Valentine

Summary Summarise this poem in 25 words Valentine is about an unnamed speaker and their unconventional beliefs about love. They acknowledge the good and bad of love and compare it to an onion.

Speaker/Structure of the poem List 3 things we learn about the speaker of this poem: They are not traditional, they believe in honesty and truth, they love their partner, but are realistic and know things will be good and bad at times How do the speaker’s feelings change?: They start of rejecting conventions, but being positive about love and become more negative as the poem goes on Why is this important?: They are trying to be truthful and make their relationship more successful by doing things their own way

Themes Pick 3 themes: Love, marriage, contrast, violence, destruction, How are they developed in the poem? Pick at least 1 quotation for each theme

Quotations Pick 5 quotations: “it will blind you with tears like a lover” Identify 2 techniques used in each quotation: word choice, simile Explain literal and deeper meaning of the technique: Literally means that the onion is being compared to a lover and that they can make you cry. Just as an onion can make your eyes water so too a lover can cause you to cry as their actions at times can hurt you and cause heartbreak. Word choice of “blind” suggests can’t see because of tears but also that people can be blinded by love and positive feelings What effect does it create? This creates the effect that there is a good and bad side of love. You would expect a lover to be associated with romance but here they are linked to suffering and disability.