Valentine by Caroline Duffy Flashcards
Story + Message of ‘Valentine’
- The narrator is giving an onion to their partner as Valentine’s Day gift and is explaining its significance
- ‘Valentine’ includes both the consumerist modern-day view and the tradition perceptions of love and relationships
- Uses metaphors to express her unconventional love – uses an onion
Tone of Valentine:
- Down-to-earth and realistic tone
- Not hyperbolic or over the top in expressions
- Not a red rose or a satin heart.
The name of the poem ‘Valentine’ implies that this is a traditional romantic poem. However, the negative opening word shows otherwise. It is also abrupt, signifying that the speaker is plain-speaking and not given to flowery language, though maybe, therefore, more sincere and realistic.
The red rose and a satin heart are two traditional Valentine’s Day gifts– prefaced by a capitalised “Not” to give emphasis.
- criticises conventions associated with valentines day
- portrays cliche’d images of love as superficial and dismisses them, instead exploring a profound idea of the way in which relationships unfold and develop
semantically linked to romantic materialism
Duffy seems to have abandoned the poetic devices normally associated with love poems — over the top similes and metaphors. However, she does refer to an alliterative ‘red rose’, but in a tone of contempt
- I give you an onion
reveals the heterodoxy of the speaker and the strangeness of their gift. Instead of giving her lover cute presents, she gives an onion. Onions have rings that symbolise eternity as circles are infinite, suggesting that their love is eternal.
suggests a love that is more complex and layered than the shallow romance advertised by modern society
syntactically remniscient of wedding vows ‘i give you this ring’
onion acts as metaphor for speaker’s love throughout this conceit poem
- it is a moon wrapped in brown paper
this love is cloudy and unclear, being wrapped in brown paper. One possibility is that it deliberately blurs the lines between a heterosexual and homosexual relationship. The poem therefore may have universal application.
celestial object that is an ancient symbol of love concealed within everyday, mundane paper suggests the beauty of their love comes from within
moon associated with light and innocence, while brown paper literally represents the outer layer of the onion, implying love doesn’t need to be expensive + overworldly but sincere and caring, like the gentle act of ‘wrapping’
- Here.
This one-word line paints a physical image. The reader imagines the speaker literally handing somebody an onion.
The blunt tone here makes the speaker come across as honest in a way that makes us believe her when she goes on to say,
‘I am trying to be truthful.’
It is echoed later in the poem when the plain-speaking narrator urges her lover to ‘Take it’.
- It will blind you with tearslike a lover.
It will make your reflectiona wobbling photo of grief
Duffy starts to play out the surprisingly strong simile of onion-as-lover. Cutting an onion can bring tears to your eyes. Onions make you cry, just as a relationship can. The creation of tears at the act of cutting resonates powerfully.
The speaker here places the teary-eyed lover in front of a mirror, suggesting that the difficult aspects of relationships can lead to self-reflection or even an insecurity about identity.
A large part of being in love is also the risk of being left heart-broken.
Modern day relationship – Duffy, who identifies as a lesbian, began to write more openly about queer love around the time she wrote ‘Valentine’
In this context, ‘Valentine’ can partly be seen as a form of resistance to the demonisation of the queer community and an attempt to make space for more diverse understandings of love
Harsh emotions felt reflective of emotions she felt as lesbian in society – possible lack of acceptance
- I am trying to be truthful.
The speaker presents a realistic view of love, or at least the speaker is trying to be true to themselves, and by extension the lover.
This is a pivotal transition line. The word ‘truthful’ indicates that being honest, even if hurtful, is crucial in a relationship. One commentator suggested that the poet may be struggling to keep the love alive.
The use of alliteration in “trying”, “to” and “truthful” does suggest that the poet is battling to maintain the open relationship they have with one another, as the moment they lose honesty the relationship will crumble.
- Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,
possessive and faithful
as we are,
for as long as we are
The kiss remains, just as the smell and taste of an onion linger and, maybe, spoil the kiss. Like the pungent smell and taste, life and reality can upset a relationship. The word ‘fierce’ is significant, implying desperate love with a hint of violence.
Duffy is hinting the complexity of love. ‘Faithful’ is positive, an echo of the wedding vows, ‘as long as we shall live’. But ‘possessive’ is less so. Even mature relationships can involve negatives that have to be dealt with and compromised.
repetition of ‘as we are’ for emphasis
- Take it.
Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring,
if you like.
Continuing the extended metaphor, Duffy compares an onion’s white ringed layers to a platinum wedding ring.
Duffy selects ‘platinum’ rather than gold, the former being the most expensive metal, symbolising the high value she places on the relationship.
The word ‘shrink’ is perhaps a jarring note, suggesting that love might diminish or might be confined and restricted, that marriage can damage it. This may fit the message of the poem, which is concerned with complexity and reality in relationships.
The proposal may be interpreted as half-hearted. But it can also suggest that the speaker feels that marriage isn’t necessary in every relationship, and it depends on the two people involved and the nature of that relationship. ‘If you like’ may suggest that the speaker is flexible and prepared to respect the wishes of her partner, or alternatively an abnegation of responsibility.
- Lethal.
Any marriage proposal is, essentially, lethal. When proposed to, no matter what the response is, the relationship will change.
A proposal is pivotal. Refusal may mean the end of the relationship, acceptance may alter the ‘power balance’. The question is ‘lethal’ as those four words (“Will you marry me?”) change the relationship forever.
the narrator ends on a warning note that love can be “Lethal.” And so life-threatening, forcing the reader to confront the notion that a real love based on honesty and truthfulness can be painful and destructive as well as fulfilling and enriching
- Its scent will cling to your fingers,
cling to your knife.
This shows the love — or the damage — will still be there whatever choice is made, just like the smell of an onion lingers.
may be a symbolic reference that one is forever changed, for good or bad, by the experience of a relationship.
The line is rhythmic with assonant vowels in ‘cling’ and ‘fingers’. The effect is to make this penultimate line memorable as a crucial one in the poem.
The repetition of ‘cling’ indicates its importance. It implies possessive love as well as faithfulness.
The ‘knife’ suggests that love is dangerous. and can involve pain and even violence.
The last line is short and emphatic. The message of the poem is complex, maybe a final declaration of undying love, but ending on a rather sinister note. Just that a knife, like a relationship, can cut through other commitments and intentions, and cause pain. A loving relationship is far from easy.
Like most of the poems in Duffy’s ‘Mean Time’ collection, ‘Valentine’ deals with those involved in damaged or irreconcilable relationships
Free verse + irregular stanzas + monosyllabic
- Duffy’s poem goes against the norm
- lack of meter makes the poem more open to its vernacular – meaning audiences can hear the ordinary everyday language of romance
- no false sense of security created through a regular rhythm
- honest and realistic nature of love
Conceit
The poem is written as a conceit
A conceit Is a fanciful metaphor, esp. a highly elaborate or extended metaphor in which an unlikely, far-fetched, or strained comparison is made between 2 things
The multi-layered complexity of the onion represents a real relationship and is used as an extended metaphor throughout
This is reminiscent of metaphysical poets such as John Donne, who approached ordinary subjects in original and surprising ways
Single-line stanzas
- connotes a straightforward honestly when it comes to their feelings
- torrent of passion and an outpouring of emotion signified by the longer stanzas
