialistic modern love has become, and show her skeptical views on Valentines day and modern portrayals of love. The adverbial phrase ‘Not a’ negates these objects and is repeated twice throughout the poem. Anaphora is used to stress Duffy’s continual rejection of the traditional and cliche portrayal of love, emphasising that it is not a sufficient representation of such a complex concept.
‘Here’ ‘Take it’
- The single word line used enforces a sense of honesty and directness, however it is still an offer.
- The use of the imperative verb ‘take’ near the end of the poem however, is a command and shows that the speaker is becoming more demanding of the partner to accept the speakers token of love.
‘I give you an onion’
- The ‘onion’ is used throughout the poem as an extended metaphor for the speaker’s love. It suggests a love more complex and layered than the shallow romance advertised by modern society.
- Unlike the ‘red rose’ and ‘satin heart’ mentioned before the onion has no preceding adjective, this could suggest the gesture is significant and genuine unlike the traditional Valentine gifts. It contrasts traditional gifts used to express love and subverts romantic materialism. It’s realistic though as it doesn’t have the most appealing appearance but is valuable and layered. It’s typically used to add flavour to food suggesting that her love will enrich her lover’s life like an onion enriches the dish it’s in.
‘It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief’
- The use of the modal verb ‘will’ suggests that the speaker is experienced and knowledgable about love.The verb leaves no room for uncertainty, love will inevitably cause sadness and pain at some point.
- Metaphor refers to the tears shed by those in love.The noun ‘reflection’ connotes to identity and self, whilst the verb ‘wobbling’ implies distortion and disruption.Therefore, the metaphor could be used to convey how relationships can warp people’s identity and potentially cause them to lose their sense of self.
‘for as long as we are’
-This phrase highlights the temporary nature of relationships and dismisses the optimistic typical notions of true love being permanent and unwavering. She acknowledges that love and relationships lack certainty and there can be no real assurances they will last. This contrasts the certainty she expressed earlier in the poem about love causing crying and pain and could be suggesting that you can’t be certain how long a relationship will last but it is assured that it will cause you grief. This is a ver6 negative and cyclical view, further contributing to her unorthodox, frank depiction of love.
‘cling to your fingers, cling to your knife’
- The scent of an onion is very strong and clings to people’s fingers however, metaphorically Duffy is implying the effects of love still remain long after the relationship is over and shape a person’s identity. The use of the verb ‘cling’ implies that the long-lasting effects aren’t necessarily welcomed but hard to rid yourself of.
- The knife symbolises violence and harm which could be further adding to her honest portrayal of love and its more negative and dangerous aspects.
‘Valentine’
-The title sets up the fundamental theme of the relationship as love and relationships. The title suggests the poem will explore the traditional, cliché aspect of love.
Comparison
-Sonnet 43
