Valentine Flashcards
“Not a red rose or a satin heart”
Word choice- (not) clear of what they will not give on valentines. Suggests these symbols of love are cliché, tacky or overdone.
(Satin heart) glossy shiny, ostentatious, vulgar, heart associated with love.
“I give you an onion”
Word choice: ordinary, common, cheap and unconventional, not a usual romantic gift.
“It is a moon wrapped in brown paper”
Metaphor/word choice: moon- symbol of romance, shadow and colour of an onion.
Brown paper- skin of an onion. Cheap mundane, nothing red or covered in hearts. Implies valentines wrapping paper (red,shiny) is gaudy, kitsch
“It promises light”
Word choice: the onion/love, both promise light and joy but fulfilment is not always guaranteed
“Like the careful undressing of love”
Word choice: love- accentuated, unexpected after “careful undressing” as it’s placed at the end of the line and verse
“Like the careful undressing of love”
Enjambment- suggests the emotion/sexual undressing isn’t always a promise fulfilled
“Here”
Word choice- single word sentence, monosyllabic. Suggests a dominant way of giving a present, you are being forced to take it
“It will blind you with tears”
Word choice:onion will make you cry when you cut it so too will love blind you from seeing the negative parts of the relationship.
Enjambment: makes ambiguity clear
It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief”
“I am trying to be truthful”
Word choice- honestly is preferable to deceit, rather be told the truth than lied to. Trying suggests it’s not easy to be truthful or that the loved one may not want to hear the truth
Not a cute card or a kissigram”
Word choice: not- repetition of negative tone from stanza one
Alliteration- hard c and k and g, guttural sound, draws attention to the meaning. The gift will not be cute- used with pejorative tone, seems cliche
“I give you an onion”
Repetition- onion is used as a gift once again.
“It’s fierce kiss will stay on your lips, possessive and faithful”
Word choice: the kisser is kissing passionately. The onion/love will stay on your lips like the taste of an onion lingers in your mouth, a kiss lingers on your lips
“ it’s fierce kiss will stay one your lips, possessive and faithful”
Transferred epithet:stays on your lips possessive( negative characteristic) contrasts between possessive (neg) and faithful(pos)
“Take it”
Imperative (commanding tone) does it refer to the onion, love or both? Built up reasons for gifting the onion now they use two word sentence-minor sentence (insisting/demanding tone)
“It’s platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring”
Synecdoche- image represents colours/layers of onion
Platinum-expensive metal
Wedding ring- relationship/marriage of the two lovers
The platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring”
Word choice: shrink- pejorative, the value of platinum is reduced to the size of a wedding ring, image is reductive, demeaning, emphasises constrained nature physically and emotionally of marriage. Original platinum loops of love (value/presence) are eventually reduced to a mere wedding ring.
“Lethal”
Word choice: killing/extremely harmful. Position/shortness of line draws attention to violence that love can cause
“It’s scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife.”
Word choice: will- definite
Repetition:cling-reinforces idea of “scent”, the scent of love and/or the onion will cling to you and your knife. Also suggests emotional dependence
Metaphor:conveys a lack of escape/being smothered
“Knife”
Last word of the poem, connotations of violence of love/ability to cut or be cutting those
