Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Valentine
- "Valentine"
- The title of the poem connotes love
and items associated with it such
as; flowers, chocolates and love
hearts. This sets the readers
expectations of the poem up for it
to be a traditional love poem.
- "not a red rose or a satin heart"
- The first line of the poem immediately negates the title as it begins with the
word 'not'. The single lined stanza draws our attention to the line and
emphasises that the poem will not be about conventional views of love.
- "give you an onion"
- An onion is not something that is
traditionally associated with love
but is used throughout the entirety
of the poem as an extended
metaphor for love. This further
create the idea that the poem will
not be a traditional love poem. The
word choice of 'give you' creates
the idea that the speaker is going
to present their idea of love to you.
- "It is a moon
wrapped in
brown paper"
- Here the onion which represents love is being
metaphorically compared to the moon wrapped up as
a gift. Just as the moon brings light to darkness and
helps to guide peoples way so too can love bring light
to peoples lives. The fact it is being presented as a gift
shows that love can be a positive thing that you will
both give and receive in your lifetime.
- "like the careful
undressing of love."
- Here the peeling of an onion is being compared to undressing
before sex. The word choice of 'careful' creates the idea of a loving
tenderness showing the positive side to love. This line also creates
the idea that just as you would peel an onion to reveal its layers so
too does love have many different layers to it, some good and
some bad. Not only that, but love strips way your layers as well
allowing your significant other to get to know who you really are.
- "Here."
- This blunt one word line
the readers attention and is
somewhat forceful as a
result of its shortness. It
emphasises the speakers
desire that we accept the
onion and therefore accept
their notion of love.
- "It will blind
you with
tears like a
lover"
- Just as onions can make you cry, so too can
love bring upset and tears. The word choice
of blind implies that love can cause you to
loses sight of who you are.
- "It will make
your reflection
a wobbling
photo of grief"
- Just as a reflection is an image of
yourself which through tears
would seem obscured so too can
the pain and upset of love cause
our image of our self to become
distorted. The word choice of
'grief' emphasises just how
intense the pain love brings can
be.
- "Its fierce
kiss will stay
on your lips"
- Just as the taste of an onion will stay in
your mouth for a long period of time so
too can the affects of love stay with you.
The use of the word fierce implies that
love can be passionate but also
aggressive further creating this idea of
the positive and negative aspects of love
and the fine line between love and hate.
- "possessive
and faithful"
- Duffy creates juxtaposition here by
placing these two words with
opposing meanings side by side.
Possessive connotes jealousy and a
desire to own, this is clearly
negative where as faithful connotes
loyalty which is a positive aspect of
love. These two words highlight the
positive and negative sides to love
and further shows the fine line
between love and hate.
- "I am trying
to be
truthful"
- This short one lined stanza draws the
readers attention and emphasises the
speakers desire to be honest about her
view of love. She isn't trying to say that it
is all good or all bad but a mixture of both.
- "Take it"
- This short abrupt sentence
draws the readers attention
and emphasises that the
speaker is becoming
increasingly determined
that we accept the onion
and therefore accept her
view of love.
- "Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring,"
- Here the loops of an onion are being
metaphorically compared to a
wedding ring. The mention of
platinum a precious metal reminds
us of the preciousness of love. Where
as the word choice of shrink makes
us feel trapped almost like a
tightening noose, this reminds us of
the positive and negative aspects of
love.
- "Lethal. Its scent will
cling to your fingers,
cling to your knife."
- Short one word line draws the readers attention and
emphasises how love can be deadly. JUst as the smell of an
onion can stay on your hands for a long time so too can the
negative affects of love linger with you. The word choice of
knife enhances the dangerous feeling that can be associated
with love and the idea that it can bring pain. The fact she says
your knife implies a fear that the pain could be inflicted on
her.