Valentine + Sonnet 43 Flashcards
Valentine 5Ws
Who: Speaker is an unnamed individual who is addressing their lover
What: poem that challenges traditional expressions of love, onion gift
When: not tied to a specific time but instead focuses on timeless themes of love
Where: no particular location, can be interpreted as taking place in the emotional or relational space between two people
Why: challenge traditional, commercialized views of love, especially cliches associated with Valentine’s Day
Sonnet 43 5Ws
Who: speaker is the poet herself, expressing her intense love for her husband
What: sonnet that explores the speakers, deep, passionate and enduring love for someone special
When: The poem was first published in 1850, though it was written earlier, around 1845-1846
Where: The poem doesn’t specify a particular location, but it can be interpreted as an intimate expression of love between the speaker and her partner
Why: to express her profound love for Robert Browning, a personal declaration of her feelings for him
POC 1: Theme of love
In Sonnet 43, love is portrayed as pure, transcendent, and almost divine. The speaker expresses love in terms of deep, eternal commitment, referencing love’s spiritual and expansive nature.
–> ‘I love thee to the depth and breadth and height/My soul can reach’ (immeasurable, infinite)
–> ‘by sun and candlelight’ (ever part of the day)
In contrast, Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy presents love as more complex, intense, and sometimes even unsettling. It challenges traditional expressions of love by offering a metaphor of an onion, symbolizing both the layers and the sharpness of love.
–> ‘ blind you with tears/like a lover’
POC 2: Imagery and symbolism
In Sonnet 43, Browning uses religious and idealized imagery (e.g., “sun and candlelight,” “the saints,” “the stars”) to elevate love to a spiritual and eternal level. The language evokes a sense of purity and reverence.
–> ‘Being and Ideal Grace’ (compares her love for him to her love for God’
–> ‘love thee better after death.’ (eternal)
In Valentine, Duffy rejects conventional symbols like roses and chocolates, instead using the onion as a powerful, multi-layered symbol of love’s complexity. The imagery is both raw and visceral, representing love as something that can be painful and difficult to unravel.
–> ‘Not a red rose or a satin heart./I give you an onion.’
–> ‘fierce kiss’ (+ ‘lethal’ threatening tone)
POC 3: Tone and emotion
Sonnet 43 carries a tone of reverence and adoration. Browning’s use of language creates a sense of longing and devotion, with a focus on the purity and endurance of love.
–> ‘How do I love thee?’ (how she can prove her love)
–> ‘level of everyday’s’ (although she loves him passionately, she also loves him on a regular day to day basis)
Valentine, however, takes on a more direct and sometimes harsh tone. Duffy’s approach is unromantic and candid, using unconventional imagery and a more grounded emotional response to love, emphasizing both its beauty and its potential to hurt or be misunderstood.
–> ‘fierce kiss’ (+ ‘lethal’ threatening tone)
–> ‘Take it.’ (repeated use of imperatives to command her lovers attention)
Conclusion
These contrasts highlight different ways of representing love—Browning’s idealistic, devotional view versus Duffy’s more complex, raw, and realistic perspective.
