Valentine Flashcards
Key themes in Valentine
- Love (the love the speaker has for their partner and how it changes)
“give you an onion”
Stanza 1
WORD CHOICE - Pronoun of “you” is dorect and personal to their lover, the gift of an onion continues the idea of being direct and personal
“careful undressing”
Stanza 1
WORD CHOICE - Suggest tenderness and vulnerability that allows the speaker to expose themself, love is vulnerable and leaves couples exposed to one another
“it promises light”
WORD CHOICE - sows the joy and brightness of a new relationship, promise can show trust in a new relationship
“Here.”
Stanza 2
WORD CHOICE/STRUCTURE - Short, direct command shows that the relationship has moved on from care and tendreness, now shows signs of force
“blind you with tears”
Stanza 2
IMAGERY/WORD CHOICE - Traditional idea of love blinding people is flipped to be negative with the use of tears; the scent of the onion (which is a gift) shows the bitter side of love
“possessive and faithful”
Stanza 3
Juxtaposition shows contrast between controlling and lover and being loyal to them, shows that love can also have distrust/jealousy
“Take it”
Stanza 4
TONE - Desperate and demanding, shows that love has developed into something less fairytale like
“shrink to a wedding ring”
Stanza 4
WORD CHOICE - shrink shows restriction of marriage and enforces the idea of distrust, wedding ring can suggest being trapped or tied to them forever (posession)
“cling to your fingers”
Stanza 4
WORD CHOICE - cling can suggest the possessive side of love can lead to tension
“Lethal”
Stanza 4
WORD CHOICE - Suggests that love can be violent at times
