Valentine- Theme Analysis Free Essay Example

Valentine Theme Analysis Sue-Ann IGCSE1

Carol Ann Duffy’s poem titled “Valentine” explores the concept of the popular international celebration of love and affection, Valentine’s Day. In this peculiar poem, Duffy expresses love and affection in which the symbol of love is an onion. This opposes the stereotypical views of what love is like and rejects its traditional symbols. The onion is repeatedly used as a metaphor throughout the poem with the help of other literary tactics such as imagery, word choice and sentence structure to explore different aspects of modern-day relationships.

Unlike many poems with similar titles, Duffy writes about the darker side of relationships which include how some are blinded by love, how the effect of love can leave some broken and most importantly if we even need a day to express our love for someone.

The topic of love and its dangers are clearly evident in this poem and one of its main themes. The way love progresses and can become dangerous is heavily expressed by the use of literary tactics.

This is shown in the quote “It will blind you with tears like a lover.” This quote emphasizes the theme as some get blinded from reality when in love. This brings forward the idea of love becoming dangerous when one is so consumed by emotion to see the truth. In some cases, this might even hurt others. The onion is distinctly relevant to this expression as when cutting onions, one tends to tear up. This causes one’s vision to be obstructed.

Duffy’s choice of the word “blind” in the sentence suggests the severity of the situation and gives the quote a sense of negativity. In the statement, “It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief.”, Duffy is describing the aftermath of toxic love. The word choice of “grief” intensifies and deepens the overall impact of the statement.

The topic of conflict and relationships is also strongly expressed in the poem. The quote “Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips, possessive and faithful, as we are, for as long as we are.” This expression of the kiss of an onion staying on one’s lips is both literal and metaphorical. An onion may leave a certain taste behind but so will a relationship. Not being able to move on easily and feeling restricted with a burdensome weight on one’s shoulders is what Duffy is attempting to express using the metaphor of an onion’s kiss. It almost serves as a reminder or a mark of past events. Possessiveness is usually associated with negativity and faithfulness is often associated with positivity. The use of a positive and negative adjective symbolizes the positive and negative aspects of relationships. As the sentence comes to an end, Duffy adds a hint of certainty and confidence, finally ending it with something unassertive and insecure.

The poem, being a free verse, encourages the reader to convey meaning, capture images and emotions through the use of lyrical phrases in which Duffy need not use a lot of words to get her crucial message across. It also represents the instability and inconsistency, which also may be found in the relationship between the narrator and her lover.

The tone of the poem changes gradually as well. In the second stanza, Duffy is making use of a more positive tone where she talks only about the positives of love and relationships. However, she immediately switches to a more negative tone in the following stanza in which she is expressing its negatives. Many of Duffy’s sentences are monosyllabic which emphasizes her blunt and outspokenness. These phrases are sometimes also imperative like in the quote “Take it.”, where Duffy seems to make the receiver feel compelled to accept the onion. Even though this is the case, Duffy still seems to be doubtful of her previous imperative statement. This is shown in the last stanza in the quote “If you like”. This makes Duffy seem to decrease the intensity of her expression compared to her previous imperative statement in the same stanza.

Throughout the poem, there have been multiple magnificent use of imagery. This includes the quote “Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring. This gives the reader an image of peeling an onion. Much like how one may peel onion skin, when one gets to know someone, they are peeling off a layer of that person’s personality and getting to know them better. If they decide to remain together, a wedding ring may be unveiled in the onion. In other words, the smallest ring in the middle of the onion in which one may find after peeling off the onions multiple layers of skin.

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