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9 Detailed summary sheets | 'Mean Time' collection by Carol Ann Duffy | Analysis, structure, themes, links to Larkin, context and critics£4.99
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Detailed summary sheets of Carol Ann Duffy's poems from her collection 'Mean Time'.
These include analysis of the lines, structure and themes, the relevant contexts and critics, and links to poems from 'Whitsun Weddings' by Philip Larkin'.
There are summary sheets for the following 9 poems:
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VALENTINE
Summary The speaker goes against traditional Valentine’s conventions and gives their lover
an onion, which is strong and lingering like love.
Analysis - ‘Not a red rose or a satin heart.’ The name of poem implies a traditional
romantic poem, yet the negative opening word contradicts this: abrupt
and blunt tone. Symbols of love rather than the truth.
- ‘I give you an onion.’ heterodoxical speaker: giving a completely
unexpected Valentines gift that would appear random and nonsensical at
first (‘poetic shock’), but onions have rings symbolising eternity.
- ‘It is a moon wrapped in brown paper’ the moon is often associated with
romance. ‘Wrapped in brown paper’ highlights the idea that their love
appears ordinary and traditional at first but when unwrapped, is bright
and eternal.
- ‘It promises light like the careful undressing of love’ semantic field of
gentleness: ‘light’, ‘careful’, indicating the careful intimacy of love.
- ‘It will blind you with tears like a lover.’ use of simile to address the
negative aspects of love, providing a realistic perspective on love. ‘Blind’
could be ambiguous: blinded by tears and blinded by love.
- ‘It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief’ suggests the difficult
aspects of relationships can lead to self-reflection and a lack of identity.
The reference to ‘photo’ suggests the grief of love is long-lasting.
- ‘I am trying to be truthful.’ single-line stanza and bluntness of the
sentence reinforces the speaker’s honesty and realistic view. The
alliterative ‘t’s emphasise their blunt, almost harsh, honesty.
- ‘Not a cute card or a kissogram.’ again the alliterative ‘c / k’s underline
their honesty and the adjective ‘cute’ has a sarcastic, mocking tone:
contempt for the typical traditions of Valentine’s Day: artificial and forced.
- ‘I give you an onion.’ repetition of this line with imperative ‘I give’
suggests insistence: the speaker is pushing for acceptance.
- ‘Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips’ mirrors an onion: lingering and
tainting, perhaps even unwanted. The sibilance enforces the kissing
sound, giving an onomatopoeic effect.
- ‘Lethal.’ the minor sentence brings attention and emphasis, a shift to the
danger of love.
- ‘Its scent will cling to your fingers’ reflects the power of smells to bring
back memories: cannot forget the scent of a significant other.
- ‘Cling to your knife’ impactful last word, connoting threat and danger.
Structure - Free verse: emphasises the honesty and reality the speaker provides, not
expressing their love in a structured, artificial way like conventional
Valentine’s gifts.
- Varied stanza length: could echo the natural layers of an onion.
Themes - Love: damaging: gives a realistic view of love as ‘lethal’ and expresses
the ‘lingering’ effects it has, as opposed to conventional Valentine’s
tradition that focuses blindly on the positives of love.
- Consumerism: could be a critique on the artificiality of products like ‘a red
rose or a satin heart’, which encourages the facade of love as blissful and
ignoring the truth that love can be blinding, damaging.
Links - Whitsun Weddings: criticising conventional expressions of love, providing
a harsher reality. Although the speaker of ‘Whitsun Weddings’ watches
from an uninvolved distance whilst in ‘Valentine’, they are directly
involved.
- Wild Oats: presents the artificiality vs authenticity of love. ‘Valentine’
criticises conventional, shallow displays of love and is brutally honest:
love can be lethal. ‘Wild Oats’ presents emotional disloyalty in
relationships and the artificiality of valuing appearance in relationships.
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