Valentine- Carol Ann Duffy. How Does Duffy Use Language and Imagery to Explore a Variety of Unusual Ideas in Love Within the Poem.

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Firstly, Duffy intoduces the poem with the line. `Not a red rose or a satin heart`. Here the reader is presented with a range of different views on how significant the first line of this poem is. For example, Here, Duffy rejects what may be called traditional symbols of love. This suggests that Duffy is critisicing what normally would be accustom on Valentines day. Which leads me onto my related second point, The poem is called Valentine, Which is made in reference to Valentines Day. In reference to the poem`s first line, a red rose or a satin heart is a sterotypical present to give a partner to express ones feelings of affection to the other. This shows me that Duffy is contradicting the supposed romantic style of the poem, as suggested by the title of the poem, by making the first line of her poem negative. This gives me the impression that she feels rather cynical about Valentines Day. Whether or not this view was created prior to bad relationships, it is not known. It can then be said that because of this, she ahs made this poem anything but sentimental, as what you would usually get in a romantic poem. Throughout the poem, Duffy uses an `onion` to represent the symbol of love in her poem, Valentine. Again, she is mocking what would usually be given as a Valentines Day present. With this `onion`, Duffy uses imagery to make the onion more appealing than it actually is in reality. For example,`It is a moon wrapped in brown paper`. She uses the moon to represent this onion. The reason as to why she may of done this can be explained that the moon is significant romantic symbol for women. In conclusion, Duffy uses language to express different feelings of love by expressing her own interpetation of love in this poem. That of which, intrigues the reader into thinking in a more down to earth way about the reality of love than what a traditional love poem may cause the
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