Write a Commentary on Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy (Paper 1)

http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poetry/poems/valentine The poem “Valentine” by Carol Ann Duffy dismisses the archetypal and materialistic notions surrounding love and romance and instead explores a much more profound idea of the way in which relationships unfold and develop. The poet uses the extended metaphor of an onion to explain how relationships are complex constructs which are comprised of many layers. The poem is highly ambiguous at times – the boundary between the motif of the onion and the motif of their love frequently blurs – with the onion progressively coming to embody the relationship itself. The first aspect of the poem to be considered is the title: “Valentine”. This refers to Valentine’s day – an event which celebrates love and romance. It conjures up images of a dozen red roses and cards and twilight meals – the lusting, passionate aspects of a relationship. And yet this stand-alone word – “Valentine” – lacks a possessive (i.e. my Valentine) which would make it more intimate. Instead, the title gives an air of detachment to the poem, which perhaps injects a sense of unease as well (this continues throughout). The first line of the poem forms one short, blunt stanza: “not a red rose or a satin heart”. The emphatic positioning of “not” at the beginning of the poem is interesting, as it introduces a theme of negation - of the taking a negative angle. This adds a tone of disjunction; the poet chooses to begin with a negative statement of what love is not, rather than an affirmative of what love is. However, an alternate view of this “not” could be that the speaker is effectively banishing any misconceptions or pretences about love that her partner may have, creating a figurative fresh start. It is from this blank canvas that she can show what love actually does mean to her. The “red rose” and “satin heart” which she refers to in this first line represent the trraditional paraphernalia of love, but to her they have little meaning. The soft, whimsical alliteration in “red rose” gives the line a romantic feel, but the poet sees this colourised notion of love as unrealistic (it is "not" how she sees it). Furthermore, she sees Valentine’s traditions as materialistic, literally referencing a material – “satin” – to symbolise her disregard for superficiality. Valentine’s day is a commercialised event, and, in many ways, a false representation of relationships. The speaker is instead trying to be individual in her expression of love. This first line is thus key in establishing the poet’s adversarial position on traditional romantic customs.