Typically and obviously before Duffy was born, her mother was young and carefree, “bend from the waist, holding each other, or your knees, and shriek at the pavement. Your polka-dot dress blows round your legs. Marilyn” Duffy attaches youth, glamour and beauty to her mother before she came along. The polka-dot dress is an allusion to Marilyn Monroe, and ironically Marilyn was her mother’s actual name. It shows her mother had aspirations to be a movie star and it reminds us all that our mothers were once young and had hopes and dreams too, “movie tomorrows”. She had a glamorous and romantic life like the movies depicted, where “the thought of” Duffy “doesn’t occur”. The use of the archaic word “fizzy” shows Duffy’s mother’s zest for life that “the right walk home could bring”. This could mean her boyfriend walking her home, and she could be in love. Finding the right man meant he could give you a wonderful life like in the movies.
The poem “Valentine” is an extended metaphor, as love is compared to an onion. This poem is written in the form of a dramatic monologue. The title suggests the theme is Valentine’s Day, and romance will be a big theme in this poem. However, the first line immediately dispels any impressions we get from the title, “Not a red rose or a satin heart.” This forms a question in the reader’s mind, as that is a contradiction. Valentine’s Day is all about roses and chocolates and hearts, which, of course, is very superficial. Throughout the poem, Duffy undermines the unrealistic view of love the media presents to society and reveals the harsher side to love, “Not a cute card or kissogram. I give you an onion.” The cards and presents are all false; they are conditioned by the media. The onion is the metaphor for true love. Everything that love brings, with a little imagination, an onion also brings, “it is a moon wrapped in brown paper”. The moon is associated in poetry with love and romance, and an onion looks similar to the moon. The onion is pure and “it promises light” unlike the chocolates, which are almost branded evil by Duffy. The many layers in an onion represent the complexity of love and if you peel an onion it is like “the careful undressing of love”. Love reveals human emotions, layer by layer. Love is baring your soul to your partner and removing all the superficial layers. It can also represent sex, as you remove your clothes and undress. There are many facets to the relationship once you are in love.
After this promising and positive side of love in the first stanza, Duffy immediately follows this up with the negative side of love and the way “it will blind you with tears”. This is what an onion literally does to you when you cut it. Love also brings pain as well as pleasure, “it will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief”. When you look in the mirror, your image will be distorted as your eyes will be full of tears from grief. The use of the word “photo” suggests you will be look your best as we all look our best and make an effort when posing for photos. Love makes you more self conscious and you start adorning yourself more and you become very beauty conscious. There is a great contrast between the first and second stanza. The first is all about the “moon” and “light”, whereas the second is about “tears” and “grief”. This emphasises real love and the way you are on an emotional rollercoaster. It is not all just an ascent to heaven as the media leads us to believe, Duffy is “trying to be truthful”.
The bond between a mother and its child is unique. They are close to each other from birth, and they are very possessive of each other, “the decade ahead of my loud, possessive yell was the best one, eh?” they are so close to each other in their relationship that they can say that without taking offence. They are at that special point in the relationship when they are assured of each other’s love and can almost read the other’s mind. The way that Duffy insults herself without her mother needing to assure her it is untrue implies they are familiar. Duffy converts to the present, but reminisces about the past era, “high-heeled red shoes, relics”. All that was important to her mother has now become her toys, as her mother’s dreams were unfulfilled. Time moves on and Duffy is now turning into her mother-the cycle goes on, “your ghost clatters toward me over George Square till I see you, clear as scent.” The use of synaesthesia is very effective in connecting the ghost with her mother. By appealing to the reader’s senses, Duffy draws us into the poem. The smell is connected to a memory, so this prepares us for the reversion to the past.
Although her mother has grown old, she hasn’t lost her sense of enjoyment and pleasure, “Cha cha cha! You’d teach me the steps on the way home form Mass, stamping stars from the wrong pavement”. Even though Mass is supposed to be a serious and solemn occasion, her mother is still young at heart and allows humour to penetrate the seriousness. The “wrong pavement” is a contrast to the “right walk home” and it shows that her life didn’t turn out the way she had visualised. She is on the wrong pavement, as this wasn’t what was planned for her. She was going to become a movie star leading a romantic and glamorous life before the “loud, possessive yell” interrupted her career. However, the mother doesn’t mind about the way her life has turned out because “that glamorous love lasts” and she can still laugh when she gave birth to Duffy. A special twist that Duffy adds to the poem is that she yearned for her mother even before she was born, “I wanted that bold girl winking in Portobello, somewhere in Scotland, before I was born”.
This element of possessiveness is present in all forms of love, “its fierce kiss will stay on your lips, possessive and faithful”. The smell of an onion lingers, and these are qualities of true love: possessiveness and faithfulness. By using your imagination, an onion can become anything you want, just like true love, “the platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring”. By stretching your imagination, the rings of an onion can become a wedding ring, leading to commitment and partnership for life. Then Duffy characterises her poem with her typical one word sentences, “Lethal”. This word is a subtle warning to her fiancé to never be unfaithful and this possessiveness is lethal as it strips you of your individuality. It also means that once you fall in love, there is no going back. It is impossible to carry on as before and you will never be the same again, “its scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife”. Repetition of “cling” emphasises the fact that love is possessive. This side of love is never really shown in the media, and is yet again, another example of Duffy’s true depiction of love.
Both poems “Valentine” and “Before You Were Mine” are poems consisting of the theme of love. However, there are many forms of love, and in this case, it’s the romantic love and filial love being considered. Although these themes have been written about before, this is a very individual and original interpretation by Duffy. “Valentine” is an extended metaphor and it is a dramatic monologue. She compares love to an onion, which is not at all attractive. However, it dispels the glittering and glamorous image of love we have been exposed to by the media. It prepares us for the negative feelings love always brings. “Before You Were Mine” is a poem where Duffy takes on the persona of the child yearning for its mother before it was even born. The roles of mother and child are reversed in this poem. The child watches over her mother and watches her grow from a young and carefree girl, to an older, wiser woman, married with children. Both poems use many poetic devices to draw the reader into the poem and they were both wonderful depictions of love.
