Valentine - Language, Structure, Context

Question 1

Forceful language

Answer 1

The narrator is clear on what they think and believe.
They have clearly thought carefully about this gift.
But they seem to be struggling to express themselves - the narrator shifts from the more passive ‘I give you’ to the imperative ‘take it’ in the final stanza.
This shift gives the sense that the narrator is finding it hard to to express themselves properly and is becoming frustrated.

Question 2

Structure

Answer 2

Loose structure - unpredictability
Poet wants to write about a non-traditional view of love so they use a non-traditional structure - suggests love is chaotic and unpredictable (with the use of a chaotic and unpredictable structure)

Question 3

Irregular structure

Answer 3

The poem has an irregular structure.
All the stanzas are of uneven lengths and some are only one line.
The unstable form of the poem reflects the narrator’s difficulty in expressing their true feelings.
The line ‘I am trying to be truthful’ stands out because it is unconnected to the onion metaphor and has its own stanza.
This interjection in the poem reveals that the narrator is struggling to be honest and feels that even their well thought out metaphor is failing to do the job.

Question 4

1993

Answer 4

Same sex marriage was not legal at this time

Question 5

First line - Red rose, satin heart

Answer 5

Stereotypical images of love
Not - shows she will take an abstract view
This line is juxtaposed by the content of the rest of the poem

Question 6

Carol Ann Duffy

Answer 6

Poet Laureate from May 2009 to May 2019
First women, first Scot, first openly LGBT+ to hold that position
Being gay - non-traditional just like the poem itself
The poem is a representation of her