Valentineby Carol Ann Duffy and "One Flesh" by Elizabeth Jennings.

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 Throughout the poem the poetess compares love to an onion and she does that by using a variety of techniques such as imagery, symbolism, word choice and structure. All these techniques justify why “Valentine” is an unusual love-poem as they help the poet express her different point of view. Overall, the poem is unusual, as its title tricks leads the reader into thinking that the poem will be typically about happyness and romance.

 Carol Ann Duffy makes clear that the poem is centred around its main key consept : an onion, from the start. The poet makes some other key suggestions on how love makes some one feel. Carol Ann Duffy conveys that love is not simple and it's not always pleasant.

Throughout the poem, the writer is comparing love to an onion. Onions provoke tears while love is meant to bring happiness and joy. Therefore, the main symbol makes this love-poem an unusual one: “ It will blind you with tears Like a lover “ Onions have a strong scent that makes us cry when we cut them. The poet refers to crying over somebody loved, like you would over an onion. Being ‘blinded’ suggests not being able to see straight - usually when one is blinded from love, he does not see any faults in their lover and idealises them. Normally ‘tears’ are a reaction of extreme happiness or sadness, and in love both are likely to occur at some point. This comparison makes the poem an unusual one, because when dealing with love we want to believe that it is perfect. My opinion is that lovers do not want to think of sadness or problems that often, as they are scared to face reality and the mortality of their relationship. In love, one can never be fully certain of the lover’s feelings and this insecurity can only be broken by eternal commitment which is the wedding. “ Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring, if you like. “ On the inside, onions are layered into light rings each getting smaller. The word ‘shrink’ describes how the layers of the onion get smaller whole ‘loops’ are circles. Circles are eternal : they have no start nor end and represent how love should be infinite. ‘Wedding-ring” is a final promise lovers will make to one another when getting married and the ‘ring’ is the representation of their promises for each forever. However, the writer suggests insecurity by giving the lover an option as if being unsure of there feelings, this is shown when the poet has put ‘if you like’. Unusual to express insecurity. I get the feeling that love can bring surprises such as insecurity of lover’s feelings, which in my opinion, makes this a very realistic love-poem.

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 Throughout the poem, a variety of techniques were used by the poet to alienate it from other, common love-poems. Carol Ann Duffy has done that by supporting each verse with strong word choice : “ fierce “ Stereotypically, love is viewed as something gentle and subtle which is the exact opposite of how the poet see’s it. The word ‘ fierce ‘ has a negative atmosphere as it is associated with aggression and attack. In “Valentine” , a kiss of an onion is being described as ‘fierce’. This is because onions have a strong and a possessive scent that will ...

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