Valentine poem comparison

Overview Show that you ‘get’ the bigger picture and what message is conveyed – without this, the poem won’t make sense to you! Yes, Duffy uses the unusual extended metaphor of the onion to describe what relationships are like but why? To show her rejection of traditional romantic presentations of love and to describe relationships in a more honest, realistic, and perhaps cynical way – in other words, she wants to show the negative as well as the positive.

Start with the point! Rejection of traditional romantic ideas ‘Not a cute card’ – the word ‘not’ positioned at the start of the line TWICE emphasises her rejection of romantic notions of love The use of alliteration – only for ‘red rose’ and ‘cute card’ – the traditionally romantic gifts – emphasises how fake this idea of love is. Being on their own lines shows that this view of love has no place in her vision of what relationships are like

Analyse (see the whole picture) – don’t just track and explain the obvious superficial meanings The structure of the poem reflects the different stages in a relationship, as she makes connections between the onion’s characteristics and love. At first, Duffy shows how the relationship begins positively and romantically (‘promises light’ & ‘careful undressing of love’) Towards the end hints of negativity become stronger and stronger as she presents an ambiguous view of love – both good and bad.

Select and analyse! Simile of promising light like a moon, a traditional symbol of romance, shows that relationship is romantic and full of hope at the start – but romantic imagery changes ‘possessive and faithful / as we are, / for as long as we are’ – the last line is ambiguous – love is possessive/faithful for as long as we live, or for as long as we are possessive & faithful’ – implying that things might change / end. ‘shrinks to a wedding-ring’ – ‘shrinks’ implies marriage involves restriction & reduction, perhaps loss of freedom ‘Lethal.’ One word stanza with full stop shows how abruptly and suddenly things can change. Repetition of ‘cling’ in the last two lines emphasises how the relationship can stay with you after it’s finished – not in a good way!

Form and Structure Repetition of ‘It will’ shows that all relationships go through this process – not just her specific one Irregular structure – love is uncertain and unpredictable Lack of rhyme and rhythm – love is not the harmonious, smoothly-flowing emotion traditionally depicted Short lines – ‘Here’ & ‘Take it’ – show her forcefulness and sincerity – she’s not a typical soppy ‘lover’ but opinionated & strong

Context Why does Duffy write such a poem? Show such a view? She’s writing in the modern age – published in 1990s – age of high divorce rates , sexual freedom and feminism! So she’s reflecting that by showing how relationships can end and ‘go bad’, don’t necessarily end in marriage She’s a feminist & lesbian – she’s taking control with her assertive tone. She is rejecting traditional ideas about relationships and focusing on what she sees as a more equal & honest presentation. She’s not going to be presented as ‘weak’.

Use the right terminology Extended metaphor Unusual lineation Free verse Irregular structure

Sonnet 43 – overview! (always talk about the (b) poem before linking) Both use metaphor to convey ideas but they are generally very different in attitude and approach. One has cynical, realistic view of relationships – that they can end (modern), the other a more romantic view as her love is presented as limitless. Sonnet 43 is talking about the poet’s love for her specific husband-to-be so it’s very personal – but Valentine although addressed to the lover is about all relationships and what relationships can be like in general

Images, structure and form all show how boundless and limitless Browning’s love is. How do I love thee? Responds to the question in a direct address (same as Valentine – both narrators talking directly to ‘lover’ in a way that is passionate and sincere – but their views are different) Anaphora ‘I love thee …’ like vows – suggest sincerity (Valentine – also uses repetition but to drive home her unconventional negative view)

Other Key Points? Spatial metaphor ‘depth and breadth and height’ – repetition of and suggests continuing nature of her love and the metaphor suggests her love stretches as far as possible and beyond (Valentine’s metaphor is far more ‘ordinary’ in the sense it’s an everyday item – so she’s showing that love is ordinary whereas Browning shows it’s extraordinary – can’t be contained)

Other Key Points? Also loves her husband-to-be to the ‘level of every day’s most quiet need’ – so in big and small ways she loves him – it’s about convincing him of the extent of her love All the passion she showed for religion in her youth (‘lost saints’) and her ‘old griefs’ (death of her brother in drowning accident and loss of siblings sent abroad) now transferred to Robert – imagery directs all her love of every type (religious love, family love) into romantic love, to show how strong and all-consuming it is

