“Valentine” is a controversial love poem written by Carol Ann Duffy. Throughout the poem the poetess compares love to an onion and she does that by using a variety of techniques such as imagery, symbolism, word choice and structure. All these techniques justify why “Valentine” is an unusual love-poem as they help the poet express her different point of view. Overall, the poem is unusual as its title mistakenly leads the reader into thinking that the poem will be typical. I felt deeply moved by the poet’s ability to arise thoughtfulness and reflexion in the reader. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Carol Ann Duffy gives a controversial outlook on love and from the very start, it is made clear that the poem is centred around its main key symbol : an onion. The poet makes some other key suggestions on how love makes one feel. Carol Ann Duffy conveys that love is not simple nor always pleasant. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||\\ Throughout the poem, the poetess is comparing love to an onion. Onions provoke tears while love is meant to bring happiness and joy. Therefore, the main symbol makes this love-poem an unusual one: “ It will blind you with tears Like a lover “ Onions have a strong scent that makes us cry when we cut them. The poet refers to crying over somebody loved, like you would over an onion. Being ‘blinded’ suggests not being able to see straight - usually when one is blinded from love, he does not see any faults in their lover and idealises them. Normally ‘tears’ are reaction to extreme happiness or sadness, and in love both are likely to occur at some point. This comparison makes the poem an unusual one, because when dealing with love we want to believe that it is perfect. My opinion is that lovers do not want to think of sadness or problems as often they are scared to face reality and the mortality of their relationship. In love, one can never be fully certain of the lover’s feelings and...