Valentine Flashcards
Valentine
Title suggests a romantic, idealized, traditional love poem
Not a red rose
Idea suggested by title is immediately subverted by the adverb “Not”
Red rose… satin heart
Reference to traditional cliches of love tokens
I… you
Use of personal pronouns shows very direct and personal narrator
I give you an onion.
Contrasts with traditional love tokens
Strange, unconventional gift
Single line demands attention and enforces the direct statement
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper
Metaphor
Onion looks like a moon: Only one moon - unique, special, meaningful gift and moon has romantic connotations
Brown paper is not ostentatious, it is simple suggesting the narrator believes that love should be simple. Brown colour contrasts traditional red associated with love.
It promises light
Love can be seen as a promise, not a right or unconditional feeling
Light extends metaphor of moon and also symbolises the hope and optimism of a new relationship
Like the careful undressing of love
Simile continues the imagery of love in its infancy and word choice of “careful”
Metaphorically peeling away the layers of personality
Literally physical undressing
Here.
Single word
Imperative command
Suggests gift is unwanted or misunderstood
It will blind you with tears
Negative connotations of the pain that can be inflicted by a lover
It will make your reflection
A wobbling photo of grief
Wobbling suggests pain and a physical and emotional response
Grief suggests the death of the initial romantic and carefree love
I am trying to be truthful
Single line emphasises statement
Alliteration
Desperation to save reationship
Not a cute card or a kissogram
Alliteration
The rejection of the cliche gifts a second time emphasises that she is beyond mere love tokens as they are meaningless
I give you and oninion
Repeated Sentence suggests that the recipient still is not acknowledging the significance of the onion
Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips
Word choice “fierce” - Connotations of passion at the beginning of the relationship but also of aggression and anger at being rejected
possessive and faithful
Contrast between conventionally positive and negative traits by someone in a relationship
as we are,
for as long as we are
Introduces an element of doubt
Tone changes in this stanza as there is added tension and despair through word choice
Take it
Imperative command
Element of despair and insistance
Shrink to a wedding ring
Depsperation
Lethal
Word choice - end of relationship, aggressive, angry connoations
Its scent will cling to your fingers
Cling to your knife
Repetition of cling emphasises not wanting to let go
Possessive pronouns “your” suggests the poet persona blames the other person for the end of the relationship
Final word “knife” suggests hurt and violence