Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy is a poem which creates a contradiction by contrasting the romantic poem style of the title,

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‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy is a poem which creates a contradiction by contrasting the romantic poem style of the title, ‘Valentine,’ with a negative in the opening line, cancelling out any traditional thoughts of valentines, ‘Not a red rose or a satin heart.’ In this first line Duffy is stating a matter of fact; she also seems to be hinting at a different more tongue in cheek approach to Valentine’s Day. Also in this first line she is telling her own valentine not to expect any tradition gifts which are sentimental, romantic or cheesy. She then goes on to offer something out of the ordinary, something very surprising… an onion. She then follows this up with the reasons as to why this vegetable makes the perfect valentines gift, ‘It is a moon wrapped in brown paper. It promises light like the careful undressing of love.’ She possibly chose the moon as her imagery as it’s a traditional symbol of love-sickness and strongly influences the moods and emotions of people. Unlike most people Carol Ann Duffys approach to valentines
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seems to be far from typically love struck and seems to be much more pessimistic. Although she is romanticising the onion, she makes it an everyday item again when she states that it’s ‘wrapped in brown paper.’ She goes onto mentioning another image associated with romantic love – that of promises, ‘It promises light.’ Duffy is suggesting that although the moon promises light, it doesn’t always deliver. By doing this Duffy appears to be warning of trusting too much in the promises of romantic partners. Duffy uses the phrase ‘The careful undressing of love’ as it reveals a person’s true ...

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