Valentine (relationships)

Question 1

What is the poem about?

Answer 1

Tells the story of a quarrel in 3 snapshots. He is remembering an occasion in Paris. One might imagine they have gone for a romantic weekend in the City of Love to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but the poem begins with her walking away from him.

Question 2

Stanza 1: “the water torture of your heels”

Answer 2

• Poem begins with her walking away from him, the sound of her shoes on the pavement like repetitive drips, indicating how painful this memory is.
• The alliteration of the ‘t’s illustrate the sound effectively.

Question 3

Stanza 1: “evacuated as the channels of our hearts”

Answer 3

• As she leaves him on the street, he feels they are empty of love, but he is using the first-person plural which implies they are still sharing this experience.

Question 4

Stanza 3: “curve of your hip;” “your wet lashes, the loss of everything we’d learnt”

Answer 4

• The second snapshot is still of her walking away.
• He observes the curve of her hip and the tassels on her skirt which may indicate that he is still attracted to her, as he was attracted by her clothes and figure in ‘Show’.
• But unlike in ‘Show’, he sees her emotions “your wet lashes” and emphasises “the loss of everything we’d learnt.”

Question 5

Stanza 5: “holding each other on the hotel bed/like a pair of wrecked voyagers”

Answer 5

• The final snapshot is from later in the evening when they cling together on the bed.
• The impression of a tight grip is given by the assonance in “holding” and “hotel”.
• He compares them to “wrecked voyagers” having lost everything and against all odds found each other again.
• The metaphor of the voyagers lasts through the rest of the snapshot like a conceit and as a result he talks about himself and his partner in the 3rd person.
• This change of perspective leads him to refer to them as a “pair” and instead of looking at her objectively, he now looks at them both together with sympathy.

Question 6

Stanza 6: “wake washed up on the shore”

Answer 6

• Between the stanzas, time passes, and they sleep.
• When they wake, the sibilance reflects the sounds of waves and whispers. Perhaps this suggests they have woken at night and the whispers create an intimacy between them.

Question 7

Stanza 7: “That my valentine,”

Answer 7

• Between each snapshot there is a reflection. He identifies each one as a separate memory, but chooses to keep the last one, identifying her after the event as his ‘valentine’.
• This indicates the relationship has continued and that the important part is that they made-up and overcame the quarrel.