Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy Analysis

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  • Created by: Gemma
  • Created on: 20-05-13 18:39
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  • Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy
    • Imagery and symbolism
      • Stanza 2
      • Stanza 3
        • Tears
          • Ambiguous
            • Tears from onion?
            • Tears fro love?
        • Make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief.
          • Crying and looking in mirror
            • Makes reflection seem wobbly
      • Stanza 4 (line 11)
        • Truthful
      • Stanza 6
        • Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips
          • Love lingers
        • Faithful
          • Aim to be faithful and truthful about love
      • Stanza 7
        • Take it
          • Ambiguous
            • Take the onion?
            • Take what she's saying
        • Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring, if you like
          • Shrink = Negative
            • Love is getting smaller
              • Life will shrink if you get married
          • If you like = It's down to you how much it shrinks
        • Lethal
          • Ambiguous
            • Is it referring to love?
            • Is it referring to the onion?
        • Knife
          • Negative or positive?
          • Disturbing image
          • Could be used to open up a relationship and look at what's inside
          • Could be used to destroy the relationship
    • Overall Message
      • Honesty and selfless
      • Lots of layers in love
      • Love is double-edged
        • Knife
          • Negative or positive?
          • Disturbing image
          • Could be used to open up a relationship and look at what's inside
          • Could be used to destroy the relationship
      • Sometimes good, sometimes bad

Comments

Paul Dutton

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A detailed mind map of the poem focussing on language and symbolism. A good, quick guide. 

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