Final image of loving him ‘better after death’ is a positive as it means their love is eternal (Valentine also talks about the relationship clinging – but this is not a good thing! It’s not eternal love but eternal memories of a relationship that maybe went bad)

Structure & Form The mix of Petrarchan and sonnet form shows again her love cannot be restricted by rules (maybe her tyrannical father’s rules – disapproving of her relationship with Robert which meant she ended up having to elope) The strong iambic pentameter rhythm and rhyme help create a musical effect and suggest romantic harmonious feelings of love – her love is ongoing. Valentine’s varying length lines and stanzas disrupt the rhythm to suggest relationships can be uncertain and discordant The enjambment in Sonnet 43 shows love continuing on and on (in Valentine lines often work in pairs and begin with a positive, but the next line is a negative to hint at relationships being both good and bad) The punctuation in Sonnet 43 – lots of commas – show she can list many different ways she loves him. There’s always more to say. The full stops and short sentences in Valentine show how strong her opinion is and how suddenly things can change (Lethal)

Sonnet 43 Context – one of 44 sonnets written to Robert while she lived under her father’s tyranny / control. She had lots of restrictions in her life (unlike Duffy) so her poem – to express her love so passionately in her era (as a woman controlled by her father), was unconventional and so both writers are ‘different’ in their approach.

Cozy Apologia - overview Both use metaphor to convey ideas but they are generally very different in attitude and approach. One has cynical, realistic view of relationships – that they can end (modern), the other a more romantic view as her relationship is presented as comfortable and she is content. Cozy Apologia is talking about the poet’s love for her husband Fred so it’s very personal – but Valentine although addressed to the lover is about all relationships and what relationships can be like in general

Context Cozy Apologia – Dove faced prejudice by marrying a white man in America in 1979 (she’s black) and this poem is a response to that prejudice, by saying society cannot destroy her relationship and that actually it’s normal (to love someone) not wrong. Valentine – feminist lesbian – in an age of sexual freedom, feminism and divorce, she wants to write about relationships honestly Different – Dove talks about problems from outside (society) but overcomes this pressure, whereas Duffy talks about problems within the relationship and the relationship is sometimes destroyed.

Titles Cozy Apologia – a comfortable apology – this is an oxymoron to show that her apology (for marrying a white man when she is black) is not meant – it’s ironic. The poem shows she’s happy with Fred – not sorry at all! Valentine – we expect something romantic Both titles – surprise the reader and don’t do what they say on the tin!

Key Points – Select and analyse Metaphor of knight in shining armour – ‘silver stirrups’ and ‘chain mail glinting’ create a sense of a hero and his ‘eye smiling’ but on the enemy makes him seem like her protector– links to the idea that as a mixed race couple in 1979 others (society) disapproved but Fred’s love protected her from their prejudice (Valentine – metaphor less traditional – as a feminist lesbian, maybe she needs to find different images to represent relationships as her relationships are different from the norm) Reference to the hurricane coming – it’s a disruptive force and so breaks her away from her romantic thoughts of Fred and back to time of ‘worthless boys’ with ‘hollow center’. Hurricane could be a metaphor of society wanting to destroy her relationship with Fred and make her go back to relationships with those of her own race – but the hurricane (society) doesn’t succeed – in stanza 3 she goes back to thinking about Fred.

Key Points She says they ‘fall short of the Divine’ and asks when has ‘ordinary’ been news – she means that there is nothing unusual about two people who are together and love each other – nothing strange about interracial relationships, they’re normal. This is her ‘response’ to the prejudice. Valentine – also tries to describe relationships in a truthful ordinary way – but for Duffy, ordinary can mean bad, and for Dove ‘ordinary’ is good although extraordinary, in that interracial relationships were not common in 1979.

Form & Structure Begins ‘I could pick anything and think of you’ and ends ‘I fill this stolen time with you’ – so thoughts of him start and finish the poem. The full circle structure shows that he ‘completes’ her – is her beginning and end. Shows their relationship stays the same (Valentine changes – starts positively but ends negatively to show the relationship changes)

Form & Structure Starts with rhyming couplets when she’s thinking of Fred as a hero but this is disrupted with arrival of storm. The final 2 lines rhyme which shows the storm can’t permanently disrupt the rhyme, just like society can’t destroy their relationship (Valentine’s lack of rhyme shows relationships don’t run smoothly) 3 stanzas of equal length – suggests relationship is secure and solid and unchanging (Valentine – free verse shows relationships change constantly)