‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy
Not a red rose or a satin heart.
I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love.
Here.
It will blind you with tears
like a lover.
It will make your reflection
a wobbling photo of grief.
I am trying to be truthful.
Not a cute card or a kissogram.
I give you an onion.
Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,
possessive and faithful
as we are,
for as long as we are.
Take it.
Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring,
if you like.
Lethal.
Its scent will cling to your fingers,
cling to your knife.
Approaching the Essay
Step 1:
Think about the task/question. In this case, the question is as follows:
Choose a poem which increased your understanding of any aspect of life in the modern world.
State what aspect of life in the modern world the poem illustrates and go on to show how the poem, both by its content and by its style, increased your understanding.
Now, mind-map your ideas for key points you wish to make about the poem.
Step 2:
A vital part of your essay will involve the analysis of quotations. For each point you wish to raise you must gather relevant evidence from the text. Remember that you can use more than one quote per paragraph.
Step 3:
Develop a plan, following the PEE or a similar format. It is at this point that you need to think about the comments you will make about your quotations. In each paragraph, it should be clear how this ‘answers’ your question/task.
Step 4:
You should now have prepared enough material to help you begin your essay. Keep the criteria in mind at all times, remembering that you must balance your explanation of what is said with how it is said.
Essay Plan – Example
‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy
Task/Question:
A study of how in the poem ‘Valentine’, Carol Ann Duffy explores the nature and effect of modern relationships.
Introduction:
Remember title, author and reference to task. Introduce idea that Duffy is challenging the traditional view of Valentine’s day and aiming to present a more ‘realistic’ view of love through this extended metaphor.
Paragraph 1: From the first line of the poem, it is clear that the speaker in this poem wishes to reject modern symbols of love and romance.
Evidence: Sentence inversion; focus on ‘Not’. Repeated in poem. Reference to typical symbols/gifts.
Explanation: Duffy is aiming to show they are meaningless; her gift seems unusual but presents opportunity to reflect real experience.
Paragraph 2: Through an extended image of an onion, Duffy explores both the positive and negative aspects of love.
Evidence: Begins with positive. Comparison with ‘moon’ suggests romance, something heavenly. ‘wrapped in brown paper’ implies a gift.
Explanation: Recognising that love can still bring joy and is still worth chasing. Effect of relationship remains something positive.
Paragraph 3: However, as Duffy continues to develop this comparison, she reflects on the painful nature of love.
Evidence: Reference to physical and emotional pain; ‘blind you with tears’ and makes vision ‘a wobbling photograph of grief’.
Explanation: Love can alter judgment and can distress. Aim to alter purpose of Valentine poem now to recognize true nature and effect.
Paragraph 4: The image of the onion is then used to reflect upon the powerful nature of love.
Evidence: Word choice in ‘fierce kiss’ and ‘possessive and faithful’.
Explanation: Relationships can be consuming, with possibility of obsession or true commitment. It can be both frightening and rewarding.
Paragraph 5: Towards the end of the poem, Duffy begins to suggest that failed relationships can be difficult to overcome.
Evidence: word choice of ‘lethal’ and repetition of word ‘cling’
Explanation: suggests love can cause death literally/metaphorically. Once experienced, relationships often hard to forget and can remain part of you.
Conclusion: Clear that Duffy feels the gestures of Valentine’s day have become hollow and meaningless. Traditional representations of love no longer reflect what relationships can be like. Metaphor of onion used as vessel – reflects experience.
Exemplar Critical Essay: ‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy.
Throughout our history it has been clear that our relationships are a vital part of human life. In particular, our desire for love and the influence this has on our lives has constantly been the subject of literature. Whilst relationships may have not changed dramatically, our views on relationships have changed. In the poem ‘Valentine’, Carol Ann Duffy challenges the modern representation of love and relationships promoted on February 14th and aims to give a more ‘realistic’ view of what love can potentially bring.
From the first line of the poem, it is clear that the speaker in this poem wishes to reject modern symbols of love and romance. Sentence inversion is used effectively to focus our attention on the word ‘Not’ as the speaker informs their lover that the Valentine’s gift they bring will not be ‘a red rose or a Satin heart.’ This pattern is repeated later in the poem which highlights the need the speaker feels to avoid the hollow symbols typically associated with Valentine’s. This rejection highlights the idea that these gifts have become meaningless and so common that they no longer signify genuine affection.
Through an extended image of an onion, Duffy explores both the positive and negative aspects of love. At first, the speaker highlights that modern relationships can still be rewarding. The onion is described as a ‘moon wrapped in brown paper’ which leads us to compare it to a gift. The colour brown suggests that love may not seem an extravagant gift at first, yet with time it can be seen to reveal something more heavenly, suggested by reference to the ‘moon’. It is clear that Duffy does not deny that modern relationships can still present us with something divine and is something we should still chase.
However, as Duffy continues to develop this comparison, she reflects on the painful nature of love. It is at this point that the association of the onion is used most effectively. Like an onion, love is said to ‘blind you with tears.’ The speaker suggests how extreme this upset can be, turning vision into ‘a wobbling photo of grief.’ Here, love is seen as debilitating and also emotionally devastating. Rather than continue to support the traditional ‘Valentine’ and the view it presents of relationships, Duffy presents a more modern acceptance that love can cause distress.
The image of the onion is then used to reflect upon the powerful nature of love. The speaker describes love as having a ‘fierce kiss’ like an onion, suggesting it can be overwhelming and sometimes frighteningly strong. Similarly, as the scent of an onion can be seen as hard to remove, love too can be seen as ‘possessive and faithful.’ It is at this point that Duffy again draws our attention to the contrasting sides of relationships. The word ‘possessive’ suggests a sinister side of love; that it can lead to obsession, whilst the word ‘faithful’ gives a more positive feeling that love can bring security and trust. Again, Duffy appears to be using her comparison to present the dual nature of love and reflect that relationships will not always remain so pleasing.
Towards the end of the poem, Duffy begins to suggest that failed relationships can be difficult to overcome. In the final verse, Duffy goes as far as to suggest that love may be ‘lethal’ which itself suggests that the loss of a lover can cause some part of you to die or perhaps more sinisterly that it may lead to suicide. The idea that our relationships may be difficult to forget is introduced by the repetition of the word ‘cling’. This links back to the idea that love can be ‘possessive’ in the sense that the memories we have of lost loves can hold on to us, despite our best efforts to forget. It is accepted that in modern society many relationships may come to an end and that one person may have a number of relationships in a lifetime. Rather than continuing to promote the traditional symbols of love as something constantly beautiful, here we see it as something potentially dangerous.
When reading this poem, it becomes clear that Duffy has a modern view on what it means to be in a relationship and what it can bring. Her use of extended metaphor of the onion effectively allows her to highlight the joys and sorrows that the gift of love can bring us. The startling idea of this simple yet unusual valentine gift is in fact an ideal symbol for what we have come to accept as the ups and downs of modern relationships.