valentine Flashcards
(9 cards)
overview valentine
duffy uses valentine as a vehicle to critique the consumerist, modern day view of Valentine’s day and the traditional preconceptions of love. Drawing on her own feminist perspective and rejection of traditional relationship , she exposes the raw and sometime unsettling truths behind romantic idealism
valentine first paragraph quote 1
not a red rose or a satin heart
alliterative red rose is a synecdoche used to refer to valentine’s day
both semantically linked to romantic materialism
uses adjectives to decorate- reflects how romance is reduced to ornate attractive gifts
she negates symbols of superficial love
valentine first paragraph quote 2
i give you an onion
acts as a metaphor for the speakers love
suggests love is more layered and complex than shallow romance advertised by modern society
valentine second paragraph quote 1
like the careful undressing of love
endstop emphasises he resounding action.
this is a strange but banal action
suggesting that sincere expressions of love are not grand gestures but are direct and unusual
valentine second paragraph quote 2
it will blind you with tears
like a lover
onion is a conceit in this poem- extended metaphor for speakers love
underlined by this line playing on 2 earnings, onions make people cry, so does speakers expression of love
valentine 2nd para quote 3
not a cute card or a kissogram
returns to the beginning
cyclical structure indicates speakers inability to more forward- to move on
reiterates main point of the poem-true love cannot be found in romantic materialism
valentine 3rd para 1st quote
lethal.
singular adjective encapsulates the main ideas associated with love
-the idea that love and violence (emotional or physical) are inextricably linked to one another
valentine para 3 quote 2
it’s scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife
creates sensuality with the use of the primary sense
allegorical portrayal of how traces of relationships remain
bring something new
shape a persons identity and will stay with you
uses the metaphor of an onion’s lingering scent represent potentially harmful impact of love.
repetition of “cling” emphasizes the inescapable nature of this, which can be both positive and negative.
noun “knife” introduces a note of danger, suggesting that love can also be a source of pain and even destruction
3 points
at the opening of the poem duffy uses valentine as a vehicle to rebuke the commercialisation of love by rejecting the conventional symbols of romance in favour of more authentic expression of affection
as the poem progresses, duffy uses valentine as a vehicle to expose the complexities of love, illustrating how sincere expressions of love are raw, direct and not confined to materialistic gestures
as the poem comes to a close duffy uses valentin as a vehicle to reveal how love leaves lasting emotional imprints that can carry the potential for harmon;’
